Piano Sonata Overview

           The structure of Mozart's 18 piano sonatas is very consistent.  All have three movements 
     (Beethoven wrote two, three, and four movement sonatas).  

            All use the sonata form for the first movement except for No. 11, K333 "Turkish" which 
     starts with a set of variations.

            All but two, No. 4, K282 and, again, No. 11, follow the fast→slow→fast format.  

            All but two, No. 8, K310 and No. 14, K457, are in major keys.

            Only one, No. 2, K. 280, has a minor key middle (slow) movement. 

            Only two No. 4, K. 282 and No. 11, have a minuet (second) movement.  All other second 
      and third movements are either sonata form, ternary form, rondo form or sonata-rondo form.

            The first seven sonatas are good but have little to disguish them with the exception of the 
      slow, minor key funeral march-like second movement of No. 2, the dazzling first movement of 
      No. 6, K.284 (which also has Mozart's first set of variations in movement 3), and the catchy 
      rondo finale of No. 7, K309. 


              The eleven sonatas from No. 8 to No. 18, K. 476 are all very good, with many being 
               excellent.  These are the ones that beginners to Mozart's sonatas should explore.