Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart)

"Alla Turca" redirects here. For the general Turkish-inspired trend in European Music so called, see Turkish music (style).

The first two bars of Sonata in A, K331.  Play

Beginning of the third movement

The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 (300i), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a piano sonata in three movements. It is uncertain where and when Mozart composed the sonata; however, Vienna or Salzburg around 1783 is currently thought to be most likely (Paris and dates as far back as 1778 have also been suggested).

Structure

All sound files are based on MIDI files from the Mutopia Project unless otherwise specified.

1. Andante grazioso – a theme with six variations
2. Menuetto – a minuet and trio
3. Alla Turca – Allegretto

All of the movements are in the key of A major or A minor; therefore, the work is homotonal. A typical performance of this entire sonata takes about 20 minutes.

The last movement, "Alla Turca", popularly known as the "Turkish Rondo", is often heard on its own and is one of Mozart's best-known piano pieces; it was Mozart himself who titled the rondo "Alla Turca". It imitates the sound of Turkish Janissary bands, the music of which was much in vogue at that time. Various other works of the time imitate this Turkish style, including Mozart's own opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In Mozart's time, the last movement was sometimes performed on pianos built with a "Turkish stop", allowing it to be embellished with extra percussion effects.

Relationships to later compositions

• The theme of the first movement was used by Max Reger in one of his best known works, the Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914) for orchestra.
• Contrary to popular assumption, Dave Brubeck did not base the melody or harmony of his "Blue Rondo à la Turk" on those of the Turkish Rondo. During a 2003 interview, Brubeck commented that he "should've just called [his composition] 'Blue Rondo', because the title just seemed to confuse people."^{[citation needed]}

Scores

• Sonate in A KV 331: Score and critical report (German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
• Piano Sonata No. 11: Free scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Free scores of the Piano Sonata No. 11 at Mutopia Project
• Free sheet music of Piano Sonata No. 11 from Cantorion.org

External links

Media related to Piano Sonata No. 11 at Wikimedia Commons