Sonata
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Main Period: Classical

Composers


Haydn


Mozart


Beethoven


Schubert


Brahms


Mendelssohn

A Lady Seated at the Virginal (1675) by vermeer, National Gallery, London

Sonata
Among the most important forms in instrumental music. A multi movement composition. Its name originates in the Italian word "sonare" (to sound), and it indicates its being different from the cantata sung by a human voices - its being an instrumental form (played by instruments). The sonata turned from being a religious form of 4 movements contrasted in character in the 16th century, to a well-defined form in the classic era and later, usually played by one instrument - the solo-sonata (for a harpsichord, violin etc.).
The first movement of the symphony, designated for a grand orchestra, is written in the sonata form (also called Sonata-Allegro), and so is the concerto, designated for a solo instrument and an orchestra.
The father of the modern sonata is Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, son of the great J. S.Bach, who gave it its typical structure, and especially its well-defined first movement - the sonata-allegro. All great classical composers have written this way ever since, for different ensembles. Haydn wrote many pieces in the sonata form, and he is considered as the father of classic symphony, and so was Mozart. In the Romantic age the prominent composers in this field were Schubert, Brahms and Mendelssohn. Yet, and of even greater influence was Beethoven, who added a forth movement, and made the sonata form his main means of expression. His famous sonatas are the piano sonatas (the "Pathetique"Sonata No.8 in Cm, Op.13 'Pathetique' - Beethoven, "Appassionata" and "Moonlight"Part 1 from Sonata No.14 in C#m, Op.27 No.2 'Moonlight' - Beethoven sonatas), the "Kreutzer" Sonata for Violin and Piano; and of course, all his symphonies incorporate sonata movements. In all of his sonata movements, he expressed drama in a musical way, articulated sensations in an unprecedented way, and introduced bold harmonies.
In the Romantic period, composers abandoned the strict formulas of sonata, and gave their sonatas their own interpretation and structure, different from the classic sonata; yet the sonata itself was still an important form in the 20th century, fixed and uniform as before.

Sonata Allegro
A form used for the first movements of sonatas, symphonies, concertos, string quartet and other pieces, consisting of three main sections:

I. Exposition
II. Development
III. Recapitulation


Play
First Movement from Beethoven's
Sonata No.8 in Cm, Op.13 'Pathetique'
Play
Flute Sonata in F - Telemann
Play
First Movement from Beethoven's 'Moonlight' Sonata
No.14 in C#m, Op.27 No.2
Xtend

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Notes of Part 1 of Bach's Sonata BWV.1020
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