Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

composed six sonatas for keyboard with accompaniment of violin (or flute) and cello, K. 10–15, in late 1764 in London during the Mozart family's grand tour of Europe. Britain's

Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...

commissioned them on 25 October, and the works were dedicated to her on 18 January 1765. They were published as Mozart's "Opus III" by his father

Leopold Leopold may refer to: People * Leopold (given name), including a list of people named Leopold or Léopold * Leopold (surname) Fictional characters * Leopold (''The Simpsons''), Superintendent Chalmers' assistant on ''The Simpsons'' * Leopold B ...

20 Frith Street 20 Frith Street is a building in the Soho district of London. It is located on the east side of Frith Street, close to the junction with Old Compton Street. The building which currently occupies the site of 20 Frith Street was built in 1858 by ...

, Soho, London, where the Mozarts lived from September 1764 until after May 1765. The keyboard part was originally written for a

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

. Unlike Mozart's other works for violin and keyboard, the first edition was printed with a separate ''

ad libitum In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The roughly synonymous phrase ('in acc ...

'' cello part for all six sonatas. The part mostly doubles the principal notes in the left hand part of the keyboard in the manner of

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

's early piano trios (e.g. Trio No. 5 in G minor, Hob. XV:1), or a set of similarly scored sonatas (Op. 2, WB 43–48) by Queen Charlotte's music teacher

Johann Christian Bach Johann Christian Bach (5 September 1735 – 1 January 1782) was a German composer of the Classical era, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. He received his early musical training from his father, and later from his half-brother, Carl ...

. Bach befriended the young Mozart, and became an important influence on the younger composer's evolving style. The ''

Neue Mozart-Ausgabe The ''Neue Mozart-Ausgabe'' (''NMA''; English: ''New Mozart Edition'') is the second complete works edition of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A longer and more formal title for the edition is ''Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791): Neue ...

'' therefore includes the works with the

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

s, unlike the earlier ''

Alte Mozart-Ausgabe The ''Alte Mozart-Ausgabe'' is the name by which the first complete edition of the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is known. It was published by Breitkopf & Härtel from January 1877 to December 1883, with supplements published until 1910. Th ...

'' and the various editions of the

Köchel catalogue The Köchel catalogue () is a catalogue of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, originally created by Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, in which the entries are abbreviated ''K.'' or ''KV''. Its numbers reflect the ongoing task of compiling the chro ...

which list them as

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 music, baroque form wi ...

s (or

flute sonata A flute sonata is a sonata usually for flute and piano, though occasionally other accompanying instruments may be used. Flute sonatas in the Baroque period were very often accompanied in the form of basso continuo. List of flute sonatas *George ...

s). Facsimile title page of 1st edition, p. XVI.

Sonata in B-flat, K. 10

Sonata in G, K. 11

Sonata in A, K. 12

Sonata in F, K. 13

Sonata in C, K. 14

Sonata in B-flat, K. 15

Notes

External links

* * * * * * *
Naxos.com
liner notes 010-015 1764 compositions Music dedicated to nobility or royalty {{sonata-stub