Sonate n°11 en La majeur KV 331 - Tema

About this work

Mozart's Sonata K. 331 begins unusually: not with a sonata-form movement, but with a theme followed by variations. The document offered here stops after the theme, marked Andante grazioso. Its six-eight metre creates an apparently simple sway; the challenge lies in the symmetry of the phrases, the appoggiaturas and the balance of the cadences.

Sing the upper line without the accompaniment and mark the two main beats of each bar. Then add the bass while keeping its support light. Ornaments must belong to the motion of the phrase, not cause a halt before every decorative note. Compare the repeats: the second can answer the first with a different colour while preserving the same proportions.

Because the theme occupies a single page, it rewards very precise work. Record yourself and check the length of the upbeats, the release after cadences and the regularity of the six-eight pulse. Synthetic playback can confirm pitches and basic rhythm, but its punctuation is no substitute for human breathing. The K. 331 variations and famous final march belong to the complete sonata, not to this excerpt.

What the document containsThe opening theme of the Sonata in A major, K. 331.One single-page PDF score for solo piano.One MIDI file for reference.The following variations and the sonata's other movements are not included.