Piano Sonata No. 8 (Mozart)

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]

Piano Sonata in A minor
No. 8
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
First page of the autograph
KeyA minor
CatalogueK. 310 / 300d
StyleClassical period
Composed1778 (1778)
MovementsThree (Allegro maestoso, Andante cantabile con espressione, Presto)

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 that was used for the Symphony in D major, K. 297/300a, which Mozart purchased while in Paris.[3]

Structure

The composition, which typically takes around 22 minutes to perform, is in three movements:[4]

  1. Allegro maestoso, common time
  2. Andante cantabile con espressione, F major, 3/4
  3. Presto, 2/4

References

Notes

  1. Anderson 1990, p. 2.
  2. Irving 1997, p. 62.
  3. Irving 1997, p. 64.
  4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1996). Complete Sonatas and Fantasies for Solo Piano. Mineola, New York: Dover Publications. pp. 78–91. ISBN 0-486-29222-3.

Sources

Further reading
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