Article  Mozart Sonata Number 14 for His Pupil and Landlord The Mozart Sonata No. 14 was completed in mid October 1784 apparently as an appeasement to his landlord's wife Therese von Trattner. It must have worked wonders as the von Trattners would later become godparents to 4 of Mozart's children. After Mozart had finished his patronage from the Archbishop of Salzburg, 1781, he spent approximately 10 years freelancing and developing himself as an artist in Vienna. Being one of the earliest of 6 sonatas he composed during this freelance period it is assumed that Mozart wrote it as either a teaching tool, or simply for his own personal use. That general period in history saw sonatas written, usually, for domestic usage, not for a symphony or concerto. Think small, intimate venues where the idea of exchanging simple, passionate music was the idealized goal. This No. 14 Mozart Sonata was written in three movements: the Molto allegro, the Adagio, and the Allegro assai. The 1st movement, written in sonata form, begins with a fiery Mannheim rocket figure. It appears twice in the first subject, or theme. The exposition begins transitioning into the development and becomes most unstable harmonically. It runs from both F minor and G minor before returning to C minor and the coda then ends the piece. In the Adagio, the rondo form is a slow movement written in E flat major. This second movement is in strong contrast to the last as well as the first, however it has been described as tranquil, providing for that strong contrast. The final movement, the Allegro assai, recaptures the dramatic qualities of the first, while being written in sonato rondo form. While quite long, this movement's first subject links to the second in E flat major. Most might refer to this fairly short development simply as an episode, not a full development as it would be considered in sonata form. As this episode leads one to the recapitulation, its modified second subject, again in E flat major, returns in the tonic. To finish this sonata, the piece ends with 2 dramatic chords. The Mozart Sonata No. 14 is considered significant due to the fact that it was only 1 of 2 Mozart sonatas written in the minor key. His Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310 was the other. He wrote this sonata 6 years earlier, some say around the time his mother passed away. As was Mozart's style, he was very deliberate with his choice of tonalities for all of his compositions. Music historians and aficionados seem to believe that his choice of C minor for the No. 14 sonata indicated the piece was very personal to his heart. Written about 15 years before his Pathetique, there seems to be a true feel of prophecy in the Sonata No. 14. Both pieces seem to share a similar structure and plan from beginning to end. Most notably, the second movement is remarkably similar to the Adagio from the C minor Sonata 14 discussed above. Category Entertainment Author Anonymous Add To Favorites Print This Article Email Article To A Friend Post Comments   Rate This Article (2) 1 - Poor2345 - Good678910 - Excellent Added On 01-21-2010     discussion board: acourtneyvm : 02-25-2010 01:21 am Very interesting article, I never knew that he had written this Sonanta for his pupil and landlord. It is a great piece that anyone who likes classical music should listen to. Also, it's a great piece to learn to play as it's challenging and will impress your audience. Post Comments