A piano sonata is a sonata written for unaccompanied piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, occasionally just in one or two. The first movement is usually composed in sonata form. Sonata (From Latin and Italian sonare, to sound), in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to cantata (Latin cantare, to sing), a piece sung. ... A grand piano, with the lid up. ... Sonata form is a musical form that has been used widely since the early Classical period. ...

The Baroque keyboard sonata

In the Baroque era, the use of the term of term "sonata" generally referred to either the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) or sonata da camera ("ordinary" sonata), both of which were sonatas for various instruments (usually one or more violins plus basso continuo). The keyboard sonata was relatively neglected by most composers. Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 and 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Sonata da Chiesa is Italian for church sonata. Sonatas are instrumental compositions of three or more movements. ... Sonata da camera (or chamber sonata) is a type of trio sonata intended for secular performance. ... The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. ... Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervallic content (the intervals which make up a sonority), later chords, in relation to a bass note. ...

It was the over 500 sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti that were the hallmark of the Baroque keyboard sonata, though they were for the most part unpublished during his lifetime. The majority of these sonatas are in one-movement binary form, both sections being in the same tempo and utilizing the same thematic material. These sonatas are prized both for their technical difficulty (which has also lead to some to criticise them as being nothing more than pedagogical compositions to develop technique) and musical and formal ingenuity. Much of the Spanish folk music's influence on Scarlatti is evident in these sonatas. Giuseppe Domenico Scarlatti (October 26, 1685 – July 23, 1757) was an Italian composer who spent much of his life in Spain and Portugal. ... Binary form is a way of structuring a piece of music into two related sections, both of which are usually repeated. ...

Other composers of keyboard sonatas (most in two or three movements) include Marcello, Giustini, Durante and Platti. Benedetto Marcello (July 31 or August 1, 1686–July 24, 1739), was an Italian composer. ... Lodovico Giustini (December 12, 1685 – February 7, 1743) was an Italian composer and keyboard player of the late Baroque and early Classical eras. ... Francesco Durante (March 15, 1684 - August 13, 1755) was an Italian composer. ...

Piano sonatas in the Classical era

Although various composers in the 17th century had written keyboard pieces which they entitled "Sonata", it was only in the classical era, when the piano displaced the earlier harpsichord and sonata form rose to prominence as a principle of musical composition, that the term "piano sonata" acquired a definite meaning and a characteristic form. The Classical period in Western music occurred from about 1730 through 1820, despite considerable overlap at both ends with preceding and following periods, as is true for all musical eras. ... Harpsichord in the Flemish style A harpsichord is any of a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument currently called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. ...

All three of the great Classical era composers, Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven (also Romantic) wrote many piano sonatas, as did the much younger Franz Schubert. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mozart redirects here. ... 1820 portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler Beethoven redirects here. ... Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ...

The 32 sonatas of Beethoven, including the well-known Pathétique Sonata and the Moonlight Sonata, are often considered the pinnacle of piano sonata composition. Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ...

Piano sonatas in the Romantic era

As the Romantic era progressed after Beethoven and Schubert, piano sonatas continued to be composed, but in smaller numbers as the form took on a somewhat academic tinge and competed with shorter genres more compatible with Romantic compositional style. Franz Liszt's comprehensive "four-movements-in-one" Sonata in B minor draws on the concept of thematic transformation first introduced by Schubert in his Wanderer Fantasie of 1822. Piano sonatas have been written throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and up to the present day. The era of Romantic music is defined as the period of European classical music that runs roughly from the early 1800s to the first decade of the 20th century, as well as music written according to the norms and styles of that period. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer of the Romantic period. ... One of the pages from the original manuscript of the sonata. ... Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ... Wanderer Fantasy is the popular name for Franz Schuberts opus 15 (D. 760), a fantasy for piano solo in four movements, which follows the classical sonata form. ...

