Name: Angelica Fenech

ID: 448490M

Course: B.A. Music and Theatre Studies

A Musical Analysis of Sonata in C major K.309

Study-Unit: Traditional Analysis

Code: MSP2162

Lecturer: Prof.Mro Micheal Laus

Analysis of Sonata in Cmajor K.309 by Mozart.

‘Mozart’s Sonata in C major K309 was composed in Mannheim in October of 1777’.

From a letter written by Mozart, it was discovered that the piece was improvised in a

Performance and later written on paper to be published. In this letter Mozart writes

about how he “played…all of a sudden a magnificent sonata in C major, out of my

head, with a rondo at the end - full of din and sound". It's outer movements became

the sonata K309.'

On this notion, Mozart calls his finale a rondo, however this can be subjected.

According to various sources a rondo claims to be any

‘Movement or work which contains a recurring refrain, alternating with a number of

episodes, and most claim that it must begin and end with the refrain material. Some

ambiguity arises in the number of refrains necessary to constitute a rondo’.

‘The rondo form is open to many variations in structure depending on how the refrain

and intermediary episodes are treated’.

However many sources agree that in the Classical era many composers used the rondo

as one movement within a larger work, and most commonly it was used as a finale.

‘These rondos tended to favour one variant of the rondo form’ as illustrated in the

figure below:
Figure 1

However the basic structure of the final rondo movement is in the following form:

It is clear that Mozart has used the form of the classical Rondo style, with the

difference that he has omitted the third statement of the refrain (A).

The piece is segmented into different parts. These are:- the exposition (Bars1-58), the

development (bar59-93), the recapitulation (bars 94-149) , codetta (Bar150-151)and

the coda (Bar 152-155). In the exposition, one subject will be reflected. The passage

in the new key (which will be the transition) will have a second subject.

The first the theme is a ‘fan-fare like theme’, which is a more powerful one.

First Tonal area:

The piece starts with an opening statement in bars 1 and 2. It consists of the tonic triad

of C major.

Figure 1.0

There is a 5 bar phrase from bars 3 to 7, closing into bars 8-9 which is an exact

repetition of the opening statement. An elision is present in bar 8. In bars 10-14, there

is a repetition of the previous phrase, but its last 2 bars changed. The Rhythm of these

last two bars is that of figure (a).

In the second segment of the first tonal area (bars 15-20), there is a 3 bar phrase

repeated with few modifications in the melodic line. The left hand part uses the same

figuration as bars 3-5.

The Transition section starts from bar 21 up till bar 32. Bars 21-26, consist of a 2 bar

statement which is presented 3 times in sequence, modulating to V, closing into the

second segment of the transition ( bars 27-32), which consists of a 6-bar phrase in G

major, ending on a half cadence.

Second Tonal area:

Introductory bars of accompaniment are present in bars 33-42; closing into a 4-bar

phrase which is repeated with minor modifications in its third and fourth bars, closing

into the second segment of the 2nd Tonal area (bars 43-53). It starts with a 3-bar phrase

which includes, in its first 2 bars, a rhythmic inversion of the figure which first

appears in bars 35-36

The B section is the longest of this movement .In comparison with the refrain, it is

highly dramatic , with a greater use of chromaticism , and it makes use of various

harmonies , including diminished seventh chords and a few touches of the minor key.

This theme seems to add an element of surprise, since the few melodic fragments that

are present in this section are written with a piano dynamic, 'but are soon interrupted

with bursts of forte, chromatic figuration'.

From bars 73-81, there’s an inverted dominant pedal written in demisemiquaver

octaves marked as ' forte'. This will lead to a deceptive cadence followed by 3

measures of a sweet piano melodic sequence, which will be suddenly interrupted by

the reemerging of the inverted pedal. The effect of the B section is to create drama ,

which Mozart brought to life with those sudden dynamic changes.

The transition section follows with a deceptive cadence of B in measure 77, and

continues into A at measure 92.Similar to the first transition, it starts with a feeling of

closure, along with a re-transition to the refrain. The C section starts from bars 137-up

till 142. It lacks from dramatic energy when compared to the refrain. In the transition

we have a modulation to the subdominant key of F major. Episode C is then followed

by the recapitulation in sonata from. Usually, the there is a return to the recapitulation,
but Mozart retains the third refrain and omits the last. Mozart decided to go back to

the drama and movement of the B section to retain the ‘momentum of the movement’.

There is an inversion of rhythm in the bass clef, in Bars 129-131, which is very

identical to the rhythm of bars 35-38 in the tremble clef. This is shown in figures 1.1

and 1.2

Figure 1.1- showing bars 129-131

Figure 1.2 – showing bars 35-38

Measures 137-141 are an extended version of mm48-51 and are altered slightly so as

to act as a transition from the F major of episode C back to its original key of C major.

The transition elides into the opening of the final refrain. This recurrence of A is yet

again identical for the exception that it has more ornamentation in the last three

measures. These measures smooth the melody into a transition, taking a triplet rhythm

to reflect that of the material previously used.

In measure 221 starts the coda of the sonata. In the coda Mozart places a recurrence of

theme b (bars 234-243). The music gets a more closing feel, and is full of long

cadential extensions.

Bars 225-227 and 228-233) serve as an element of drama, surprise and they prevent

the music to end itself.

The piece ends with a recurrence of theme a from the first A section .This theme has

an ‘altered Alberti bass two octaves below the melody, giving a tonic pedal effect’.

The ‘B flats add a touch of the subdominant to the passage.’

In this piece, Mozart successfully conveyed a style which is a combination of rondo

and sonata form.

References:

Mozart’s Sonata in C, KV 309 (Analysis),

http://www.amphionmusic.co.uk/mozarts-style/mozarts-sonata-c-kv-309
(Accessed: 1st November, 2014)

Rondo-Sonata, Rondo or Sonata-Rondo,

http://www.humanities.mcmaster.ca/~mus701/macmacvol2/nd/ndpage.htm (Accessed:
1st November, 2014)