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97-415: A clarinet sonata is piece of music in sonata form for clarinet , often with piano accompaniment. The Clarinet Sonatas by Brahms are of special significance in the development of the clarinet repertoire. Several important transcriptions are also possible, including sonatas by Mozart , Schubert , Reinecke , Copland , and Prokofiev . Sonata (music) The term sonatina , pl. sonatine ,

194-505: A development and then resolved harmonically and thematically in a recapitulation . In addition, the standard definition recognizes that an introduction and a coda may be present. Each of the sections is often further divided or characterized by the particular means by which it accomplishes its function in the form. After its establishment, the sonata form became the most common form in the first movement of works entitled " sonata ", as well as other long works of classical music, including

291-587: A "psychological" approach to theme and expression. Although the Italian term sonata often refers to a piece in sonata form, it is important to separate the two. As the title for a single-movement piece of instrumental music, sonata —the past participle of suonare , "to play [an instrument]", as opposed to cantata , the past participle of cantare , "to sing"—covers many pieces from the Baroque and mid-18th century that are not "in sonata form". Conversely, in

388-446: A 'continuo' role), and does not contain the decisive sonata-exposition modulation to the secondary key. Only when the 'solo exposition' is under way does the solo instrument assert itself and participate in the move to (classically) the dominant or relative major. The situation is only seemingly different in the case of Mozart's concerto No. 9 , where the soloist is heard at the outset: as the later unfolding of those movements makes clear,

485-402: A central role today in music theory, and is an essential part of the theory of sonata structure as taught in most music schools. Sources Sonata form The sonata form (also sonata-allegro form or first movement 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

582-507: A graceful and melodious little second movement included. The practice of the Classical period would become decisive for the sonata; the term moved from being one of many terms indicating genres or forms, to designating the fundamental form of organization for large-scale works. This evolution stretched over fifty years. The term came to apply both to the structure of individual movements (see Sonata form and History of sonata form ) and to

679-447: A large body of music that would over time increasingly be thought essential for any serious instrumentalist to master. In the early 19th century, the current usage of the term sonata was established, both as regards form per se , and in the sense that a fully elaborated sonata serves as a norm for concert music in general, which other forms are seen in relation to. From this point forward, the word sonata in music theory labels as much

776-492: A process known as interruption . As a practical matter, Schenker applied his ideas to the editing of the piano sonatas of Beethoven, using original manuscripts and his own theories to "correct" the available sources. The basic procedure was the use of tonal theory to infer meaning from available sources as part of the critical process, even to the extent of completing works left unfinished by their composers. While many of these changes were and are controversial, that procedure has

873-433: A slow introduction, a loosely fugued allegro , a cantabile slow movement, and a lively finale in some binary form suggesting affinity with the dance-tunes of the suite . This scheme, however, was not very clearly defined, until the works of Arcangelo Corelli when it became the essential sonata and persisted as a tradition of Italian violin music. The sonata da camera consisted almost entirely of idealized dance-tunes. On

970-410: A solo instrument other than keyboard have been composed, as have sonatas for other combinations of instruments. In the works of Arcangelo Corelli and his contemporaries, two broad classes of sonata were established, and were first described by Sébastien de Brossard in his Dictionaire de musique (third edition, Amsterdam, ca. 1710): the sonata da chiesa (that is, suitable for use in church), which

1067-427: Is a crucial moment in the work. The last part of the development section is called the retransition : It prepares for the return of the first subject group in the tonic. Exceptions include the first movement of Brahms 's Piano Sonata No. 1 . The general key of the movement is C major, and it would then follow that the retransition should stress the dominant seventh chord on G. Instead, it builds in strength over

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1164-414: Is a point of contention. Alterations include taking material through distant keys, breaking down of themes and sequencing of motifs, and so forth. The development varies greatly in length from piece to piece and from time period to time period, sometimes being relatively short compared to the exposition (e.g., the first movement of Eine kleine Nachtmusik ) and in other cases quite long and detailed (e.g.,

1261-422: Is also possible to have the second subject group in a key other than tonic while the first subject group is in the home key. For instance in the first movement of Richard Strauss 's Symphony No. 2 in F minor , the recapitulation begins with the first subject group in tonic but modulates to the mediant A ♭ major for the second subject group before modulating back to F minor for the coda. Another example