Famous Piano Sonatas

Classical

• Bach, Carl Philipp Emanuel
  • Württemberg Sonata No. 1 in A minor, H. 30, Wq. 49/1

• Beethoven, Ludwig Van
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op.2/1
  • Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op.13 "Pathétique"
  • Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op.27/2 "Moonlight"
  • Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major, Op. 28 "Pastoral"
  • Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31/2 "Tempest"

• Haydn, Franz Joseph
  • Piano Sonata in E flat major, H. 16/52

• Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
  • Piano Sonata in B-flat major (K. 281/189f - see Köchel-Verzeichnis)
  • Piano Sonata in A Major (K. 331/300i)
  • Piano Sonata in B-flat major (K.333/315c)
  • Piano Sonata in C Major (K.545)
  • Piano Sonata in B-Flat major (K.570)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (March 8, 1714 – December 14, 1788) was a German musician and composer, the second of five sons of Johann Sebastian Bach and Maria Barbara Bach. ... 1820 portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler Beethoven redirects here. ... Beethovens Piano Sonata in F minor, op. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens fifteenth sonata of Op. ... Piano Sonata No. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Mozart redirects here. ... (For a list organized by genre, see List_of_compositions_by_Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart) The Köchel-Verzeichnis is a complete, chronological catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart which was originally created by Ludwig von Köchel. ... Wolfgang Amadeus Mozarts Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ...

Romantic

• Beethoven, Ludwig Van
  • Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op.53 "Waldstein"
  • Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op.57 "Appassionata"
  • Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux"
  • Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op.106 "Hammerklavier"
  • Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op.111

• Chopin, Frédéric
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, "Funeral March"
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op.58

• Dukas, Paul
  • Piano Sonata in E flat minor

• Grieg, Edvard
  • Piano Sonata in E minor, Op.7

• Liszt, Franz
  • Sonata after a Reading of Dante (Fantasia Quasi Sonata)
  • Sonata in B minor

• MacDowell, Edward
  • Sonata Tragica, Op.45
  • Sonata Eroica, Op.50
  • Third Sonata, Op.57
  • Fourth Sonata, Op.59

• Mendelssohn, Felix
  • Piano Sonata in E major, Op.6
  • Piano Sonata in G minor, Op.105
  • Piano Sonata in B-flat major, Op.106

• Rachmaninoff, Sergei
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op.36

• Schubert, Franz, (See List of Schubert's works)
  • Piano Sonata No. 20 in A major, D.959
  • PIano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat major, D.960

• Schumann, Robert
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 in F-sharp minor, Op.11 "Grosse Sonate"
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in G minor, Op.22
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op.14 "Concerto without Orchestra"

• Weber, Carl Maria von
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op.24 (J. 138)
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in A flat major, Op.39 (J. 199)
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op.49 (J. 206)
  • Piano Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op.70 (J. 287)

1820 portrait by Joseph Karl Stieler Beethoven redirects here. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... Ludwig van Beethovens Piano Sonata No. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin (in French, Frédéric François Chopin) (English: IPA: or ; French: ), (March 1, 1810[1] â€“ October 17, 1849) was a Polish pianist and composer of the Romantic era. ... Frédéric Chopin composed his Piano Sonata No. ... Frédéric Chopin composed his Piano Sonata No. ... Paul Dukas (October 1, 1865 – May 17, 1935) was a French composer of classical music. ... Edvard Hagerup Grieg (15 June 1843 – 4 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist who composed in the romantic period. ... Franz Liszt (Hungarian: Liszt Ferenc) (October 22, 1811 – July 31, 1886) was a Hungarian virtuoso pianist and composer of the Romantic period. ... A work for solo piano by Franz Liszt. ... One of the pages from the original manuscript of the sonata. ... Edward and Marian MacDowell. ... Felix Mendelssohn at the age of 30 Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, born and known generally as Felix Mendelssohn (February 3, 1809 – November 4, 1847) was a German composer and conductor of the early Romantic period. ... Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninoff (Russian: , Sergej Vasil’evič Rachmaninov, 1 April 1873 (N.S.) or 20 March 1873 (O.S.) – 28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor. ... Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an Austrian composer. ... Many of Franz Schuberts works are covered in separate Wikipedia articles, for which there are links on this page. ... Otto Erich Deutsch (September 5, 1883 – November 23, 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. ... Otto Erich Deutsch (September 5, 1883 – November 23, 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. ... Robert Schumann (June 8, 1810 – July 29, 1856) was a German composer and pianist. ... Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst, Freiherr von Weber (November 18, 1786 in Eutin, Holstein – June 5, 1826 in London, England) was a German composer. ...

20th Century (Including Modern)

• Barber, Samuel
  • Sonata for Piano, Op.26

• Barraqué, Jean
  • Piano Sonata (1950–52)

• Bartók, Béla
  • Piano Sonata, Sz.80

• Berg, Alban
  • Piano Sonata, Op.1

• Boulez, Pierre
  • Piano Sonata No. 1
  • Piano Sonata No. 2
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 (Unfinished: only two of the five movements have been published.)

