Description
The Allegro assai finale closes K. 457. This is Mozart's only piano sonata in C minor, and the fact that it was published alongside the Fantasia K. 475 in the same key suggests how particular a character that key held for him. Beethoven is well known to have studied the work closely.
In C minor and triple meter, the theme is stated quietly and in broken fragments. Rests placed between the phrases create unease, and sudden loud outbursts cut across them: here silence carries meaning before the melody does. The argument halts repeatedly along the way, and each halt adds to the tension.
This is an advanced movement, and sustaining the gap between still and violent is harder than the fast passagework itself. Can you drop back to a true piano immediately after a forte? Are the rests being shortened out of nervousness? The movement does not force its way to a close but fades into silence, and building toward that ending from the first bar gives the whole its shape.
Piano sonatas representative of the Classical and Romantic eras, including Beethoven's early works — substantial multi-movement pieces throughout.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
About the Composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, and achieved fame as a child prodigy before establishing his career in Vienna. In a life of only 35 years, he produced masterpieces across symphonies, operas, chamber music, and keyboard works. His style combines clarity and formal balance with rich emotional depth. This site includes movements of the Sonatas K. 545 and K. 331, the Fantasia in D minor, K. 397, and several fugues.
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