…or at least for those of us who did not get a master in music.

When reading about classical music, we can encounter the description “Sonata Form”, and the mention that Haydn and Mozart invented it.

In fact, Haydn and Mozart likely never heard the term “Sonata form” which was coined by theorists long after the masters had composed their music. “Sonata Form” thus describes a balance, a proportionality between repetition and variations remarkably expressed by these composers, and that is easier to notice, or point out, than to explain in details.

In the video below, we do just that: highlight in RED the “PRIMARY theme” and its variations, and in BLUE, the SECONDARY theme and its variations…

The two themes, and main variation of the first theme, that anchor this first movement in the “Sonata Form” are shown below:

Questions, comments, please write Hervé at upcloseandclassical@gmail.com , or consider joining us for our last “Chamber Music Appreciatiion workshop” at the Long Beach Library, Mark Twain branch on Tuesday 11/26 at 5:30PM.