1358-456: Is distinct from a short development, such as in the opening movement of Mozart's Violin Sonata in G major, K. 379 . Another instance of a truncated sonata form has the development section completely omitted altogether, and the recapitulation immediately follows the exposition (even without a retransitional passage). This occurs in the first movement of Tchaikovsky 's Serenade for Strings , and

1455-446: Is even more wide-ranging. It begins in F ♯ minor, moves into A major, then through B ♭ major to F major. In the recapitulation section, the key of the first subject group may be in a key other than tonic, most often in the subdominant, known as a "subdominant recapitulation". In some pieces by Haydn and Mozart, such as Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C, K. 545 , or the finale of his String Quartet No. 14 in G, K. 387 ,

1552-415: Is for the dominant to be substituted with the dominant of the relative minor key: one example is the first movement of Haydn's String Quartet in E major, Op. 54 No. 3. Occasionally, the retransition can begin with a false recapitulation, in which the opening material of the first theme group is presented before the development has completed. The surprise that ensues when the music continues to modulate toward

1649-402: Is in the relative B minor while the second theme is in the parallel submediant B major . The first subject group need not be entirely in the tonic key. In the more complex sonata expositions there can be brief modulations to fairly remote keys, followed by reassertion of the tonic. For example, Mozart's String Quintet in C, K. 515 , visits C minor and D ♭ major as chromaticism within

1746-468: Is known as sonatina form. An important variant on traditional sonata-allegro form is found in the first movement of the Classical concerto . Here, the sonata-allegro's customary 'repeated exposition' is replaced by two different but related sections: the 'tutti exposition' and the 'solo exposition'. Prototypically the 'tutti exposition' does not feature the soloist (except, in early classical works, in

1843-469: Is later stated in the exposition. The introduction increases the weight of the movement (such as the famous dissonant introduction to Mozart's "Dissonance" Quartet , K. 465), and also permits the composer to begin the exposition with a theme that would be too light to start on its own, as in Haydn's Symphony No. 103 ("The Drumroll") and Beethoven's Quintet for Piano and Winds Op. 16 . The introduction usually

1940-531: Is listed as "doubtful." Composers such as Boccherini would publish sonatas for piano and obbligato instrument with an optional third movement—–in Boccherini's case, 28 cello sonatas. But increasingly instrumental works were laid out in four, not three movements, a practice seen first in string quartets and symphonies , and reaching the sonata proper in the early sonatas of Beethoven . However, two- and three-movement sonatas continued to be written throughout

2037-667: Is not included in the exposition repeat: the Pathétique is a possible counterexample. Much later, Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 (Op. 35) is a clear example where the introduction is also included. On occasion, the material of introduction reappears in its original tempo later in the movement. Often, this occurs as late as the coda, as in Mozart's String Quintet in D major, K. 593 , Haydn's "Drumroll" Symphony, Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 8 ("Pathétique") , or Schubert's Symphony No. 9 ("Great") . Sometimes it can appear earlier: it occurs at

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2134-480: Is not necessarily the case that the move to the dominant key in the exposition is marked by a new theme. Haydn in particular was fond of using the opening theme, often in a truncated or otherwise altered form, to announce the move to the dominant, as in the first movement of his Sonata Hob. XVI No. 49 in E ♭ major. Mozart also occasionally wrote such expositions: for instance in the Piano Sonata K. 570 or

2231-498: Is not reached until the last possible moment. (Furthermore, the identification of a minor key with its relative major is common in the Romantic period, supplanting the earlier Classical identification of a minor key with its parallel major.) In some pieces in sonata form, in the recapitulation, the first subject group is omitted, leaving only the second subject group, like the second movement of Haydn 's Sonata Hob. XVI/35, as well as

2328-485: Is said to be completed harmonically. If the movement continues, it is said to have a coda. The coda is optional in Classical-era works, but became essential in many Romantic works. After the final cadence of the recapitulation, the movement may continue with a coda that will contain material from the movement proper. Codas, when present, vary considerably in length, but like introductions are not generally part of

