Sonata, allegro form?

Question

Does anyone know the layout of a sonata allegro?

Answer 1

I'll attempt to lay this out so it makes some sense:

Sonata form was developed in the Classical period (the period of Haydn and Mozart) and was used mostly in the opening movements of symphonies and concertos (but not exclusively so). It has survived more or less intact to the present day and is still used by some composers: To summarise sonata form is as follows:

1a Exposition (I) Main theme (first subject)
1b Exposition (II) Contrasting theme in a different but related key (second subject)
2 Development (where the themes are varied, combined, turned upside down, inside out and back-to-front, just for example)
3 Recapitulation (two main subjects are restated but perhaps not exactly as in the 'exposition')
Optional 4 Coda (a short closing section which may or may not use previously presented material (but it usually does)

Sometimes the recapitulation will be quite involved, incorporating a second 'development' section.

This all looks relatively simple but was honed to a fine and sometimes complex art by composers such as Beethoven, Bruckner and Mahler.

The purpose of sonata form is to give a structure and compositional discipline to a piece of music.

Hope that helps.

Answer 2

It is a structure of compostion Possible intro theme a possible Bridge material to... theme b, then closing themes. That is The exposition section. The development section involves allowing the composer to improvise, if you so would, on any and all material introduced earlier in the exposition. It can be taking a motif and creating a polyphonic texture, as Mozart often did, to even, as Beethoven actually did in the 1st movement of the third symphony, introducing even more new subject matter. It is, in Essence, a free fantasy. The composer uses the elements of music in a vareid way: tempo, texture, color, rhythm, dynamics, range, etc... The third section is a the recapitulation. It involves somewhat restating in some manner what happened in the exposition. There could also be a coda, or closing section to the movement. This form underwent huge changes, where even Tchaikowsky's 1812 overture could be seen as having a modified sonata allegro form, with Intro, 7 sections in the exposition, a development, a modified recapitulation, and a huge bang bang coda. Beethoven's third symphony actually had a coda which emulates a second development section. In Mozart's time, a complete symphony was around 22 Minutes long. Beethoven's third Symphony was at least double that in length. Overall, the form really showed the sophisticated skills of the composer...also orchestration ability in terms writing for mixed instruments. This form was regularly used as a first and last movement, but at times, even the second movement on occasion. Most great composers utilized this form for sonatas, concerti, symphonies, string quartets...and elsewhere.

Answer 3

Well, traditional sonata form would be exposition, development, and recapitulation. Allegro might hint that it is in a quick tempo, but I believe the terms Sonata and Sonata Allegro are used interchangeably. There is a very in depth article on the subject here: http://en.music-web.org/encyclopedia/Sonata_form

The second section “Structure of the Classical sonata” is, I believe, what you are looking for.

Answer 4

Sam, here are some visual sites that might help:

Diagram of a Mozart piece in Sonata-allegro form:
http://iml.jou.ufl.edu/projects/Fall05/lubarsky/analysis.html

A discussion of construction of Sonata-allegro form:
http://www.scottfoglesong.com/misc/form_that_isnt.htm

Another outline and diagram:
http://spider.georgetowncollege.edu/music/burnette/Mus312/312g.htm

Musician, composer, teacher.