Violin Sonata No. 32 in

B-flat major B-flat major is a major scale based on B, with pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two flats. Its relative minor is G minor and its parallel minor is B-flat minor. The B-flat major scale is: : Many transposing instr ...

( K. 454) was composed by

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

on April 21, 1784. It was published by Christoph Torricella in a group of three sonatas (together with the piano sonatas K. 284 and K. 333). The sonata was written for a violin virtuoso

Regina Strinasacchi Regina Schlick née Strinasacchi (c. 1761 – June 11, 1839) was a violin virtuoso and guitarist in a time when women rarely performed on the violin in public. She knew Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart well enough that he composed the Sonata in B flat for ...

of Mantua to be performed by them together at a concert in the Kärntnerthor Theater in Vienna on April 29, 1784. Although Mozart had the piano part securely in his head, he did not give himself enough time to write it out, and thus it was performed with a sheet of blank music paper in front of him in order to fool the audience. According to a story told by his widow

Constanze Mozart Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart (née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a trained Austrian singer. She was married twice, first to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; then to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. She and Mozart had six ...

, the

Emperor Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 un ...

saw the empty sheet music through his opera glasses and sent for the composer with his manuscript, at which time Mozart had to confess the truth, although that is likely to have amazed the monarch rather than cause his irritation. The work consists of three movements: The sonata opens with an exceptionally slow introduction, in which emphasis is put on the equality of the two instruments, kept throughout the entire work. The opening theme was later echoed by Haydn Op. 50 No. 1 String Quartet and Beethoven's String Quartet No. 1. The second movement has a melodic feeling of adagio, which was the tempo written down by Mozart at first, but then crossed out and marked Andante. In the development section there are bold chromatic modulations. The final movement returns to the playful mood of the first, but even so happens to be a very sophisticated Rondo. The autograph is located in the archive of Stiftelsen Musikkulturens Främjande (The Nydahl Collection) in Stockholm.

Recordings

* 1955 -

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor. Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras and musicians from many parts of the world and was the dedicatee of numerous violin w ...

(violin),

Vladimir Yampolsky Vladimir Yampolsky (1905–1965) was a Soviet pianist who served as David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974), was a Soviet classical violinist, violist and conductor. Oistrakh collaborated with major orchestras a ...

(piano) - EMI_-_Warner_classics) *_1956_–_Arthur_Grumiaux_(violin),_

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* 1981 – Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Walter Klien (piano) – Philips Records, Philips

References

* * Ulrich Konrad: ''Komponieren und Schreiben. Beobachtungen an der autographen Niederschrift von Wolfgang Amadé Mozarts Violinsonate KV 454''. In: Die Tonkunst 9 (2015), Heft 2, S. 131–141.

External links

* *
Performance of Violin Sonata No. 32
by

Ani Kavafian Ani Kavafian ( hy, Անի Գավաֆեան, born May 10, 1948, Istanbul) is a classical violinist and professor at the Yale School of Music. Early life and education Born in Istanbul of Armenian heritage, Ani Kavafian began piano lessons at t ...

(violin) and

Andre-Michel Schub Andre-Michel Schub (born 26 December 1952, in Paris) is a classical pianist. Biography Schub came to New York City with his family, when he was eight months old. He began his piano studies with his mother when he was four, and later continued his ...

(piano) from the

Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is an art museum in Boston, Massachusetts, which houses significant examples of European, Asian, and American art. Its collection includes paintings, sculpture, tapestries, and decorative arts. It was founded ...

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

format {{Authority control 454 1784 compositions Compositions in B-flat major