Description
The rondo that closes Op. 20 No. 1. It is the most densely written movement of the sonatina, more than 1,700 notes laid out across two and a half minutes. Part of why Kuhlau's sonatinas have lasted as teaching material is that finales like this give a student the tangible sense of having learned to play.
In C major and duple time, the theme returns unchanged again and again with episodes in other keys between its appearances. Scales frequently appear as melody itself, so the turning of the fingers becomes the music's momentum directly. The span reaches five octaves.
The task is accuracy at speed, and the stamina not to flag before the end. Playing the theme identically at each return makes the movement monotonous, so vary the dynamics and the character. The difficulties are concentrated in the scales and broken chords of the episodes: isolate those, practise them slowly, and bring the tempo up from there.
Compact piano works that teach sonata form on a smaller scale, often used as a stepping stone toward full-length sonatas.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Friedrich Kuhlau (1786-1832)
Friedrich Kuhlau was born in Germany and spent the latter part of his career in Denmark, where he became known as the "Danish Beethoven." Especially celebrated for his flute music, he also wrote many pedagogical piano sonatinas notable for their clarity and appealing melodies, still favored by students today. This site features all three movements of his Sonatine, Op. 20, No. 1.
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