2425-441: Is the 'ownership' of certain themes or materials by the solo instrument; such materials will thus not be exposed until the 'solo' exposition. Mozart was fond of deploying his themes in this way. Towards the end of the recapitulation of a concerto movement in sonata form, there is usually a cadenza for the soloist alone. This has an improvisatory character (it may or may not actually be improvised), and, in general, serves to prolong

2522-468: Is the first movement of Dvorak 's Symphony No. 9. The recapitulation begins in the tonic E minor for the first subject group, but the second subject group modulates to G-sharp minor, then through A-flat major before modulating back to the tonic key for the coda. Similarly, in Beethoven's "Waldstein" Sonata , the first subject group is in the tonic C major, then modulates to A major for the first part of

2619-500: The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians , sonata form is "the most important principle of musical form, or formal type, from the Classical period well into the 20th century ". As a formal model it is usually best exemplified in the first movements of multi-movement works from this period, whether orchestral or chamber , and has, thus, been referred to frequently as "first-movement form" or "sonata-allegro form" (since

2716-507: The String Quintet K. 593 . Such expositions are often called monothematic , meaning that one theme serves to establish the opposition between tonic and dominant keys. This term is misleading, since most "monothematic" works have multiple themes: most works so labeled have additional themes in the second subject group. Rarely, as in the fourth movement of Haydn's String Quartet in B ♭ major, Op. 50, No. 1 , did composers perform

2813-458: The diminutive form of sonata, is often used for a short or technically easy sonata. In the Baroque period , a sonata was for one or more instruments, almost always with continuo . After the Baroque period most works designated as sonatas specifically are performed by a solo instrument, most often a keyboard instrument, or by a solo instrument accompanied by a keyboard instrument. Sonatas for

2910-417: The symphony , concerto , string quartet , and so on. Accordingly, there is a large body of theory on what unifies and distinguishes practice in the sonata form, both within and between eras. Even works that do not adhere to the standard description of a sonata form often present analogous structures or can be analyzed as elaborations or expansions of the standard description of sonata form. According to

3007-403: The tour de force of writing a complete sonata exposition with just one theme. A more recent example is Edmund Rubbra 's Symphony No. 2. The fact that so-called monothematic expositions usually have additional themes is used by Charles Rosen to illustrate his theory that the Classical sonata form's crucial element is some sort of dramatization of the arrival of the dominant. Using a new theme

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3104-484: The "argument" of the work in the Classical era. Codas became increasingly important and essential parts of the sonata form in the nineteenth century. The coda often ends with a perfect authentic cadence in the original key. Codas may be quite brief tailpieces, typically in the Classical era, or they may be very long and elaborate. An example of the more extended type is the coda to the first movement of Beethoven 's Eroica Symphony , and an exceptionally long coda appears at

3201-414: The 18th century (the early Classical period ). While it is typically used in the first movement of multi-movement pieces, it is sometimes used in subsequent movements as well—particularly the final movement. The teaching of sonata form in music theory rests on a standard definition and a series of hypotheses about the underlying reasons for the durability and variety of the form—a definition that arose in

3298-421: The 19th century and onward, some of these parallelisms are subject to considerable exceptions), which include: The exposition is commonly repeated, particularly in classical and early romantic works, and more likely in solo or chamber works and symphonies than for concerti. Often, though not always, first and second endings are employed during the last measure(s) of the exposition. The first ending to point back to

3395-489: The C major first subject group, before finally moving to D major, the dominant of the dominant major (G major), preparing the second subject group in the dominant. Many works by Schubert and later composers utilized even further harmonic convolutions. In the first subject group of Schubert's Piano Sonata in B ♭ , D. 960, for example, the theme is presented three times, in B ♭ major, in G ♭ major, and then again in B ♭ major. The second subject group

3492-523: The Classic Era (A History of the Sonata Idea) , begun in the 1950s and published in what has become the standard edition of all three volumes in 1972. Heinrich Schenker argued that there was an Urlinie or basic tonal melody, and a basic bass figuration. He held that when these two were present, there was basic structure, and that the sonata represented this basic structure in a whole work with

