Violin Sonata No. 32

Album: Mozart: Sonatas For Fortepiano & Violin, Vol. 3 (1784)
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Songfacts®:

  • "Violin Sonata No. 32" is a work for violin and piano composed by Mozart in 1784. The sonata comprises three movements:

    Largo - Allegro: The first movement begins with a slow, expressive introduction in the key of B-flat minor, which sets the tone for the entire sonata. Haydn's "Op. 50 No. 1 String Quartet" and Beethoven's "String Quartet No. 1" later echoed the opening theme.

    Andante: The second movement is a graceful and lyrical andante. The piece has a melodious quality reminiscent of an adagio, which was initially the tempo notated by Mozart but later replaced by "Andante."

    Allegretto: Although the final movement reverts to the lighthearted atmosphere of the first, it is, nevertheless, a highly intricate Rondo.
  • Mozart composed the "Violin Sonata No. 32" in Vienna on April 21, 1784. He wrote the piece for a concert a week later in the Kärntnerthor Theater in Vienna to be performed by him on piano and virtuoso Regina Strinasacchi of Mantua on violin.

    Mozart didn't have time to write down the piano part for the debut performance of his Sonata 32, so he put a piece of blank paper on his stand. The great Austrian composer sat down at his piano and busked his way through it. Through his opera glasses, Emperor Joseph II spotted the blank page and asked for the sheet music. Mozart had to confess to Austrian emperor about his scheme to fool the audience.
  • Mozart's "Violin Sonata No. 32" appears in A Message from Akira Kurosawa: For Beautiful Movies. The 2000 documentary covers the filmmaking of Japanese director Akira Kurosawa around the theme of making the perfect movie.

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