A sonatina is a small

sonata Sonata (; Italian: , pl. ''sonate''; from Latin and Italian: ''sonare'' rchaic Italian; replaced in the modern language by ''suonare'' "to sound"), in music, literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''canta ...

. As a musical term, sonatina has no single strict definition; it is rather a title applied by the composer to a piece that is in basic sonata form, but is shorter and lighter in character, or technically more elementary, than a typical

. The term has been in use at least since the late baroque; there is a one-page, one-movement harpsichord piece by

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

called "Sonatina". It is most often applied to solo keyboard works, but a number of composers have written sonatinas for violin and piano (see list under

Violin sonata A violin sonata is a musical composition for violin, often accompanied by a keyboard instrument and in earlier periods with a bass instrument doubling the keyboard bass line. The violin sonata developed from a simple baroque form with no fixed fo ...

), for example the Sonatina in G major for Violin and Piano by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...

, and occasionally for other instruments, for example the Clarinet Sonatina by Malcolm Arnold.

Term

The title "Sonatina" was used occasionally by J.S. Bach for short orchestral introductions to large vocal works, as in his cantata ''Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit'', BWV 106, a practice with precedent in the work of the earlier German composer Nicolaus Bruhns. This is the only sense in which Bach used the term sonatina, although he composed many chamber and solo sonatas for various instruments. As with many musical terms, sonatina is used inconsistently. The most common meaning is a short, easy

suitable for students, such as the piano sonatinas of Clementi. However, by no means are all sonatinas technically undemanding, for example the virtuoso sonatinas of Busoni and Alkan, and the ''Sonatine'' of Ravel, whose title reflects its neo-classical quality. On the other hand, some sonatas could equally have been called sonatinas: for example

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

's Op. 49, titled by the composer "''Zwei Leichte Sonaten für das Pianoforte''" ("Two Easy Sonatas for Piano") comprise only two short movements each, a sonata-allegro and a short rondo (No. 1) or minuet (No. 2), all well within the grasp of the intermediate student. However, other works titled "Sonatina", such as the Sonatina in F major, have been attributed to Beethoven.

Form

In general, a sonatina will have one or more of the following characteristics: brevity; fewer movements than the four of the late classical sonata; technical simplicity; a lighter, less serious character; and (in post-romantic music) a neo-classical style or a reference to earlier music. Muzio Clementi's sonatinas op. 36 are very popular among students. The first (or only) movement is generally in an abbreviated sonata form, with little or no development of the themes. For this reason, a sonatina is sometimes defined, especially in British usage, as a short piece in sonata form in which the development section is quite perfunctory or entirely absent:''Encyclopædia Britannica Online''
sonata
/ref> the exposition is followed immediately by a brief bridge passage to modulate back to the home key for the recapitulation. Subsequent movements (at most two) may be in any of the common forms, such as a minuet or scherzo, a slow theme-and-variations, or a rondo.

Composers

For solo piano

Alexander Borodin Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin ( rus, link=no, Александр Порфирьевич Бородин, Aleksandr Porfir’yevich Borodin , p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr pɐrˈfʲi rʲjɪvʲɪtɕ bərɐˈdʲin, a=RU-Alexander Porfiryevich Borodin.ogg, ...

* Alexander Goedicke *

Alexandre Tansman Alexander Tansman ( pl, Aleksander Tansman, link=no, French: Alexandre Tansman; 12 June 1897 – 15 November 1986) was a Polish composer, pianist and conductor who became a naturalized French citizen in 1938. One of the earliest representatives of ...

Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...

* Aram Khachaturian (1959) *

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as Hu ...

Sonatina (1915) *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Sonatina in F major (attributed) * Ludwig van Beethoven Sonatina in G major (Anh.5 No.2, attributed). * Camargo Guarnieri *

Charles-Valentin Alkan Charles-Valentin Alkan (; 30 November 1813 – 29 March 1888) was a French Jewish composer and virtuoso pianist. At the height of his fame in the 1830s and 1840s he was, alongside his friends and colleagues Frédéric Chopin and Franz Li ...

Sonatina in A minor, Op.61 (1861) * Carl Czerny *

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. He was a political radical all his life and a passionate enthusiast for such diverse things ...

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

Ferruccio Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

* Francisco Mignone * Frank Lynes *

Friedrich Kuhlau Friedrich Daniel Rudolf Kuhlau ( German; Danish sometimes ''Frederick Kulav'') (11 September 1786 – 12 March 1832) was a Danish pianist and composer during the late Classical and early Romantic periods. He was a central figure of the Danis ...

Fritz Spindler Fritz Spindler (24 November 1817 – 26 December 1905) was a German pianist and composer, especially of works for the piano. Biographical sketch Born in Wurzbach, Spindler's output of more than 400 opus numbers includes salon pieces, chamber mus ...

* Geghuni Chitchian — Sonatina (1987) *

George Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque music, Baroque composer well known for his opera#Baroque era, operas, oratorios, anthems, concerto grosso, concerti grossi, ...

* Heinrich Lichner * Jan Ladislav Dussek *

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

* John Ireland'' Sonatina'' (1926–27) *

Lars-Erik Larsson Lars-Erik Vilner Larsson (15 May 190827 December 1986) was a Sweden, Swedish composer, conductor, radio producer, and educator. He wrote three of the most popular works (each a suite (music), suite) in Swedish art music: ''A Winter's Tale (Larss ...

— Sonatina No. 1, Op. 16 (1938) *

— Sonatina No. 2 *

— Sonatina No. 3, Op. 41 (1950) *

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composers rejected the term. In ...

(1905) * Mikis Theodorakis – Sonatina * Muzio Clementi * Osvaldo Lacerda *

Stephen Heller Stephen Heller (15 May 1813 – 14 January 1888) was a Hungarian pianist, teacher, and composer whose career spanned the period from Schumann to Bizet. Heller was an influence for later Romantic composers. He outlived his reputation, and was ...

Swan Hennessy Edward Swan Hennessy (24 November 1866 – 26 October 1929) was an Irish-American composer and pianist who lived much of his life in Paris. In his pre-War piano music, he excelled as a miniaturist in descriptive, programmatic music. After joining ...

(Op. 43, 1911) * Tigran Mansurian — Sonatina No. 1 (1963) * Tigran Mansurian — Sonatina No. 2 (1987) * Zdeněk Fibich

For instrumental duos

Sonatina for violin and piano (1893) *

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber, vocal and instrumental works. He be ...

Sonatina for clarinet and piano (1956) *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wo ...

Three sonatinas for violin and piano, Op. posth. 137 (1816) * Walter Piston Sonatina for violin and harpsichord (1945) * Mikis Theodorakis – 2 Sonatinas for violin and piano

Other sonatinas

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Serenade for Strings, 1st movement "Pezzo in forma di sonatina" (1880)

References

{{Sonatas Sonatina