3589-405: The Classical period: Beethoven's opus 102 pair has a two-movement C major sonata and a three-movement D major sonata. Nevertheless, works with fewer or more than four movements were increasingly felt to be exceptions; they were labelled as having movements "omitted," or as having "extra" movements. Thus, the four-movement layout was by this point standard for the string quartet, and overwhelmingly

3686-450: The abstract musical form as particular works. Hence there are references to a symphony as a sonata for orchestra . This is referred to by William Newman as the sonata idea . Among works expressly labeled sonata for the piano, there are the three of Frédéric Chopin , those of Felix Mendelssohn , the three of Robert Schumann , Franz Liszt 's Sonata in B minor , and later the sonatas of Johannes Brahms and Sergei Rachmaninoff . In

3783-467: The beginning of the development in the Pathétique Sonata, and at the beginning of the recapitulation of Schubert's Symphony No. 1 . The primary thematic material for the movement is presented in the exposition. This section can be further divided into several sections. The same section in most sonata form movements has prominent harmonic and thematic parallelisms (although in some works from

3880-469: The classical style and its norms of composition formed the basis for much of the music theory of the 19th and 20th centuries. As an overarching formal principle, sonata was accorded the same central status as Baroque fugue ; generations of composers, instrumentalists, and audiences were guided by this understanding of sonata as an enduring and dominant principle in Western music. The sonata idea begins before

3977-399: The development section consists of or ends with another exposition, often in the relative minor of the tonic key. At the end, the music will usually return to the tonic key in preparation of the recapitulation. (On occasion, it will actually return to the sub-dominant key and then proceed with the same transition as in the exposition.) The transition from the development to the recapitulation

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4074-424: The development. If a theme from the second subject group has been elaborated at length in the development in a resolving key such as the tonic major or minor or the subdominant, it may also be omitted from the recapitulation. Examples include the opening movements of Mozart's piano sonata in C minor, K. 457 , and Haydn's String Quartet in G major, Op. 77 No. 1. After the closing cadence, the musical argument proper

4171-417: The distinction between the sharp and flat directions and the blurring of tonal areas true recapitulations beginning in other keys became possible after around 1825. It is also possible for the first subject group to begin in tonic (or a key other than tonic), modulate to another key and then back to tonic for the second subject group. In the finale of the original 1872 version of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 2 ,

4268-441: The dominant (for a major-mode sonata movement) or relative major (for a minor-key movement). A second option for minor-mode sonata form movements was to modulate to the minor dominant; this option, however, robs the sonata structure of the space of relief and comfort that a major-mode second theme would bring, and was therefore used primarily for a bleak, grim effect, as Beethoven did with some frequency. Mendelssohn also did this in

4365-424: The dominant seventh chord on C, as if the music were proceeding to F major, only to take up immediately the first theme in C major. Another exception is the fourth movement of Schubert 's Symphony No. 9. The home key of the movement is C major. The retransition prolongates over the dominant chord on G, but suddenly takes up the first theme in the flattened mediant E ♭ major . A particularly common exception

4462-414: The early 19th century, the sonata form was defined, from a combination of previous practice and the works of important Classical composers, particularly Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, but composers such as Clementi also. It is during this period that the differences between the three- and the four-movement layouts became a subject of commentary, with emphasis on the concerto being laid out in three movements, and

4559-400: The end of the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8 . Explanations for why an extended coda is present vary. One reason may be to omit the repeat of the development and recapitulation sections found in earlier sonata forms of the 18th century. Indeed, Beethoven's extended codas often serve the purpose of further development of thematic material and resolution of ideas left unresolved earlier in

4656-476: The entire work effectively a single-movement sonata. Some Classical slow movements involve a different sort of truncation, in which the development section is replaced altogether by a short retransition. This occurs in the slow movements of Mozart's quartets K. 387 , K. 458 , K. 465 , K. 575 , and K. 589 . It is also common in overtures, occurring for example in Mozart's overture to Le nozze di Figaro , or Rossini's overture to Il barbiere di Siviglia . This

4753-414: The finale of D 664 . Sometimes this effect is also used for false reprises in the "wrong key" that are soon followed by the actual recapitulation in the tonic, such as in the first movement of Haydn's quartet Op. 76 No. 1 in G (false reprise in the subdominant), or the finale of Schubert's piano sonata in A, D 959 (false reprise in the major submediant). A special case is the recapitulation that begins in

