Favorite Mozart Sonata

[contrapunctus]

My favorite is K. 283 for its beautiful first novement and its Beethoven-esque third movement. What is your's and why?

P.S.  Mozart only completed one fugue for solo piano: K. 394. It is great, I recommend it to everyone. (it is bound with a prelude or fantasy)

[m1469]

Well mine is currently K457, sonata in C minor.  I enjoy it because it is absolutely brilliant writing, in my opinion. 

And, I have recently become fond of K 576 in D Major (after mig's post in the Audition room).


m1469    *goes to play through her long-standing, as well as her new Mozart love*

[mrchops10]

P.S.  Mozart only completed one fugue for solo piano: K. 394. It is great, I recommend it to everyone. (it is bound with a prelude or fantasy)

Well, he also has a fugue-like passage in the 3rd mov't of K533 (F major). This is a great sonata. I am currently working on the a minor (K310), which I have loved for many years. I agree about the c minor sonata too, particularly when it is performed with the fantasy as well.

[kreso]

My favourite Mozart's Sonata is Sonata in D-major KV.284.
It is probably one of the most difficult of all sonatas, because it is tecnicaly very tricky and musicaly not os easy. I like specialy the last movment-Theme with variations.

[arensky]

D Major K.311. Not the most complex or sophisticated but I enjoy it's directness and straightforward nature. I think it's always been my favorite.

[pianalex]

agreed k311 is delicious, like a mini concerto. and the difference between playing it, and playing it well, is huge.  both minor key works r fab.  also fond of the gentle lyricism of k333.

[arensky]

agreed k311 is delicious, like a mini concerto. and the difference between playing it, and playing it well, is huge.  both minor key works r fab.  also fond of the gentle lyricism of k333.

Hey you are right! It is like a mini concerto. And it is very difficult to play well.

K.333 has always annoyed me, I find it insipid. Maybe I've just heard too many insipid performances. I will reevaluate it, everyone likes it but me....

[eduard]

My favourite is KV. 284 and KV. 310.

[rob47]

k330

[e60m5]

k.310, k.330, k.331, k.545

[zheer]

All of them, apart from one. Man if you can master all the Mozart sonatas you will get my rispect.

[arensky]

All of them, apart from one.

And that one is...?

[rohansahai]

K. 533 in f major

[pianistimo]

KV 570 in B-flat

it represents, to me, the mature mozart.  it is not too light and not too heavy and probably very difficult to play well (i haven't played it yet).  the second movement reminds me of some german song (maybe beethoven's liebenwold? or something like that) that i can't remember right now - (can anyone help?) and, the last movement is delicious. 

listen to uchida on amazon a little and she's pretty good, but overall i like murray perahia's mozart.

[zheer]

K. 533 in f major

    Haw the F*** did you know that. Yes i dont like K. 533. I have sight read throgh them all except that one.

[fishy92]

K.331 3rd Movement "Turkish March" Like it cause I can play it. 

[thalbergmad]

I prefer Clementi.

[dauber]

Mine is K.331.  It was the first piece that I ever played by Mozart.

[lisztisforkids]

I prefer Clementi.

You got good taste. Have you heard Op. 40 no 2? Its absolutley wickedley good. No wonder Mozart hated Clementi. He was jealous!

[thalbergmad]

You got good taste. Have you heard Op. 40 no 2? Its absolutley wickedley good. No wonder Mozart hated Clementi. He was jealous!

Not heard that one yet, but i intend to.

I have heard about 6 of them so far (played one) and i honestly feel that they are superior to Mozart.

I am probably in the minority.

[lisztisforkids]

Not heard that one yet, but i intend to.

I have heard about 6 of them so far (played one) and i honestly feel that they are superior to Mozart.

I am probably in the minority.

You can count me in the minority then! Clementi is unfairley underated. Which one have you played? I am currently working on op. 25 no 5. Most wonderful. I once heard that Mozart's sonatas were written to teach. I feel that Clemetis sonatas are vivid expressions, more so than much of Mozarts.

I will start  new topic on this.

[pianalex]

where does haydn come in the clementi/mozart play off?  c is charming - but did he ever really approach k310, for example

[thalbergmad]

You can count me in the minority then! Clementi is unfairley underated. Which one have you played? I am currently working on op. 25 no 5. Most wonderful. I once heard that Mozart's sonatas were written to teach. I feel that Clemetis sonatas are vivid expressions, more so than much of Mozarts.

I will start  new topic on this.

Same one as me.

Horowitz has got a lot to answer for.

