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Sonata form
Sonata form (also sonata­allegro  form or
first movement form) is a musical structure
consisting of three main sections: an
exposition, a development, and a
recapitulation. It has been used widely since
the middle of the 18th century (the early
Simplest sonata form pattern and its relation to binary form.[1]:57
Classical period).

While it is typically used in the first

movement of multi-movement pieces, it is
sometimes used in subsequent movements
as well—particularly the final movement.
The teaching of sonata form in music theory
Classical sonata form in a minor key.[2]
rests on a standard definition and a series of
hypotheses about the underlying reasons for
the durability and variety of the form—a
definition that arose in the second quarter of
the 19th century.[5] There is little
disagreement that on the largest level, the
form consists of three main sections: an
Early examples of sonata form resemble two-reprise continuous
exposition, a development, and a
ternary form.[3]
recapitulation;[6]:359 however, beneath this
general structure, sonata form is difficult to
pin down to a single model.

The standard definition focuses on the

thematic and harmonic organization of tonal
Sonata form, optional features in parentheses.[4]
materials that are presented in an
exposition, elaborated and contrasted in a
development and then resolved harmonically and thematically in a recapitulation. In addition, the standard definition
recognizes that an introduction and a coda may be present. Each of the sections is often further divided or
characterized by the particular means by which it accomplishes its function in the form.

After its establishment, the sonata form became the most common form in the first movement of works entitled
"sonata", as well as other long works of classical music, including the symphony, concerto, string quartet, and so
on.[6]:359 Accordingly, there is a large body of theory on what unifies and distinguishes practice in the sonata form,
both within eras and between eras. Even works that do not adhere to the standard description of a sonata form often
present analogous structures or can be analyzed as elaborations or expansions of the standard description of sonata
form.

Contents
Defining 'sonata form'
Definition as a formal model

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Outline of sonata form

Introduction
Exposition
Development
Recapitulation
Coda
Variations on the standard schema
Monothematic expositions
Expositions that modulate to other keys
Expositions with more than two key areas
Modulations within the first subject group
Recapitulations in the "wrong key"
Recapitulation "destruct"
Truncated sonata form
Sonata form in concerti
The history of sonata form
Sonata form and other musical forms
Theory of sonata form
Musical criticism and sonata form
See also
References
Further reading

Defining 'sonata form'
According to the Grove  Dictionary  of  Music  and  Musicians,
sonata form is "the most important principle of musical form,
or formal type, from the Classical period well into the 20th
century".[7] As a formal model it is usually best exemplified in
the first movements of multi-movement works from this
period, whether orchestral or chamber, and has, thus, been
referred to frequently as "first-movement form" or "sonata-
allegro form" (since the typical first movement in a three- or
four-movement cycle will be in allegro tempo). However, as Baroque binary forms roots in sonata form[1]:57
what Grove, following Charles Rosen, calls a "principle"—a
typical approach to shaping a large piece of instrumental
music—it can be seen to be active in a much greater variety of pieces and genres, from minuet to concerto to sonata-
rondo. It also carries with it expressive and stylistic connotations: "sonata style", for Donald Tovey as for other
theorists of his time, was characterized by drama, dynamism, and a "psychological" approach to theme and
expression.[7]

Although the Italian term sonata often refers to a piece in sonata form, it is essential to separate the two. As the title
for a single-movement piece of instrumental music—the past participle of suonare, "to sound", as opposed to cantata,
the past participle of cantare, "to sing"—"sonata" covers many pieces from the Baroque and mid-18th century that are
not "in sonata form". Conversely, in the late 18th century or "Classical" period, the title "sonata" is typically given to a
work composed of three or four movements. Nonetheless, this multi-movement sequence is not what is meant by
sonata form, which refers to the structure of an individual movement.

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The definition of sonata form in terms of musical elements sits uneasily between two historical eras. Although the late
18th century witnessed the most exemplary achievements in the form, above all from Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart, compositional theory of the time did not use the term "sonata form". Perhaps the most extensive
contemporary description of the sonata-form type of movement may have been given by the theorist H. C. Koch in
1793: like earlier German theorists and unlike many of the descriptions of the form we are used to today, he defined it
in terms of the movement's plan of modulation and principal cadences, without saying a great deal about the treatment
of themes. Seen in this way, sonata form was closest to binary form, out of which it probably developed.[7]

The model of the form that is often taught currently tends to be more thematically differentiated. It was originally
promulgated by Anton Reicha in Traité de haute composition musicale in 1826, by Adolf Bernhard Marx in Die Lehre
von  der  musikalischen  Komposition in 1845, and by Carl Czerny in 1848. Marx may be the originator of the term
"sonata form". This model was derived from study and criticism of Beethoven's piano sonatas.

Definition as a formal model

A sonata-allegro movement is divided into sections. Each section is felt to perform specific functions in the musical
argument.

