Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 498a
The Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 498a (Anh. 136), is a piano sonata in four movements. It was first printed in 1798 by P. J. Thonus in Leipzig on behalf of Breitkopf & Härtel and attributed to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; an edition printed in c. 1805 already credited it as opus 26 of the Thomascantor August Eberhard Müller (1767–1817).[1] Some publications still attribute it to Mozart, often as Piano Sonata No. 20.[2]
Form
A typical performance lasts for about 19 minutes. The movements are:
- Allegro (in B♭ major, common time, 132 bars)
- Andante (in E♭ major, 3
8 time, 67 bars) - Menuetto
Allegro (in B♭ major, 3
4 time, 35 bars)
Trio (in E♭ major, 3
4 time, 24 bars) - Rondo – Allegro (B♭ major, 6
8 time, 235 bars)
The musicologist Alfred Einstein suggested that the Menuetto from this work might be a piano arrangement of the "missing movement" of Mozart's Eine kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525 (1787).[3]
The Andante is an arrangement of the variations movement of the concerto K. 450 in B-flat major, and the Rondo incorporates arrangements of passages from the finales of the B-flat concerti K. 450, K. 456, and K. 595.
Recordings
- Vincenzo Balzani: Pagine rare per pianoforte / Wolfgango Amadeo Mozart (1980), Ducale CD 349/350[4]
- Transcription for chamber string orchestra recorded by the Hanover Band, Nimbus CD NI5228
References
- Neue Mozart-Ausgabe, vol. X/29/2, pp. b/99ff
- Sonata No. 20, p. 1, Bartok Consulting edition
- Einstein, Alfred (1965). Mozart: His Character, His Work. Translated by Arthur Mendel; Nathan Broder. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-19-500732-9. OCLC 31827291.
- "A recording of Piano Sonata in Bb K. Anh 136/498a". MozartForum.com. 12 February 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011.
External links
- Sonata in B-flat: Score and critical report (in German) in the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe
- Piano Sonata in B-flat major: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
- Recording of the first movement, played by Gil Sullivan on YouTube