4850-407: The first movement of Mozart's Symphony No. 31 and again in the third movement of his Symphony No. 34 . It also occurs in the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No. 1 . In the exposition, the first subject group ends on a half-cadence in tonic, and the second subject group immediately follows in the dominant key (without a transition). The key of the second subject may be something other than

4947-399: The first movement of his Symphony No. 3 and the last movement of his Symphony No. 4 . About halfway through his career, Beethoven also began to experiment with other tonal relationships between the tonic and the second subject group. The most common practice, for Beethoven and many other composers from the Romantic era, was to use the mediant or submediant , rather than the dominant, for

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5044-453: The first movement of the "Eroica" Symphony ). Developments in the Classical era are typically shorter due to how much composers of that era valued symmetry, unlike the more expressive Romantic era in which development sections gain a much greater importance. However, it almost always shows a greater degree of tonal, harmonic, and rhythmic instability than the other sections. In a few cases, usually in late Classical and early Romantic concertos,

5141-429: The first subject group begins in the tonic C major , modulates to E ♭ major , then through E major , and then modulates back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. And in the last movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 9 in C major, the first subject group is in the flattened mediant E ♭ major, modulates to the subdominant F major and then back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. It

5238-425: The first subject group is cut. On the other hand, it is also possible for the subject groups to be reversed in order, like the fourth movement of Bruckner 's Symphony No. 7 , or the first movement of Mozart's piano sonata in D major, K. 311 . The second subject group's melody can be different compared to the exposition, like Haydn 's Symphony No. 44 . Such melodic adjustment is common in minor-key sonata forms, when

5335-445: The first subject group will be in the subdominant and then modulate back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. This case is also found in the first movement of Beethoven's "Kreutzer" sonata . Schubert was also a prominent user of the subdominant recapitulation; it appears for example in the opening movements of his Symphonies No. 2 and No. 5 , as well as those of his piano sonatas D 279 , D 459 , D 537 , D 575 , as well as

5432-708: The form we are used to today, he defined it in terms of the movement's plan of modulation and principal cadences , without saying a great deal about the treatment of themes . Seen in this way, sonata form was closest to binary form , out of which it probably developed. The model of the form that is often taught currently tends to be more thematically differentiated. It was originally promulgated by Anton Reicha in Traité de haute composition musicale in 1826, by Adolf Bernhard Marx in Die Lehre von der musikalischen Komposition in 1845, and by Carl Czerny in 1848. Marx may be

5529-399: The last movement of his Symphony No. 2 ; the movement is in C major and modulates to the flattened submediant A ♭ major . The young Chopin even experimented with expositions that do not modulate at all, in the opening movements of his Piano Sonata No. 1 (remaining in C minor throughout) and his Piano Concerto No. 1 (moving from E minor to E major). Beethoven began also to use

5626-412: The late 18th century or "Classical" period , the title "sonata" is typically given to a work composed of three or four movements. Nonetheless, this multi-movement sequence is not what is meant by sonata form, which refers to the structure of an individual movement. The definition of sonata form in terms of musical elements sits uneasily between two historical eras. Although the late 18th century witnessed

5723-413: The layout of the movements in a multi-movement work. In the transition to the Classical period there were several names given to multimovement works, including divertimento , serenade , and partita , many of which are now regarded effectively as sonatas. The usage of sonata as the standard term for such works began somewhere in the 1770s. Haydn labels his first piano sonata as such in 1771, after which

5820-598: The loss of the continuo . Crucial to most interpretations of the sonata form is the idea of a tonal center; and, as the Grove Concise Dictionary of Music puts it: "The main form of the group embodying the 'sonata principle', the most important principle of musical structure from the Classical period to the 20th century: that material first stated in a complementary key be restated in the home key".( The sonata idea has been thoroughly explored by William Newman in his monumental three-volume work Sonata in

5917-632: The major dominant, as in the first movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1 and Brahms' Symphony No. 4 . The exposition need not only have two key areas. Some composers, most notably Schubert , composed sonata forms with three or more key areas. The first movement of Schubert's Quartet in D minor, D. 810 ("Death and the Maiden") , for example, has three separate key and thematic areas, in D minor, F major, and A minor. Similarly, Chopin 's Piano Concerto in F minor uses F minor, A ♭ major, and C minor in its first movement's exposition. In both cases,