It may begin with an introduction, which is, in general, slower than the main movement. In terms of structure,
introductions are an upbeat before the main musical argument.
The first required section is the exposition. The exposition presents the primary thematic material for the
movement: one or two themes or theme groups, often in contrasting styles and in opposing keys, connected by a
modulating transition. The exposition typically concludes with a closing theme, a codetta, or both.
The exposition is followed by the development where the harmonic and textural possibilities of the thematic
material are explored.
The development then re-transitions back to the recapitulation where the thematic material returns in the tonic key,
and for the recapitulation to complete the musical argument, material that has not been stated in the tonic key is
"resolved" by being played, in whole or in part, in the tonic.
The movement may conclude with a coda, beyond the final cadence of the recapitulation.
The term 'sonata form' is controversial and has been called misleading by scholars and composers almost from its
inception. Its originators implied that there was a set template to which Classical and Romantic composers aspired, or
should aspire. However, sonata form is currently viewed as a model for musical analysis, rather than compositional
practice. Although the descriptions on this page could be considered an adequate analysis of many first-movement
structures, there are enough variations that theorists such as Charles Rosen have felt them to warrant the plural in
'sonata forms'.[5]

These variations include, but are not limited to:

a monothematic exposition, where the same material is presented in different keys, often used by Haydn;
a 'third subject group' in a different key than the other two, used by Schubert (e.g. in the String Quintet, D. 956),
Brahms, and Bruckner;
the first subject recapitulated in the 'wrong' key, often the subdominant, as in Mozart's Piano Sonata No. 16 in C,
K. 545 and Schubert's Symphony No. 5;
the second subject group recapitulated in a key other than the tonic, as in Richard Strauss's Symphony No. 2.
and an extended coda section that pursues developmental, rather than concluding, processes, often found in
Beethoven's middle-period works, such as his Symphony No. 3.
Through the Romantic period, formal distortions and variations become so widespread (Mahler, Elgar and Sibelius
among others are cited and studied by James Hepokoski) that 'sonata form' as it is outlined here is not adequate to
describe the complex musical structures that it is often applied to.

In the context of the many late-Baroque extended binary forms that bear similarities to sonata form, sonata form can
be distinguished by the following three characteristics:[7]

a separate development section including a retransition

the simultaneous return of the first subject group and the tonic

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a full (or close to full) recapitulation of the second subject group

Outline of sonata form
The standard description of the sonata form is:

Introduction
The Introduction section is optional, or may be reduced to a minimum. If it is extended, it is, in general, slower than
the main section and frequently focuses on the dominant key. It may or may not contain material that is later stated in
the exposition. The introduction increases the weight of the movement (such as the famous dissonant introduction to
Mozart's "Dissonance" Quartet, KV 465), and also permits the composer to begin the exposition with a theme that
would be too light to start on its own, as in Haydn's Symphony No. 103 ("The Drumroll") and Beethoven's Quintet for
Piano and Winds Op. 16. The introduction usually is not included in the exposition repeat: the Pathétique is a possible
counterexample. Much later, Chopin's Piano Sonata No. 2 (Op. 35) is a clear example where the introduction is so
included.

On occasion, the material of introduction reappears in its original tempo later in the movement. Often, this occurs as
late as the coda, as in Mozart's String Quintet in D major KV 593, Haydn's "Drumroll" Symphony, Beethoven's Piano
Sonata No. 8 ("Pathétique"), or Schubert's Symphony No. 9 ("Great"). Sometimes it can appear earlier: it occurs at the
beginning of the development in the Pathétique Sonata, and at the beginning of the recapitulation of Schubert's
Symphony No. 1.

Exposition
The primary thematic material for the movement is presented in the Exposition. This section can be further divided
into several sections. The same section in most sonata form movements has prominent harmonic and thematic
parallelisms (although in some works from the 19th century and onward, some of these parallelisms are subject to
considerable exceptions), which include:

First subject group, P (Prime) – this consists of one or more themes, all
of them in the tonic key. Although some pieces are written differently,
most follow this form.

Transition, T – in this section the composer modulates from the key of

the first subject to the key of the second. If the first group is in a major
key, the second group will usually be in the dominant key. However, if
the first group is in minor key, the second group will usually be the First theme (G major) and transition
relative major. from counterstatement (to D major)
from Haydn's Keyboard Sonata,
Second subject group, S – one or more themes in a different key from Hob. XVI: G1, I, mm. 1–12
the first group. The material of the second group is often different in
rhythm or mood from that of the first group (frequently, it is more  Play .[6]:136
lyrical).
Codetta, K – the purpose of this is to bring the exposition section to a
close with a perfect cadence in the same key as the second group. It is
not always used, and some works end the exposition on the second
subject group.
Start of second subject (D major) of
The exposition is commonly repeated, particularly in classical works, and Haydn's Sonata in G Major, Hob.
more likely in solo or chamber works than for concerti. Often, though not XVI: G1, I, mm. 13–16  Play .
always, the last measure or measures of the exposition are slightly different
between the repeats, one to point back to the tonic, where the exposition
began, and the second to point towards the development.

