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the gaps.
Now, Mozart did write one spectacularly odd
work which defies this plan.
That's the so-called Alla Turca Sonata,
which begins with a set of variations.
And Haydn occasionally wrote two- rather
than three-movement
sonatas, which omit the standard
first movement.
They contain only the
second and third.
And sonata movements in minor keys
function differently,
with the relative major taking on a
central role.
But these caveats aside, the rules we've
been discussing were incredibly ingrained,
and that this
would be the structure of a first movement
is axiomatic by the time Beethoven comes
along.
Not just for piano sonatas, but for piano
trios, string quartets, symphonies,
everything.
And in the early classical period, the
first movements
are, to a great extent, where the action
is.
I'd like to suggest a selection of first
movements
for you to listen to, if you're so
inclined,
to hear how, how malleable and exciting
the sonata form can be.
You can begin with a Haydn C major
sonata, the Sonata No. 50.
this movement is in a sense entirely
traditional, but come
the development, Haydn reintroduces the
opening theme in the extremely remote key
of A-flat major.
So C major,
[MUSIC],
A-flat major.
And simultaneously, he asked the pianist
for the first time in the
piece to hold the sustaining pedal down,
creating a blur effect.
This is an early and fantastic example of
how
harmony is color, by taking us so far away
from
the tonic or even the dominant area,
composers introduce not
just the element of surprise, but a
drastically different sonority.
In this case, what was glittery at the
outset of
the, outset of the work, becomes mellow
and mysterious through the change in
tonality.
Then, you can listen to the Mozart E-flat
piano quartet, K. 493.
Again, the exposition is quite
traditional, although
Mozart includes a third theme, which he
often does when he wants to give the music
a generosity and a spaciousness.
This really isn't radical.
The second and third themes are similar in
character, and
really form a thematic group, which
collectively contrasts with the first
theme.
But then, in a remarkable development, the
second theme
reappears in no fewer than seven different
keys, by
my count, culminating in an incredible
four-voice canon,
where the instruments trade the theme back
and forth.
Mozart never goes harmonically as far
afield in
all those seven keys, as Haydn does in his
sonata, but through the constant harmonic
movement,
he creates a powerful sense of
instability.
And again, I mean not just harmonic
instability, but emotional instability.
Because none of this is theoretical,
harmony is the main currency
of feeling in all music, at least prior to
the twentieth century.
Another fascinating Mozart example is the
C major string quintet,
K. 515.
Here there's an immensely long exposition-the longest classical exposition of any
piece prior to middle-period Beethoven-where he takes his sweet time establishing
the dominant, and then once he gets
there, he includes not the standard one,
not two, but three themes on it.
Rather than provide a long development to
make the proportions work out, though,
he writes one which is really only a
fraction of the length of the exposition.
But by changing the style of writing so
dramatically, from chordal writing
to intricate counterpoint, from long
periods
of harmonic stasis, to constant harmonic
motion,
he creates such a feeling of unrest, that
the development
more than holds up to the immensity that
has preceded it.
Moving to Beethoven.