Mozart’s Sonata No. 11 in A-Major K. 331

Sarah Pool
Salzburg College
Dr. Oliver Kraft
01.12.2012
Mozart’s Sonata No. 11 in A-Major K. 331 Mozart wrote his eleventh sonata around the year 1778 while he was on a trip in Paris. Although the exact date is uncertain, he wrote a set of 4 sonatas in Paris, K. 300-333. However, they were not published until he was in Vienna in 1781. His travels around Europe during the 1770s were not the happiest of times because he was in his twenties and could no longer be considered a child prodigy. He wanted to write instrumental and secular works, but his jobs wanted sacred music (AQA Advanced Level Notes). This particular sonata has a beautiful first movement of variations, a minuet and trio for the second movement, and the “Rondo Alla Turca” third movement written in the Turkish style. When analyzing the first movement of this A-Major sonata, it is important to note that it does not follow the normal sonata form. A typical sonata would have an allegro as the first movement. Instead, this one has a variations movement with the tempo marked Andante Grazioso. It starts at a leisurely tempo, slower than a normal sonata would, but each variation gradually speeds up by bringing in smaller note values along with some contrasting variations in between. The first movement has a French character in 6/8 meter (Kinderman p.50). The French character was used because he wrote it while he was in Paris, and the 6/8 meter creates a pastoral mood. The theme in this particular sonata is the most analyzed theme in any of Mozart’s works. It is very basic, as a theme should be, so it can be easily transformed into different variations. There is mostly step-wise motion, and any leaps are only small skips. The form follows the rounded binary form. This means that the “A” section is followed by the “B” section, and ends with only a portion of the “A” section. The only difference with this theme is that there is a two-measure coda at the end. This coda is very important because it is one of the most distinctive features of the entire movement as it connects all of the variations together. It must also be noted the simplicity of which this theme is written. The rhythm between the left and right hands are virtually the same except for measures 9-12 with the arpeggiated bass in the left hand. The rhythm is also very simple with two repeating motives throughout. The first is the dotted-eighth, sixteenth, eighth note rhythm. This is always found in the first strong beat of the measure, and occurs in the first two measures of each phrase. The second motive that is used is the quarter note followed by an eighth note. This normally occurs on the second strong beat following the first motive, but can also be found on its own. For example, in measures 1 and 2, the first motive appears on the first strong beat followed by the second motive on the second strong beat. Then, in measures 3 and 4, the second motive is used on both the first and second strong beats, with an added sixteenth note in the right hand in measure 4. This repeats itself throughout the entire theme.
The harmonic structure is also very simple, consisting of I, IV, and V chords, and their inversions. The only deviation from this is in measure 12 with the D-sharp in the left hand, creating a secondary dominant progression leading into the half cadence, ending on the V chord. These cadences are very important to notice because they stay the same throughout the entire movement, also bringing in connectivity to each of the variations. The first phrase ends at measure 4 with a half cadence, followed by a perfect authentic cadence in measure 8. Then comes the secondary dominant leading into the half cadence in measure 12, followed by an imperfect authentic cadence in measure 16 and the coda’s perfect authentic cadence brings the theme to its conclusion. The interesting thing to note about measure 16 is the listener might think the phrase is going to end, but the right hand plays an unexpected suspension, which then leads into the coda. The suspension symbolizes Mozart’s delay of the ending as he adds two more measure than what might be expected. Following the pastoral character of the theme comes the light and bouncy character of variation 1. The tempo remains the same, but it feels like it is going faster because it is filled with sixteenth notes rather than the slow pace of eighth notes, quarter notes, and dotted eighth notes in the theme. There is lots of excitement in this variation from the very beginning with chromatic neighbor tones in the right hand. The chords played by the left hand during the right hand’s rests add momentum and drive the motion of the music forwards. This leads into the forte section starting in measure 23 that is loud and stately. It is the first time the listener hears anything drastically different from everything that has happened so far in the piece. The left hand has repeated driving sixteenth notes while the right hand plays the familiar melody in a much different style than before in the theme. This variation follows the same pattern as the theme, but with its own personality and added embellishments. A major thing to notice is the two measure coda at the end of the variation, measures 35 and 36, is the same as it was in the theme, but this time the left hand is playing the characteristic sixteenth notes and the right hand has full chords in measure 36 rather than single notes as it did in the theme. The second variation begins in measure 37, and is the most similar to the first variation because they both have chromatic notes and have a light, bouncy feel to them. The chromatic notes can be heard from the beginning in the left hand. This left hand accompaniment brings in a more flowing feel while the right hand is bouncing around and adding lots of trills and embellishments to the melody. The flowing accompaniment foreshadows what is to come in the next variations while the embellishments are an element from the previous variation and what is to come in the final variation. The second phrase from measures 41 to 44 switches the roles between the two hands. The right hand plays the accompaniment and the left hand plays the chromatic notes, bouncing around different octaves. The rest of the variation continues in the rounded binary form while following the style of the variation. The third variation is