Piano Sonata No. 8 (Mozart)
| Piano Sonata in A minor | |
|---|---|
| No. 8 | |
| by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
 First page of the autograph | |
| Key | A minor |
| Catalogue | K. 310 / 300d |
| Style | Classical period |
| Composed | 1778 |
| Movements | Three (Allegro maestoso, Andante cantabile con espressione, Presto) |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310 / 300d, was written in 1778. The sonata is the first of only two Mozart piano sonatas in a minor key (the other being No. 14 in C minor, K. 457). It was composed in the summer of 1778 around the time of his mother's death, one of the most tragic times of his life.[1]
Background
Little is known about the precise circumstances surrounding the composition of the sonata; unlike the earlier Sonata in C major, K. 309/284b, it was little mentioned in his correspondence.[2] The surviving manuscript was written using the same type of paper used for the Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297/300a, which Mozart purchased while in Paris.[3]
The sonata is a rare minor key composition in Mozart's catalogue. Composed alongside the Violin Sonata No. 21 in E minor, K. 304/300c, it has been suggested that the sudden death of Mozart's mother may have lead to the more sombre mood found in these pieces.[4]
Structure
The composition, which typically takes around 22 minutes to perform, is in three movements:
- Allegro maestoso,
- Andante cantabile con espressione, F major, 3
4 - Presto, 2
4
References
- ^ Anderson 1990, p. 2.
- ^ Irving 1997, p. 62.
- ^ Irving 1997, p. 64.
- ^ Zaslaw & Cowdery 1990, p. 310-311.
Bibliography
- Anderson, Keith (1990). Mozart: Piano Sonatas, Vol. 1 (CD). Naxos Records. 8.550445.
- Irving, John (1997). Mozart's Piano Sonatas: Contexts, Sources, Style. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-49631-4.
- Zaslaw, Neal; Cowdery, William, eds. (1990). The Compleat Mozart: A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-02886-7.
Further reading
- Irving, John (2010). Understanding Mozart's Piano Sonatas. Ashgate Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7546-6769-8.
- Jaffe, Jane Vial (2015). "Program Notes: Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 300d (K. 310)". Parlance Chamber Concerts.
- Keefe, Simon P., ed. (2015). Mozart Studies 2. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-04423-4.
- Levin, Robert D. "Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time" (PDF). Bar-Ilan University.
- Moylan, Andrew L. (2014). Venerable Style, Form, and Avant-Garde in Mozart's Minor Key Piano Sonatas K. 310 and K. 457: Topic and Structure (M.Mus). University of Massachusetts Amherst.
- Thomas, Derek (2015). "The Formal Structure and Biographical Significance of Mozart's Sonata No. 8 K. 310 Movement I Allegro Maestoso" (PDF). Belmont University.
External links
Media related to Piano Sonata No. 8 (Mozart) at Wikimedia Commons- Sonate in a KV 310 (300d): Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
- Piano Sonata in A minor, K. 310(300d) (interactive score) on Verovio Humdrum Viewer (Alte Mozart-Ausgabe version)
- Piano Sonata No. 8: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Video on YouTube, Emil Gilels
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