Development
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In general, the Development starts in the same key as the exposition ended,
and may move through many different keys during its course. It will usually
consist of one or more themes from the exposition altered and on occasion
juxtaposed and may include new material or themes—though exactly what
is acceptable practice is a point of contention. Alterations include taking End of second subject and Codetta
material through distant keys, breaking down of themes and sequencing of (D major) of Haydn's Sonata in G
motifs, and so forth. Major, Hob. XVI: G1, I, mm. 17–28
 Play 
The development varies greatly in length from piece to piece and from time
period to time period, sometimes being relatively
short compared to the exposition (e.g., the first
movement of Eine  kleine  Nachtmusik) and in other
cases quite long and detailed (e.g., the first
movement of the "Eroica" Symphony). Developments
in the Classical era are typically shorter due to how
much composers of that era valued symmetry, unlike
the more expressive Romantic era in which
development sections gain a much greater
importance. However, it almost always shows a
greater degree of tonal, harmonic, and rhythmic
instability than the other sections. In a few cases,
usually in late Classical and early Romantic Development Haydn's Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI: G1, I,
concertos, the development section consists of or mm. 29–53  Play .[6]:138–139

ends with another exposition, often in the relative

minor of the tonic key.

At the end, the music will usually return to the tonic key in preparation of the recapitulation. (On occasion, it will
actually return to the sub-dominant key and then proceed with the same transition as in the exposition). The transition
from the development to the recapitulation is a crucial moment in the work.

The last part of the development section is called the

Retransition: It prepares for the return of the first
subject group in the tonic, most often through a
grand prolongation of the dominant seventh. In Retransition Haydn's Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI: G1, I,
addition, the character of the music would signal mm. 54–57  Play .[6]:140
such a return.

Exceptions include the first movement of Brahms's Piano Sonata No. 1. The general key of the movement is C major,
and it would then follow that the retransition should stress the dominant seventh chord on G. Instead, it builds in
strength over the dominant seventh chord on C, as if the music were proceeding to F major, only to take up
immediately the first theme in C major. Another exception is the fourth movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 9. The
home key of the movement is C major. The retransition prolongates over the dominant chord on G, but suddenly takes
up the first theme in the flattened mediant E♭ major.

A particularly common exception is for the dominant to be substituted with the dominant of the relative minor key:
one example is the first movement of Haydn's String Quartet in E major, Op. 54 No. 3.

Occasionally, the retransition can begin with a false recapitulation, in which the opening material of the first theme
group is presented before the development has completed. The surprise that ensues when the music continues to
modulate toward the tonic can be used for either comic or dramatic effect. An example occurs in the first movement of
Haydn's String Quartet in G major, Op. 76 No. 1.

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Recapitulation
The Recapitulation is an altered repeat of the
exposition, and consists of:

First subject group – normally given prominence

as the highlight of a recapitulation, it is usually in
exactly the same key and form as in the
exposition.
Transition – often the transition is carried out by
introducing a novel material: a kind of an
additional brief development. It is called a
"secondary development".
Second subject group – usually in roughly the Recapitulation Haydn's Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI: G1,
same form as in the exposition, but now in the I, mm. 58–80  Play .[6]:140–141
home key, which sometimes involves change of
mode from major to minor, or vice versa, as
occurs in the first movement of Mozart's
Symphony No. 40 (K. 550). More often, however, it may be recast in the parallel major of the home key (for
example, C major when the movement is in C minor like Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 in C Minor, op. 67/I). Key
here is more important than mode (major or minor); the recapitulation provides the needed balance even if the
material's mode is changed, so long as there is no longer any key conflict.
Exceptions to the recapitulation form include Mozart and Haydn works that often begin with the second subject group
when the first subject group has been elaborated at length in the development. If a theme from the second subject
group has been elaborated at length in the development in a resolving key such as the tonic major or minor or the
subdominant, it may also be omitted from the recapitulation. Examples include the opening movements of Mozart's
piano sonata in C minor, KV 457 and Haydn's String Quartet in G major, Op. 77 No. 1.

After the closing cadence, the musical argument proper is said to be completed harmonically. If the movement
continues, it is said to have a coda.

Coda
The Coda is optional. After the final cadence of the
recapitulation, the movement may continue with a
coda which will contain material from the movement
proper. Codas, when present, vary considerably in
length, but like introductions are not part of the
"argument" of the work. The coda will end, however,
with a perfect authentic cadence in the original key. Coda to Mozart's Sonata in C Major, K. 309, I, mm. 152–
Codas may be quite brief tailpieces, or they may be 155; last bars of recapitulation also presented for context
very long and elaborate. An example of the more  Play .[6]:151
extended type is the coda to the first movement of
Beethoven's Eroica Symphony, and an exceptionally
long coda appears at the end of the finale of Beethoven's Symphony No. 8.