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6014-435: The many late- Baroque extended binary forms that bear similarities to sonata form, sonata form can be distinguished by the following three characteristics: The standard description of the sonata form is: The introduction section is optional, or may be reduced to a minimum. If it is extended, it is, in general, slower than the main section and frequently focuses on the dominant key . It may or may not contain material that

6111-467: The mode of the second subject needs to be changed, for example in the opening movement of Mozart's wind serenade K. 388 . In rare cases, the second subject theme can be omitted, as in the finale of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto in D major. Occasionally, especially in some Romantic works, the sonata form extends only as far as the end of the exposition, at which point the piece transitions directly into

6208-517: The most common for the symphony . The usual order of the four movements was: When movements appeared out of this order they would be described as "reversed", such as the scherzo coming before the slow movement in Beethoven's 9th Symphony. This usage would be noted by critics in the early 19th century, and it was codified into teaching soon thereafter. It is difficult to overstate the importance of Beethoven's output of sonatas: 32 piano sonatas, plus sonatas for cello and piano or violin and piano, forming

6305-666: The most common layout of movements was: However, two-movement layouts also occur, a practice Haydn uses as late as the 1790s. There was also in the early Classical period the possibility of using four movements, with a dance movement inserted before the slow movement, as in Haydn's Piano sonatas No. 6 and No. 8. Mozart 's sonatas were also primarily in three movements. Of the works that Haydn labelled piano sonata , divertimento , or partita in Hob XIV , seven are in two movements, thirty-five are in three, and three are in four; and there are several in three or four movements whose authenticity

6402-404: The most exemplary achievements in the form, above all from Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , a compositional theory of the time did not use the term "sonata form". Perhaps the most extensive contemporary description of the sonata-form type of movement may have been given by the theorist Heinrich Christoph Koch in 1793: like earlier German theorists and unlike many of the descriptions of

6499-440: The movement. Another role that these codas sometimes serve is to return to the minor mode in minor-key movements where the recapitulation proper concludes in the parallel major, as in the first movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 or Schumann 's Piano Concerto , or rarely, to restore the home key after an off-tonic recapitulation, such as in the first movements of Brahms's Clarinet Quintet and Dvořák 's Symphony No. 9 . It

6596-467: The name Essercizi per il gravicembalo (Exercises for the Harpsichord). Most of these pieces are in one binary-form movement only, with two parts that are in the same tempo and use the same thematic material, though occasionally there will be changes in tempo within the sections. They are frequently virtuosic, and use more distant harmonic transitions and modulations than were common for other works of

6693-561: The next movement instead of a development section. One example is Henryk Wieniawski 's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor . Another example is Fritz Seitz 's Violin Concertos for students, where such a truncated sonata form is used ostensibly to cut down on the first movements' length. Sometimes, the third movement of such works is the recapitulation of the first movement (one example being Franz Strauss' Horn Concerto in C Minor), making

6790-433: The octave. In the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4 , the first subject group is in the tonic F minor but modulates to G ♯ minor and then to B major for the second subject group. The recapitulation begins in D minor and modulates to F major , and goes back to the parallel F minor for the coda. Also in the late Romantic period, it was possible for a minor-key sonata form movement to modulate to

6887-411: The opening movements of Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 and No. 3 . It is also possible for the first subject group to be slightly different in comparison of the exposition, like the fourth movement of Dvorak 's Symphony No. 9 . Another example occurs in the finale of Mozart's string quartet K. 387 , where the opening of the first subject group is cut, and in the quintet K. 515, where a later portion of

6984-490: The opening piano solo or early piano flourishes actually precede the start of the exposition proper. This presentation is also found in Classical-to-Romantic transition, such as Beethoven's piano concertos No. 4 or No. 5 , and Romantic concertos, like Grieg's A minor concerto or Brahms' B ♭ major concerto . A structural feature that the special textural situation of the concerto makes possible