very important because it is the only variation in the minor mode and it begins to reshape the feeling and gesture of the entire movement (Kinderman p.50). The theme is getting harder to identify, but the long connected style brings the listener back to the pastoral and calm tone of the theme. However, rather than pastoral and calm, the feeling coming from this variation is a feeling of sadness and sorrow. Both hands play the same rhythm, taking away the excitement from previous variations, and starting in measure 59 the right hand plays the melody in octaves, which emphasizes the sad and angry tone. The only bouncy notes are at the end of measures 62 and 72, which could remind the listener of the previous two variations so that hopefully the mood of the entire movement will not be lost within this one variation. There could not be a bigger contrast between the third and fourth variations. The mood goes from sad and angry to light, flowing, and almost like a lullaby. The challenge for the performer is to be able to play the bass octaves with the left hand and quickly, yet calmly, jump across the right hand to play the melody, without punching the bass octaves too loud and without the listener feeling anything frantic. When done correctly, the texture is rich with the accompaniment in the treble and the doubled thirds between both hands. Kinderman describes this variation as “sensuous and almost celestial textures of 3rds in the upper registers balanced against pedal tones in the middle register and octaves in the bass” (p.50). The first time the tempo truly changes is in the fifth variation. It is specifically marked adagio, slower than all the rest. However, with the left hand playing Mozart’s favorite Alberti bass in measures 91 and 92, followed by back and forth motion between the two hands in measure 93, it keeps the momentum moving forward. Because of the slower tempo, it is easier to play with more contrasting dynamics in a shorter time-span, such as in measure 95 and 96 as well as the important suspension measure that leads into the coda in measure 106. In previous variations, the middle section contrasted in style but there was not as drastic of a difference in dynamics, nor was it quite as fast. Here, the middle section changes to a grandiose and forte style while still continuing the character of the variation. Then it goes back to the “A” section in the same style as the beginning. Another difference is that this variation ends softly and tenderly, while the other variations ended with a more punctual statement. The only exception is the fourth variation that also had a flowing feeling, but it was soft throughout and ended in the same manner. The listener can tell when the final variation has arrived because it has a constant drive to the end. It gives the sense that the end is very near with its driving sixteenth notes, putting the listener on the edge of their seat. While they might not know it, this variation actually prepares for what is to come in the third movement of the sonata with fast acceleration in tempo and a heavy use of the turn figure that occurs throughout the last variation, prominently in measures 139 to 142, and will be very important in the third movement from the very first note. The main characteristics of this variation are the faster tempo, and the change from 6/8 meter to 4/4. The constant motion and drive forwards builds tension and is finally resolved at the end of measure 138 with the stepwise descent towards the final cadence (Kinderman p.50). As the analysis continues on to the third movement named “Rondo Alla Turca”, more background information must be known in order to understand why this was written in its style. The Turkish style was a big craze in Vienna around 1783 when this piece was written because it was the 100th anniversary since the lifting of the second Turkish siege of the city in 1683. This movement also has some similarities to Osmin’s rage in Mozart’s opera “Die Entführung”, written around the same time as the sonata. They both are in the key of A-minor, and they continue to the “Turkish” key of C-Major (Kinderman p.51). The feeling of “rage” comes from the repetitive features of the piece. The first example is in the first three measures with the turns, and also measures 5, 6, and 7 are the same thing. Measures 9-15 are all repetitions of each other, first in C-Major and then back to A-minor. It appears as if Mozart was obsessed with turns because the motion of the melody is constantly changing turn after turn.
The Janissary style, or Turkish style, has a very percussive and brassy sound and is something that would be heard at a parade or some kind of celebration. This sounds a lot like a military band with straight rhythms and lots of accents on strong beats because so they can march to the music. The first brassy sounds come in measure 25 when the mode changes to A-Major with the right hand’s octaves and the left hands arpeggiated chords. The coda has military accents with the arpeggiated chords in the left hand again on every strong beat and blocked chords in the right hand. The performer has to do their best to make the left hand sound like a bass drum and the right hand like cymbals or loud, brassy trumpets. When executed correctly, the pianist can bring the piece to a conclusion on its own without the use of cymbals and loud percussion (Kinderman p.51). This was all very typical of Janissary music, and Mozart incorporated it into this movement very well.
Even though it was not called the “sonata form” while he was writing sonatas, he did not follow the form in which he normally wrote the pieces titled “Sonata”. This makes this particular sonata stand out because it does not fall in the same line as all the rest. Mozart’s eleventh sonata is one of his most popular sonatas because of the third movement. It is catchy and quick, and can leave the listener humming the tune for hours after the performance is over. Kinderman writes “No other Mozart sonata has been arranged so often for different combinations of instruments” (p.51).

Bibliography
AQA Advanced Level Notes. “Mozart: Piano Sonata in A Major, K331”. Online Journal.
Volume 2 Issue 8, February 2001. Bridgewater Multimedia. www.musicteachers.co.uk Kinderman, William. “Mozart’s Piano Music”. Oxford University Press. 2006.
Sadie, Stanley. “The New Grove Mozart”. Papermac. 1982.