Explanations for why an extended coda is present vary. One reason may be to omit the repeat of the development and
recapitulation sections found in earlier sonata forms of the 18th century. Indeed, Beethoven's extended codas often
serve the purpose of further development of thematic material. Another role that these codas sometimes serve is to
return to the minor mode in minor-key movements where the recapitulation proper concludes in the parallel major, as
in the first movements of Beethoven's Symphony No. 5 or Schumann's Piano Concerto, or rarely, to restore the home
key after an off-tonic recapitulation, such as in the first movements of Brahms's Clarinet Quintet and Dvořák's
Symphony No. 9.

Variations on the standard schema
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Monothematic expositions
It is not necessarily the case that the move to the dominant key in the exposition is marked by a new theme. Haydn in
particular was fond of using the opening theme, often in a truncated or otherwise altered form, to announce the move
to the dominant, as in the first movement of his Sonata Hob. XVI No. 49 in E♭ major. Mozart also occasionally wrote
such expositions: for instance in the Piano Sonata K. 570 or the String Quintet K. 593. Such expositions are often called
monothematic, meaning that one theme serves to establish the opposition between tonic and dominant keys. This
term is misleading, since most "monothematic" works have multiple themes: most works so labeled have additional
themes in the second subject group. Rarely, as in the fourth movement of Haydn's String Quartet in B♭ major, Op. 50,
No. 1, did composers perform the tour de force of writing a complete sonata exposition with just one theme. A more
recent example is Edmund Rubbra's Symphony No. 2.

The fact that so-called monothematic expositions usually have additional themes is used by Charles Rosen to illustrate
his theory that the Classical sonata form's crucial element is some sort of dramatization of the arrival of the dominant.
Using a new theme was a very common way to achieve this, but other resources such as changes in texture, salient
cadences and so on were also accepted practice.

Expositions that modulate to other keys

The key of the second subject may be something other than the dominant (for a major-mode sonata movement) or
relative major (for a minor-key movement). A second option for minor-mode sonata form movements was to modulate
to the minor dominant; this option, however, robs the sonata structure of the space of relief and comfort that a major-
mode second theme would bring, and was therefore used primarily for a bleak, grim effect, as Beethoven did with some
frequency.

About halfway through his career, Beethoven also began to experiment with other tonal relationships between the tonic
and the second subject group. The most common practice, for Beethoven and many other composers from the
Romantic era, was to use the mediant or submediant, rather than the dominant, for the second group. For instance, the
first movement of the "Waldstein" sonata, in C major, modulates to the mediant E major, while the opening movement
of the "Hammerklavier" sonata, in B♭ major, modulates to the submediant G major, and String Quartet No. 13 in the
same key modulating to the flattened submediant key of G♭ major. Tchaikovsky also implemented this practice in the
last movement of his Symphony No. 2; the movement is in C major and modulates to the flattened submediant A ♭
major. The young Chopin even experimented with expositions that do not modulate at all, in the opening movements
of his Piano Sonata No. 1 (remaining in C minor throughout) and his Piano Concerto No. 1 (moving from E minor to E
major).

Beethoven began also to use the submediant major with more frequency in minor-key sonata-form movements, as in
the first movements of Symphony No. 9, Piano Sonata No. 32, and String Quartets No. 11 and No. 15. Interestingly, the
latter case transposes the second repeat of its exposition by a fifth, starting on the minor dominant (instead of the
tonic) and finishing on the major mediant (instead of the submediant). The first movement of Richard Strauss's
Symphony No. 2, in F minor, modulates to the submediant D♭ minor, as do the F minor first movements of Brahms'
first clarinet sonata and piano quintet; all three works balance this downward third by moving up to the major mediant
(A♭ major) for the key of the second movement.

Rarely, a major-mode sonata form movement will modulate to a minor key for the second subject area, such as the
mediant minor (Beethoven Sonata Op. 31/1, i), the relative minor (first movements of Beethoven Triple Concerto and
Brahms Piano Trio No. 1) or even the minor dominant (Brahms Piano Concerto No. 2, i). In such cases, the second
theme will often return initially in the tonic minor in the recapitulation, with the major mode restored later on.

During the late Romantic period, it was also possible to modulate to remote tonal areas to represent divisions of the
octave. In the first movement of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, the first subject group is in the tonic F minor but
modulates to G♯ minor and then to B major for the second subject group. The recapitulation begins in D minor and
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modulates to F major, and goes back to the parallel F minor for the coda.