7081-420: The originator of the term "sonata form". This model was derived from the study and criticism of Beethoven 's piano sonatas. A sonata-allegro movement is divided into sections. Each section is felt to perform specific functions in the musical argument . The term 'sonata form' is controversial and has been called misleading by scholars and composers almost from its inception. Its originators implied that there

7178-466: The other hand, the features of sonata da chiesa and sonata da camera then tended to be freely intermixed. Although nearly half of Johann Sebastian Bach 's 1,100 surviving compositions, arrangements, and transcriptions are instrumental works, only about 4% are sonatas. The term sonata is also applied to the series of over 500 works for harpsichord solo, or sometimes for other keyboard instruments, by Domenico Scarlatti , originally published under

7275-409: The plural in 'sonata forms'. These variations include, but are not limited to: Through the Romantic period, formal distortions and variations become so widespread ( Mahler , Elgar and Sibelius among others are cited and studied by James Hepokoski ) that 'sonata form' as it is outlined here is not adequate to describe the complex musical structures that it is often applied to. In the context of

7372-404: The practice and meaning of sonata form, style, and structure has been the motivation for important theoretical works by Heinrich Schenker , Arnold Schoenberg , and Charles Rosen among others; and the pedagogy of music continued to rest on an understanding and application of the rules of sonata form as almost two centuries of development in practice and theory had codified it. The development of

7469-412: The recapitulation begins again in D ♯ minor and ends in the relative major F ♯ major, and stays there till the end of the movement. Such a scheme may have been constructed to conform with the programmatic nature of the movement, but also fits well with the Romantic penchant for beginning a work at maximum tension and decreasing the tension afterwards, so that the point of ultimate stability

7566-411: The relative minor (first movements of Beethoven Triple Concerto and Brahms Piano Trio No. 1) or even the minor dominant (Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, i). In such cases, the second theme will often return initially in the tonic minor in the recapitulation, with the major mode restored later on. During the late Romantic period, it was also possible to modulate to remote tonal areas to represent divisions of

7663-412: The scheme i–v–VII. An extreme example is the finale to Schubert's Symphony No. 6 , D. 589, which has a six-key exposition (C major, A ♭ major, F major, A major, E ♭ , and G major), with a new theme for each key. The second subject group can start in a particular key and then modulate to that key's parallel major or minor. In the first movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 1 (in C minor),

7760-415: The second group. For instance, the first movement of the "Waldstein" sonata , in C major , modulates to the mediant E major , while the opening movement of the "Hammerklavier" sonata , in B ♭ major , modulates to the submediant G major , and String Quartet No. 13 in the same key modulating to the flattened submediant key of G ♭ major . Tchaikovsky also implemented this practice in

7857-454: The second quarter of the 19th century. There is little disagreement that on the largest level, the form consists of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation; however, beneath this general structure, sonata form is difficult to pin down to a single model. The standard definition focuses on the thematic and harmonic organization of tonal materials that are presented in an exposition , elaborated and contrasted in

7954-401: The second subject group begins in the relative E ♭ major and goes to the parallel mediant E ♭ minor . Similarly, the opening movement of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 in E minor has its second subject group start in the minor mediant G minor and then to its parallel G major. And in the opening movement of his Symphony No. 6 in D major , the first theme of the second subject group

8051-491: The second subject group but quickly goes through A minor to modulate back to tonic for the rest of the second subject group and coda. Romantic works even exhibit progressive tonality in sonata form: for example, the second movement 'Quasi-Faust' from Charles-Valentin Alkan 's Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges' is in D ♯ minor, and while the exposition travels from D ♯ to the major subdominant G ♯ major,

8148-423: The submediant D ♭ major , as do the F minor first movements of Brahms' first clarinet sonata and piano quintet ; all three works balance this downward third by moving up to the major mediant ( A ♭ major ) for the key of the second movement. Rarely, a major-mode sonata form movement will modulate to a minor key for the second subject area, such as the mediant minor (Beethoven Sonata Op. 31/1, i),

8245-469: The submediant major with more frequency in minor-key sonata-form movements, as in the first movements of Symphony No. 9 , Piano Sonata No. 32 , and String Quartets No. 11 and No. 15 . The latter case transposes the second repeat of its exposition by a fifth, starting on the minor dominant (instead of the tonic) and finishing on the major mediant (instead of the submediant). The first movement of Richard Strauss 's Symphony No. 2 , in F minor , modulates to