[arensky]

Same one as me.

Horowitz has got a lot to answer for.

Horowitz has to answer for what? He's the best thing that ever happened to Clementi. I mentioned this in another thread last summer. Everything Horowitz touched that was outside of the standard repertoire, i.e. Scriabin and Scarlatti became part of the standard repertoire, EXCEPT Clementi. I wonder why? I enjoy the two Sonatas mentioned above. With an advocate like Horowitz it's hard to go wrong. And yet, Clementi has not caught on, with pianists OR the public. I believe I know why. He has great ideas, but his development of them never measures up, in most cases. Take that b minor one, op.40 #2 I think. I will play this Sonata someday after I've completed several other things on my to do list. BUT, it's development section will show you that while he can write a beautiful melody and a powerful theme, and it is all very beautifully layed out for the piano and flashy, as a composer HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO REALLY DEVELOP HIS MATERIAL.  He merely reiterates the themes (they are wonderful) and clumsily slinks through the related keys, with some really badly prepared modulations. And yet there is something there, although it is flawed and imperfectly realized. The f# minor Sonata on the other hand has an ingenious development section. I guess Clementi is the precursor of Liszt, besides being extraordinary pianists they are both brilliant innovaters and write beautiful material, but their output is uneven, compared to Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven, these cats KNEW how to shape their material into a real structure that can withstand changing times and changing tastes. Clementi and Liszt, it seems they get it right by chance every few pieces. Perhaps (and Liszt evantually did this and wrote truly great music, instead of becoming a piano maker) Clementi should have spent more time at his writing desk and less time at the piano.

[Jacey1973]

Oh i have so many favourites! How can i choose? Ok, well currently my favourite is the F major K332...But i also love K330, K457 and K576.

[burstroman]

I like Haydn, Mozart, and Clementi sonatas.  Don't limit yourself.

[frederic]

Horowitz has to answer for what? He's the best thing that ever happened to Clementi. I mentioned this in another thread last summer. Everything Horowitz touched that was outside of the standard repertoire, i.e. Scriabin and Scarlatti became part of the standard repertoire, EXCEPT Clementi. I wonder why? I enjoy the two Sonatas mentioned above. With an advocate like Horowitz it's hard to go wrong. And yet, Clementi has not caught on, with pianists OR the public. I believe I know why. He has great ideas, but his development of them never measures up, in most cases. Take that b minor one, op.40 #2 I think. I will play this Sonata someday after I've completed several other things on my to do list. BUT, it's development section will show you that while he can write a beautiful melody and a powerful theme, and it is all very beautifully layed out for the piano and flashy, as a composer HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO REALLY DEVELOP HIS MATERIAL.  He merely reiterates the themes (they are wonderful) and clumsily slinks through the related keys, with some really badly prepared modulations. And yet there is something there, although it is flawed and imperfectly realized. The f# minor Sonata on the other hand has an ingenious development section. I guess Clementi is the precursor of Liszt, besides being extraordinary pianists they are both brilliant innovaters and write beautiful material, but their output is uneven, compared to Mozart, Chopin, Brahms and Beethoven, these cats KNEW how to shape their material into a real structure that can withstand changing times and changing tastes. Clementi and Liszt, it seems they get it right by chance every few pieces. Perhaps (and Liszt evantually did this and wrote truly great music, instead of becoming a piano maker) Clementi should have spent more time at his writing desk and less time at the piano.

well neither did Mozart. He could develope well, just never bothered because most his compositions were rushed and never altered to perfection. He just throws wonderful ideas at you one after another. Haydn on the other hand was a genius of developement. You could say he was the precursor of Beethoven, and certainly, he had more than a little influence on the latter.

[contrapunctus]

We must sacrifice Mozart's, Clementi's, and C.P.E. Bach's Sonatas towards the great Haydn, who wrote the best Sonatas in the classical era.



Horowitz is a ***.

[musicsdarkangel]

K 284

and I do believe it is the hardest of sonatas, although I know others would disagree, the theme and Variations are insane.

[transitional]

Not a very popular thread, is it? Well, I love ranking piano sonatas. I'll have to include a few since I really like tons of them.

1. k 576 (beautiful/contrapuntal 1st movement and complex but playful 3rd movement, love the triplets)
2. k 533 (the peak of the use of counterpoint in piano sonatas)
3. k 332 (nostalgia)
4. k 333 (would probably be #1 if the whole piece's quality matched the 1st movement)

and I also have to include an honorable mention section just because: k 330, k 570, k 457, k 281

Now we're done.