Also in the late Romantic period, it was possible for a minor-key sonata form movement to modulate to the major
dominant, as in the first movements of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 1 and Brahms' Symphony No. 4. Another
possibility for minor-key sonata form movements was to modulate to the mediant minor, as in the first movement of
Brahms' Symphony No. 1; the second subject group starts in the relative E♭ major and then goes to the parallel mediant
E♭ minor.

Expositions with more than two key areas

The exposition needs not only to have two key areas. Some composers, most notably Schubert, composed sonata forms
with three or more key areas. The first movement of Schubert's Quartet in D minor, D. 810 ("Death and the Maiden"),
for example, has three separate key and thematic areas, in D minor, F major, and A minor.[8] Similarly, Chopin's Piano
Concerto in F minor uses F minor, A ♭ major, and C minor in its first movement's exposition. In both cases, the
transition is i–♭III–v, an elaboration of the minor schema of either using i–♭III or i–v. This is by no means the only
scheme, however: the opening movement of Schubert's Violin Sonata in G minor, D. 408, uses the scheme i–♭III–♭VI,
and the opening movement of Schubert's Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major, D. 125, uses the scheme I–IV–V. An extreme
example is the finale to Schubert's Symphony No. 6, D. 589, which has a six-key exposition (C major, A ♭ major, F
major, A major, E♭, and G major), with a new theme for each key.

Modulations within the first subject group

The first subject group need not be entirely in the tonic key. In the more complex sonata expositions there can be brief
modulations to fairly remote keys, followed by reassertion of the tonic. For example, Mozart's String Quintet in C, K.
515, visits C minor and D♭ major as chromaticism within the C-major first subject group, before finally moving to D
major, the dominant of the dominant major (G major), preparing the second subject group in the dominant. Many
works by Schubert and later composers utilized even further harmonic convolutions. In the first subject group of
Schubert's Piano Sonata in B♭, D. 960, for example, the theme is presented three times, in B♭ major, in G♭ major, and
then again in B ♭ major. The second subject group is even more wide-ranging. It begins in F ♯ minor, moves into A
major, then through B♭ major to F major.[9]

Recapitulations in the "wrong key"

In the recapitulation section, the key of the first subject group may be in a key other than tonic, most often in the
subdominant, known as a "subdominant recapitulation". In some pieces by Haydn and Mozart, such as Mozart's Piano
Sonata No. 16 in C, K. 545, or the finale of his String Quartet No. 14 in G, K. 387, the first subject group will be in the
subdominant and then modulate back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. Schubert was a prominent user
of the subdominant recapitulation; it appears for example in the opening movements of his Symphonies No. 2 and No.
5, as well as those of his piano sonatas D 279, D 459, D 537, D 575, as well as the finale of D 664. Sometimes this effect
is also used for false reprises in the "wrong key" that are soon followed by the actual recapitulation in the tonic, such as
in the first movement of Haydn's quartet Op. 76 No. 1 in G (false reprise in the subdominant), or the finale of
Schubert's piano sonata in A, D 959 (false reprise in the major submediant). A special case is the recapitulation that
begins in the tonic minor, for example in the slow movement of Haydn's quartet Op. 76 No. 4 in E♭, or the opening
movement of Haydn's Symphony No. 47 in G major. In the Classical period, the subdominant is the only possible
substitute for the tonic at this position (because any other key would need resolution and would have to be introduced
as a false reprise in the development), but with the erosion of the distinction between the sharp and flat directions and
the blurring of tonal areas recapitulations beginning in other keys became possible after around 1825.

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It is also possible for the first subject group to begin in tonic (or a key other than tonic), modulate to another key and
then back to tonic for the second subject group. In the finale of the original 1872 version of Tchaikovsky's Symphony
No. 2, the first subject group begins in the tonic C major, modulates to E ♭ major, then through E major, and then
modulates back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. And in the last movement of Schubert's Symphony No.
9 in C major, the first subject group is in the flattened mediant E♭ major, modulates to the subdominant F major and
then back to tonic for the second subject group and coda. It is also possible to have the second subject group in a key
other than tonic while the first subject group is in the home key. For instance in the first movement of Richard
Strauss's Symphony No. 2 in F minor, the recapitulation begins with the first subject group in tonic but modulates to
the mediant A♭ major for the second subject group before modulating back to F minor for the coda. Some Romantic
works even exhibit progressive tonality in sonata form: for example, the second movement 'Quasi-Faust' from Charles-
Valentin Alkan's Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges' is in D♯ minor, and while the exposition travels from D♯ to the major
subdominant G♯ major, the recapitulation begins again in D♯ minor and ends in the relative major F♯ major, and stays
there till the end of the movement. Such a scheme may have been constructed to conform with the programmatic
nature of the movement, but also fits well with the Romantic penchant for beginning a work at maximum tension and
decreasing the tension afterwards, so that the point of ultimate stability is not reached until the last possible moment.
(Furthermore, the identification of a minor key with its relative major is common in the Romantic period, supplanting
the earlier Classical identification of a minor key with its parallel major.)

