Felix Mendelssohn composed his Viola Sonata in

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: : Cha ...

, MWV Q 14, when he was only 15 years old. The autograph score is dated 14 February 1824. The work was not published in Mendelssohn's lifetime - in fact not until 1966 - and it was not assigned an

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among composit ...

. Although he did reuse one of the themes from the minuet movement in the equivalent movement of his First Symphony. Mendelssohn himself was an accomplished violinist and

violist ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...

, playing one of the viola parts in an early performance of his own String Octet in E flat major, and was fully aware of the difficulties of writing for the viola. Since the sonata was not published for over 140 years, the first sonata specifically for the modern viola to be published may have been by Karl Ernst Naumann, who was born in 1832, after this sonata was written.

Movements

The sonata has three

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

: #

Adagio Adagio (Italian for 'slowly', ) may refer to: Music * Adagio, a tempo marking, indicating that music is to be played slowly, or a composition intended to be played in this manner * Adagio (band), a French progressive metal band Albums * ''Adagi ...

– Allegro #

Menuetto A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...

- Allegro molto # Andante con variazioni A typical performance lasts just under 25 minutes.

References

;Notes ;Sources * * *

External links

* {{Authority control Chamber music by Felix Mendelssohn

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...

Compositions in C minor Compositions by Felix Mendelssohn published posthumously