Compare and Contast Sonata Allegro Movements

Analysis of Two Sonata-Form Piano Movements

Beethoven and Haydn provide several examples of sonatas . Two piano sonatas in particular are Beethoven ‘s Piano Sonata No . 5 in C minor , and Haydn ‘s Piano Sonata No . 49 in C-sharp minor . Haydn wrote primarily in the mid to late 1700 ‘s , while Beethoven wrote about a hundred years later . For that reason , it is likely (and , in fact , true in these examples ) that Haydn ‘s style would be more typical of `normal ‘ sonata form

The Beethoven sonata begins with a short A theme (which [banner_entry_middle]

crashes staccato style between piano and forte , followed by a softer , more lyrical B theme . There is no transitional material between the A and B themes the A theme simply ends and the B theme begins in the next measure . There is only a brief pause between them . The exposition repeats , and lasts unusually long before the transition and development begin . The transition is very brief , only a few measures , and the development is also fairly brief . The recapitulation begins shortly afterwards

The sonata form is rather unclear throughout the piece – it is not a standard example by any means . The A theme is solidly in C minor , but the B theme is major . It is not the dominant , which is extremely unusual it is probably in V /iv . It is difficult to tell what key it is in during the B theme as there is no transition , which is traditional and it is not in the dominant . The recapitulation of this movement is two simple chords that are struck in staccato fashion , similar to the A theme material . The chords sound like V-I , which is a standard ending The tonic-dominant relationship in this movement isn ‘t as strong as it would ordinarily be in a sonata transitions are unclear or unused keys are unusual . This is an odd example of sonata form

The Haydn sonata is a much more typical example of sonata form . It begins with an A theme in the exposition in C minor , and moves , with a brief transition , into a B theme in the dominant . The A theme is a contrast between a forte staccato section , and a piano lyrical section very similar to the Beethoven piece . The B theme is in general more lyrical and flowing than the A theme although it has staccato moments as well . The motives are very obvious , so it is easy to tell when the themes return , which they do throughout the movement . The exposition repeats

Afterwards , a development begins , with a very brief x ‘ section at the beginning as transitional material . The development contains a sequence in the middle of it , and the piece goes through several key changes there , landing on a V7 – I to finish the sequence . This sequence repeats later in the movement as well , just before the beginning of the recapitulation . The sequence is characterized by the emphasis of the bass in half notes with sixteenth notes playing over the top . It… [banner_entry_footer]