Recapitulation "destruct"
In some pieces in sonata form, in the recapitulation, the first subject group is omitted, leaving only the second subject
group, like the second movement of Haydn's Sonata Hob. XVI/35, as well as the opening movements of Chopin's Piano
Sonata No. 2 and No. 3. It is also possible for the first subject group to be slightly different in comparison of the
exposition, like the fourth movement of Dvorak's Symphony No. 9. Another example occurs in the finale of Mozart's
string quartet KV 387, where the opening of the first subject group is cut, and in the quintet KV 515, where a later
portion of the first subject group is cut. On the other hand, it is also possible for the subject groups to be reversed in
order, like the fourth movement of Bruckner's Symphony No. 7, or the first movement of Mozart's piano sonata in D
major, KV 311. It is also possible for the second subject group to be omitted, like the fourth movement of
Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5, as well as the second movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 9. The second
subject group's melody can be different compared to the exposition, like Haydn's Symphony No. 44. Such melodic
adjustment is common in minor-key sonata forms, when the mode of the second subject needs to be changed, for
example in the opening movement of Mozart's wind serenade KV 388.

Truncated sonata form

Occasionally, especially in some Romantic works, the sonata form extends only as far as the end of the exposition, at
which point the piece transitions directly into the next movement instead of a development section. One example is
Henryk Wieniawski's Violin Concerto No. 2 in D minor. Another example is Fritz Seitz's Violin Concertos for students,
where such a truncated sonata form is used ostensibly to cut down on the first movements' length. Sometimes, the
third movement of such works is the recapitulation of the first movement (one example being Franz Strauss' Horn
Concerto in C Minor), making the entire work effectively a single-movement sonata.

Some Classical slow movements involve a different sort of truncation, in which the development section is replaced
altogether by a short retransition. This occurs in the slow movements of Mozart's quartets KV 387, KV 458, KV 465, KV
575, and KV 589. It is also common in overtures, occurring for example in Schubert's Overture in the Italian Style in C,
D 590. This is distinct from a short development, such as in the opening movement of Mozart's Violin Sonata in G
major, KV 379.

Sonata form in concerti
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An important variant on traditional sonata-allegro form is found in the first movement of the Classical concerto. Here,
the sonata-allegro's customary 'repeated exposition' is replaced by two different but related sections: the 'tutti
exposition' and the 'solo exposition'. Prototypically the 'tutti exposition' does not feature the soloist (except, in early
classical works, in a 'continuo' role), and does not contain the decisive sonata-exposition modulation to the secondary
key. Only when the 'solo exposition' is under way does the solo instrument assert itself and participate in the move to
(classically) the dominant or relative major. The situation is only seemingly different in the case of such late classical
works as Beethoven's piano concertos No. 4 and No. 5, where the soloist is heard at the outset: as the later unfolding of
those movements makes clear, the opening piano solo or early piano flourishes actually precede the start of the
exposition proper. This device is also found in an early Mozart concerto, No. 9, as well as in many Romantic concertos,
such as Grieg's A minor concerto or Brahms' B♭ major concerto.

A structural feature that the special textural situation of the concerto makes possible is the 'ownership' of certain
themes or materials by the solo instrument; such materials will thus not be exposed until the 'solo' exposition. Mozart
was fond of deploying his themes in this way.

Towards the end of the recapitulation of a concerto movement in sonata form, there is usually a cadenza for the soloist
alone. This has an improvisatory character (it may or may not actually be improvised), and, in general, serves to
prolong the harmonic tension on a dominant-quality chord before the orchestra ends the piece in the tonic.

The history of sonata form
The term sonata is first found in the 17th century, when instrumental music had just begun to become increasingly
separated from vocal music. The original meaning of the term (derived from the Italian word suonare, to sound on
instrument) referred to a piece for playing, distinguished from cantata, a piece for singing. At this time, the term
implies a binary form, usually AABB with some aspects of three part forms. Early examples of simple pre-Classical
sonata forms include Pergolesi's Trio Sonata No. 3 in G Major.[1]:57

The Classical era established the norms of structuring first movements and the standard layouts of multi-movement
works. There was a period of a wide variety of layouts and formal structures within first movements that gradually
became expected norms of composition. The practice of Haydn and Mozart, as well as other notable composers,
became increasingly influential on a generation that sought to exploit the possibilities offered by the forms that Haydn
and Mozart had established in their works. In time, theory on the layout of the first movement became more and more
focused on understanding the practice of Haydn, Mozart, and, later, Beethoven. Their works were studied, patterns
and exceptions to those patterns identified, and the boundaries of acceptable or usual practice set by the
understanding of their works. The sonata form as it is described is strongly identified with the norms of the Classical
period in music. Even before it had been described the form had become central to music making, absorbing or
altering other formal schemas for works. Examples include Beethoven's Appassionata sonata.[1]:59

The Romantic era in music was to accept the centrality of this practice, codify the form explicitly and make
instrumental music in this form central to concert and chamber composition and practice, in particular for works that
were meant to be regarded as "serious" works of music. Various controversies in the 19th century would center on
exactly what the implications of "development" and sonata practice actually meant, and what the role of the Classical
masters was in music. It is ironic that, at the same time that the form was being codified (by the likes of Czerny and so
forth), composers of the day were writing works that flagrantly violated some of the principles of the codified form.

