Piano Sonata No. 1 (Mozart)
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
's Piano Sonata
No. 1 in C major
, K
279 (189d) (1774) is a sonata in three movements
. It was composed when Mozart was only 18 years old.
The opening Allegro features smooth thematic material, sometimes based on sharp dynamic contrasts, with a short development (only eighteen bars long). The development sections of the remaining two movements are much more substantial. The Andante is full of expressive shading, in large measure the result of Mozart’s harmonic freedom. Some of that same freedom characterizes the concluding Allegro, which zips along in its 2/4 meter. This features an unusually active part for the left hand, another extended development section, and a surprising close: Mozart rounds the sonata off with two firm chords, which he marks Coda.
A typical performance takes about 14 minutes.
The work was written down, except for the first part of the opening movement, during the visit Mozart paid to Munich for the production of La finta giardiniera
from late 1774 to the beginning of the following March.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
's Piano Sonata
Piano sonata
A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement , two movements , five or even more movements...
No. 1 in C major
C major
C major is a musical major scale based on C, with pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature has no flats/sharps.Its relative minor is A minor, and its parallel minor is C minor....
, K
Köchel-Verzeichnis
The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. It is abbreviated K or KV. For example, Mozart's Requiem in D minor was, according to Köchel's counting, the 626th piece Mozart composed....
279 (189d) (1774) is a sonata in three movements
Movement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
. It was composed when Mozart was only 18 years old.
- Allegro
- Andante
- Allegro
The opening Allegro features smooth thematic material, sometimes based on sharp dynamic contrasts, with a short development (only eighteen bars long). The development sections of the remaining two movements are much more substantial. The Andante is full of expressive shading, in large measure the result of Mozart’s harmonic freedom. Some of that same freedom characterizes the concluding Allegro, which zips along in its 2/4 meter. This features an unusually active part for the left hand, another extended development section, and a surprising close: Mozart rounds the sonata off with two firm chords, which he marks Coda.
A typical performance takes about 14 minutes.
The work was written down, except for the first part of the opening movement, during the visit Mozart paid to Munich for the production of La finta giardiniera
La finta giardiniera
La finta giardiniera , K. 196, is an Italian opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Mozart wrote it in Munich in January 1775 when he was 18 years old and it received its first performance on January 13 at the Salvatortheater in Munich...
from late 1774 to the beginning of the following March.