• Copland, Aaron
  • Piano Sonata

• Dutilleux, Henri
  • Sonata for Piano, Op.1

• Hindemith, Paul
  • Piano Sonata No. 1 in A Major "Der Main"
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Major
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in B flat Major

• Ives, Charles
  • Piano Sonata No.2, Concord, Mass., 1840-60

• Janáček, Leoš
  • Piano Sonata "1.X.1905"

• Prokofiev, Sergei
  • Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op.28 ("From Old Notebooks")
  • Piano Sonata No. 6 in A Major, Op.82 ("War Sonata 1")
  • Piano Sonata No. 7 in B flat Major, Op.83 ("War Sonata 2/Stalingrad")
  • Piano Sonata No. 8 in B flat Major, Op.84 ("War Sonata 3")

• Rzewski, Frederic
  • Sonata for Solo Piano

• Scriabin, Alexander
  • Piano Sonata No. 5
  • Piano Sonata No. 7 "White Mass"
  • Piano Sonata No. 9 "Black Mass"

• Shostakovich, Dmitri
  • Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61

• Stravinsky, Igor
  • Sonata for Piano

Samuel Barber, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1944 Samuel Osborne Barber (March 9, 1910–January 23, 1981) was an American composer of classical music, best known for his Adagio for Strings. ... Jean Barraqué (January 17, 1928 – August 17, 1973) was a French composer. ... Béla Viktor János Bartók (March 25, 1881 – September 26, 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist and collector of Eastern European and Middle Eastern folk music. ... Portrait of Alban Berg by Arnold Schoenberg, c. ... Pierre Boulez Pierre Boulez (IPA: /pjɛʁ.buˈlÉ›z/) (born March 26, 1925) is a conductor and composer of classical music. ... Pierre Boulez composed three piano sonatas. ... Pierre Boulez composed three piano sonatas. ... Pierre Boulez composed three piano sonatas. ... Aaron Copland Aaron Copland (November 14, 1900 – December 2, 1990) was an American composer of concert and film music. ... Henri Dutilleux (born January 22, 1916 in Angers, France) is one of the most important French composers of the second half of the 20th century, producing work in the tradition of Maurice Ravel, Claude Debussy, and Albert Roussel, but in a style distinctly his own. ... Paul Hindemith (16 November 1895 – 28 December 1963) was a German composer, violist, violinist, teacher, music theorist and conductor. ... Charles Edward Ives (October 20, 1874 – May 19, 1954) was an American composer of classical music. ... The Piano Sonata No. ... LeoÅ¡ Janáček in 1928 LeoÅ¡ Janáček â–¶ (help· info) (July 3, 1854 in Hukvaldy, Moravia – August 12, 1928 in Ostrava) was a Czech composer. ... 1. ... Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (Russian: , Sergej Sergejevič Prokof’ev; 15/April 271, 1891–March 5, 1953) was a Russian composer who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century. ... Frederic Anthony Rzewski (born April 13, 1938) is an American composer and virtuoso pianist. ... Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (Russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин; sometimes transliterated as Skryabin) (6 January 1872 – 27 April 1915) was a Russian composer and pianist. ... The fifth piano sonata, Op. ... The seventh piano sonata (Opus 64) written by Scriabin in 1911 is entitled White Mass. The piece is highly chromatic and atonal like Scriabins other late works. ... The ninth piano sonata (Opus 68) written by Scriabin in 1912-1913 is often known by the nickname Black Mass. Although the nickname was not invented by Scriabin, he personally approved of it. ... Dmitri Dmitrievich Shostakovich   (Russian: , Dmitrij Dmitrievič Å ostakovič) (September 25 [O.S. September 12] 1906–August 9, 1975) was a Russian composer of the Soviet period. ... Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (Russian: Игорь Фёдорович Стравинский, Igor Fëdorovič Stravinskij) (June 17, 1882 – April 6, 1971) was a Russian composer who first achieved international fame with three ballets commissioned by the impresario Serge Diaghilev and performed by Diaghilevs Ballets Russes (Russian Ballet): LOiseau de feu (The Firebird) (1910), Petrushka (1911...

See also

• Bassoon sonata
• Cello sonata
• Clarinet sonata
• Flute sonata
• Viola sonata
• Violin sonata