It has continued to be influential through the subsequent history of classical music through to the modern period. The
20th century brought a wealth of scholarship that sought to found the theory of the sonata form on basic tonal laws.
The 20th century would see a continued expansion of acceptable practice, leading to the formulation of ideas by which
there existed a "sonata principle" or "sonata idea" that unified works of the type, even if they did not explicitly meet the
demands of the normative description.

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Sonata form and other musical forms
Sonata form shares characteristics with both binary form and ternary form. In terms of key relationships, it is very like
binary form, with a first half moving from the home key to the dominant and the second half moving back again (this is
why sonata form is sometimes known as compound  binary  form); in other ways it is very like ternary form, being
divided into three sections, the first (exposition) of a particular character, the second (development) in contrast to it,
the third section (recapitulation) the same as the first.

The early binary sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti provide excellent examples of the transition from binary to sonata-
allegro form. Among the many sonatas are numerous examples of the true sonata form being crafted into place.

Theory of sonata form
The sonata form is a guide to composers as to the schematic for their works, for interpreters to understand the
grammar and meaning of a work, and for listeners to understand the significance of musical events. A host of musical
details are determined by the harmonic meaning of a particular note, chord or phrase. The sonata form, because it
describes the shape and hierarchy of a movement, tells performers what to emphasize, and how to shape phrases of
music. Its theory begins with the description, in the 18th century, of schematics for works, and was codified in the early
19th century. This codified form is still used in the pedagogy of the sonata form.

In the 20th century, emphasis moved from the study of themes and keys to how harmony changed through the course
of a work and the importance of cadences and transitions in establishing a sense of "closeness" and "distance" in a
sonata. The work of Heinrich Schenker and his ideas about "foreground", "middleground", and "background" became
enormously influential in the teaching of composition and interpretation. Schenker believed that inevitability was the
key hallmark of a successful composer, and that, therefore, works in sonata form should demonstrate an inevitable
logic.

In the simplest example, playing of a cadence should be in relationship to the importance of that cadence in the overall
form of the work. More important cadences are emphasized by pauses, dynamics, sustaining and so on. False or
deceptive cadences are given some of the characteristics of a real cadence, and then this impression is undercut by
going forward more quickly. For this reason, changes in performance practice bring changes to the understanding of
the relative importance of various aspects of the sonata form. In the Classical era, the importance of sections and
cadences and underlying harmonic progressions gives way to an emphasis on themes. The clarity of strongly
differentiated major and minor sections gives way to a more equivocal sense of key and mode. These changes produce
changes in performance practice: when sections are clear, then there is less need to emphasize the points of
articulation. When they are less clear, greater importance is placed on varying the tempo during the course of the
music to give "shape" to the music.

Over the last half-century, a critical tradition of examining scores, autographs, annotations, and the historical record
has changed, sometimes subtly, on occasion dramatically, the way the sonata form is viewed. It has led to changes in
how works are edited; for example, the phrasing of Beethoven's piano works has undergone a shift to longer and longer
phrases that are not always in step with the cadences and other formal markers of the sections of the underlying form.
Comparing the recordings of Schnabel, from the beginning of modern recording, with those of Barenboim and then
Pratt shows a distinct shift in how the structure of the sonata form is presented to the listener over time.

For composers, the sonata form is like the plot of a play or movie script, describing when the crucial plot points are,
and the kinds of material that should be used to connect them into a coherent and orderly whole. At different times the
sonata form has been taken to be quite rigid, and at other times a freer interpretation has been considered permissible.

In the theory of sonata form it is often asserted that other movements stand in relation to the sonata-allegro form,
either, per Charles Rosen that they are really "sonata forms", plural—or as Edward T. Cone asserts, that the sonata-
allegro is the ideal to which other movement structures "aspire". This is particularly seen to be the case with other
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movement forms that commonly occur in works thought of as sonatas. As a sign of this the word "sonata" is sometimes
prepended to the name of the form, in particular in the case of the "sonata-rondo" form. Slow movements, in
particular, are seen as being similar to sonata-allegro form, with differences in phrasing and less emphasis on the
development.

