Sonata form is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections:an exposition,a development,and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th century.
The Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major,K. 332 (300k) by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was published in 1784 along with the Piano Sonata No. 10 in C major,K. 330,and Piano Sonata No. 11,K. 331. Mozart wrote these sonatas either while visiting Munich in 1781,or during his first two years in Vienna. Some believe,however that Mozart wrote this and the other sonatas during a summer 1783 visit to Salzburg made for the purpose of introducing his wife,Constanze to his father,Leopold. All three sonatas were published in Vienna in 1784 as Mozart's Op. 6.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B♭ major,Op. 106 is a piano sonata that is widely viewed as one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among the greatest piano sonatas of all time. Completed in 1818,it is often considered to be Beethoven's most technically challenging piano composition and one of the most demanding solo works in the classical piano repertoire. The first documented public performance was in 1836 by Franz Liszt in the Salle Erard in Paris to an enthusiastic review by Hector Berlioz.
Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor,Op. 37 is generally thought to have been composed in 1800,although the year of its composition has been questioned by some contemporary musicologists. It was first performed on 5 April 1803,with the composer as soloist. During that same performance,the Second Symphony and the oratorio Christ on the Mount of Olives were also premiered. The composition was published in 1804,and was dedicated to Prince Louis Ferdinand of Prussia. The first primary theme is reminiscent of that of Mozart's 24th Piano Concerto.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 21 in C major,Op. 53,known as the Waldstein,is one of the three most notable sonatas of his middle period. Completed in summer 1804 and surpassing Beethoven's previous piano sonatas in its scope,the Waldstein is a key early work of Beethoven's "Heroic" decade (1803–1812) and set a standard for piano composition in the grand manner.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 3 in C major,Op. 2,No. 3,was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and second sonatas in 1796.
The Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor,K. 491,is a concerto composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart for keyboard and orchestra. Mozart composed the concerto in the winter of 1785–1786,finishing it on 24 March 1786,three weeks after completing his Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major. As he intended to perform the work himself,Mozart did not write out the soloist's part in full. The premiere was in early April 1786 at the Burgtheater in Vienna. Chronologically,the work is the twentieth of Mozart's 23 original piano concertos.
The Piano Sonata No. 9 in E major,Op. 14,No. 1,is an early-period work by Ludwig van Beethoven,dedicated to Baroness Josefa von Braun,one of his patrons at that time. It was composed in 1798 and arranged for string quartet by the composer in 1801,the result containing more quartet-like passagework and in the more comfortable key of F major.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 5 in C minor,Op. 10,No. 1 was composed some time during 1796–98.
The Piano Sonata No. 18 in E♭ major,Op. 31,No. 3,is an 1802 sonata for solo piano by Ludwig van Beethoven. A third party gave the piece the nickname "The Hunt" due to one of its themes' resemblance to a horn call. Beethoven maintains a playful jocularity throughout much of the piece,but as in many of his early works,the jocular style can be heard as a facade,concealing profound ideas and depths of emotion.
The Piano Sonata No. 31 in A♭ major,Op. 110,by Ludwig van Beethoven was composed in 1821 and published in 1822. It is the middle piano sonata in the group of three that he wrote between 1820 and 1822,and is the penultimate of his piano sonatas. Though the sonata was commissioned in 1820,Beethoven did not begin work on Op. 110 until the latter half of 1821,and final revisions were completed in early 1822. The delay was due to factors such as Beethoven's work on the Missa solemnis and his deteriorating health. The original edition was published by Schlesinger in Paris and Berlin in 1822 without dedication,and an English edition was published by Muzio Clementi in 1823.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 2 in A major,Op. 2,No. 2,was written in 1795 and dedicated to Joseph Haydn. It was published simultaneously with his first and third sonatas in 1796.
Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 11 in B♭ major,Op. 22,was composed in 1800,and published two years later. Beethoven regarded it as the best of his early sonatas,though some of its companions in the cycle have been at least as popular with the public.
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 22 in F major,Op. 54,was written in 1804. It is contemporary to the first sketches of the Symphony No. 5 in C Minor. It is one of Beethoven's lesser known sonatas,overshadowed by its widely known neighbours,the Waldstein and the Appassionata.
Cello Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2,Op. 5,are two sonatas for cello and piano written by Ludwig van Beethoven in 1796,while he was in Berlin. While there,Beethoven met the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm II,an ardent music-lover and keen cellist. Although the sonatas are dedicated to Friedrich Wilhelm II,Ferdinand Ries tells us that Beethoven "played several times at the court,where he also played the two cello sonatas,opus 5,composed for Duport and himself". Although Jean-Pierre Duport was one of the King's teachers,it is now thought to have been his brother Jean-Louis Duport who had the honor of premiering these sonatas.
Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in A minor,D 784,is one of Schubert's major compositions for the piano. Schubert composed the work in February 1823,perhaps as a response to his illness the year before. It was however not published until 1839,eleven years after his death. It was given the opus number 143 and a dedication to Felix Mendelssohn by its publishers. The D 784 sonata,Schubert's last to be in three movements,is seen by many to herald a new era in Schubert's output for the piano,and to be a profound and sometimes almost obsessively tragic work.
F-flat major is a theoretical key based on F♭,consisting of the pitches F♭,G♭,A♭,B,C♭,D♭,and E♭. Its key signature has one double flat and six flats.
Franz Schubert's last three piano sonatas,D 958,959 and 960,are his last major compositions for solo piano. They were written during the last months of his life,between the spring and autumn of 1828,but were not published until about ten years after his death,in 1838–39. Like the rest of Schubert's piano sonatas,they were mostly neglected in the 19th century. By the late 20th century,however,public and critical opinion had changed,and these sonatas are now considered among the most important of the composer's mature masterpieces. They are part of the core piano repertoire,appearing regularly on concert programs and recordings.
The Piano Quartet No. 3 in C minor,Op. 60,completed by Johannes Brahms in 1875,is scored for piano,violin,viola and cello. It is sometimes called the Werther Quartet after Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther. The premiere took place in Vienna on November 18,1875,to an anxious public. Richard Wagner and his wife Cosima were in attendance.
The String Quartets,Op. 50,were composed by Joseph Haydn in 1787. The set of six quartets was dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia. For this reason the set is commonly known as the Prussian Quartets. Haydn sold the set to the Viennese firm Artaria and,without Artaria's knowledge,to the English publisher William Forster. Forster published it as Haydn's Opus 44. Haydn's autograph manuscripts for Nos. 3 to 6 of the set were discovered in Melbourne,Australia,in 1982.