8342-470: The symphony in four. Ernest Newman wrote in the essay "Brahms and the Serpent": The role of the sonata as an extremely important form of extended musical argument would inspire composers such as Hindemith , Prokofiev , Shostakovich , Tailleferre , Ustvolskaya , and Williams to compose in sonata form, and works with traditional sonata structures continue to be composed and performed. Research into

8439-412: The term divertimento is used sparingly in his output. The term sonata was increasingly applied to either a work for keyboard alone (see piano sonata ), or for keyboard and one other instrument, often the violin or cello. It was less and less frequently applied to works with more than two instrumentalists; for example, piano trios were not often labelled sonata for piano, violin, and cello. Initially

8536-412: The term had taken on its present importance, along with the evolution of the Classical period's changing norms. The reasons for these changes, and how they relate to the evolving sense of a new formal order in music, is a matter to which research is devoted. Some common factors which were pointed to include: the shift of focus from vocal music to instrumental music; changes in performance practice, including

8633-418: The time. They were admired for their great variety and invention. Both the solo and trio sonatas of Vivaldi show parallels with the concerti he was writing at the same time. He composed over 70 sonatas, the great majority of which are of the solo type; most of the rest are trio sonatas, and a very small number are of the multivoice type. The sonatas of Domenico Paradies are mild and elongated works with

8730-408: The tonic can be used for either comic or dramatic effect. An example occurs in the first movement of Haydn's String Quartet in G major, Op. 76 No. 1. The recapitulation is an altered repeat of the exposition, and consists of: Exceptions to the recapitulation form include Mozart and Haydn works that often begin with the second subject group when the first subject group has been elaborated at length in

8827-410: The tonic minor, for example in the slow movement of Haydn's quartet Op. 76 No. 4 in E ♭ , or the opening movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 47 in G major. In the Classical period, the subdominant is the only possible substitute for the tonic at this position (because any other key would need resolution and would have to be introduced as a false reprise in the development), but with the erosion of

8924-415: The tonic, where the exposition began, and the second ending to point towards the development. In general, the development starts in the same key as the exposition ended, and may move through many different keys during its course. It will usually consist of one or more themes from the exposition altered and on occasion juxtaposed and may include new material or themes—though exactly what is acceptable practice

9021-402: The transition is i–III–v, an elaboration of the minor schema of either using i–III or i–v. This is by no means the only scheme, however: the opening movement of Schubert's Violin Sonata in G minor, D. 408, uses the scheme i–III–VI, and the opening movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 2 in B ♭ major, D. 125, uses the scheme I–IV–V. The first movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 5 uses

9118-525: The typical first movement in a three- or four-movement cycle will be in allegro tempo ). However, as what Grove, following Charles Rosen , calls a "principle"—a typical approach to shaping a large piece of instrumental music—it can be seen to be active in a much greater variety of pieces and genres , from minuet to concerto to sonata-rondo . It also carries with it expressive and stylistic connotations: "sonata style"—for Donald Tovey and other theorists of his time—was characterized by drama, dynamism, and

9215-407: Was a set template to which Classical and Romantic composers aspired, or should aspire. However, sonata form is currently viewed as a model for musical analysis, rather than compositional practice. Although the descriptions on this page could be considered an adequate analysis of many first-movement structures, there are enough variations that theorists such as Charles Rosen have felt them to warrant

9312-408: Was a very common way to achieve this, but other resources such as changes in texture, salient cadences and so on were also accepted practice. In some sonata-form works, especially in the Classical period, there is no transitional material linking the subject groups. Instead, the piece moves straight from the first subject group to the second subject group via common-tone modulation . This happens in

9409-463: Was the type "rightly known as Sonatas ", and the sonata da camera (proper for use at court), which consists of a prelude followed by a succession of dances, all in the same key. Although the four, five, or six movements of the sonata da chiesa are also most often in one key, one or two of the internal movements are sometimes in a contrasting tonality. The sonata da chiesa, generally for one or two violins and basso continuo , consisted normally of

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