However, Schoenberg and other theorists who used his ideas as a point of departure see the theme and variations as
having an underlying role in the construction of formal music, calling the process continuing  variation, and argue
from this idea that the sonata-allegro form is a means of structuring the continuing variation process. Theorists of this
school include Erwin Ratz and William E. Caplin.

Subsections of works are sometimes analyzed as being in sonata form, in particular single movement works, such as
the Konzertstück in F minor of Carl Maria von Weber.

From the 1950s onward, Hans Keller developed a 'two-dimensional' method of analysis that explicitly considered form
and structure from the point of view of listener  expectations. In his work, the sonata-allegro was a well-implied
'background form' against whose various detailed features composers could compose their individual 'foregrounds'; the
'meaningful contradiction' of expected background by unexpected foreground was seen as generating the expressive
content. In Keller's writings, this model is applied in detail to Schoenberg's 12-note works as well as the classical tonal
repertoire. In recent times, two other musicologists, James Hepokoski and Warren Darcy, have presented, without
reference to Keller, their analysis, which they term Sonata Theory, of the sonata-allegro form and the sonata cycle in
terms of genre expectations, and categorized both the sonata-allegro movement and the sonata cycle by the
compositional choices made to respect or depart from conventions. Their study focuses on the normative period of
sonata practice, notable ones being the works of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and their close contemporaries,
projecting this practice forward to development of the sonata-allegro form into the 19th and 20th centuries.

Musical criticism and sonata form
Because of its centrality to classical music, the sonata form has been a topic of interest to music critics since its origin.
Contentious opinions include those of prominent critics such as Eduard Hanslick, who praised the form for its
intelligibility.

See also
Closely related key
Slow movement (music)
Sonata rondo form

References
1. White, John D. (1976). The Analysis of Music. ISBN 0-13-033233-X.
2. White, John D. (1994). Comprehensive Musical Analysis. Scarecrow Press. p. 101. ISBN 9781461657668.
3. Kostka, Stefan; Payne, Dorothy (1995). Tonal Harmony (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill. p. 346. ISBN 0-07-300056-6.
4. Benjamin, Thomas; Horvit, Michael; Nelson, Robert (2003). Techniques and Materials of Music (7th ed.). Thomson
Schirmer. p. 289. ISBN 0495500542.
5. Rosen, Charles (1988) [1980]. Sonata Forms (revised ed.). New York: Norton. p. 1.
6. Benward; Saker (2009). Music in Theory and Practice: Volume II (8th ed.). ISBN 978-0-07-310188-0.
7. Webster, James. "Sonata form". In Macy, L. Grove Music Online (http://www.grovemusic.com). Retrieved
2008-03-27.
8. Wolff, Christoph (1982). "song". In Badura-Skoda; Branscombe. Schubert Studies: Problems of Style and
Chronology. pp. 143–171.
9. Marston, Nicholas (2000). "Schubert's Homecoming". Journal of the Royal Musical Association. 125: 248–270.

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Further reading
Caplin, William E. (2000). Classical Form: A Theory of Formal Functions for the Instrumental Music of Haydn,
Mozart, and Beethoven. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514399-X.
Hepokoski, James; Darcy, Warren (2006). Elements of Sonata Theory: Norms, Types, and Deformations in the
Late-Eighteenth-Century Sonata. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-514640-9.
Newman, William S. (1972). The Sonata in the Baroque Era. ISBN 0-393-00622-0.
Newman, William S. (1980). Sonata in the Classic Era (A History of the Sonata Idea). ISBN 0-393-00623-9.
Newman, William S. (1983). The Sonata in the Classic Era. ISBN 0-393-95286-X.
Newman, William S. (1983). The Sonata Since Beethoven. ISBN 0-393-95290-8.
Newman, William S. (1995). Beethoven on Beethoven: Playing His Piano Music His Way. ISBN 0-393-30719-0.
Rosen, Charles (1997). The Classical Style (2nd ed.). New York: Norton. ISBN 0-393-31712-9.
Rosen, Charles (1998). The Romantic Generation. ISBN 0-674-77934-7.
Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1988). The Grove Concise Dictionary of Music. ISBN 0-333-43236-3.
Salzer, Felix (1962). Structural Hearing: Tonal Coherence in Music. ISBN 0-486-22275-6.
Schoenberg, Arnold (1967). Fundamentals of Musical Composition. ISBN 0-571-09276-4.
Schoenberg, Arnold (2010). Harmonielehre (in German). ISBN 1-147-25802-3.
Schenker, Heinrich (2001). Der freie Satz [Free Composition]. Translated by Oster, Ernst. vol. 1. ISBN 1-57647-
074-1.
Smith, Michael Paul (2014). "A Guide to Sonata Form" (https://tchaikovskylifeandworks.wordpress.com/2014/02/1
3/a-guide-to-sonata-form/). Tchaikovsky Life and Works.

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