Sonata No. 13

At a glance

• What it isthe third and last movement of Piano Sonata No. 13, a rondo marked Allegretto grazioso, somewhat fast and graceful.
• Who, when, whymany believe Mozart wrote it in the autumn of 1783 in Linz, where he stopped on his way back from Salzburg to Vienna. It was published in Vienna in 1784.
• What to listen forthe theme changing a little each time it returns, and the cadenza near the end.

Listen for

• The themea bright, playful theme begins gracefully. Each time it returns, its decoration is a little different.
• Like a concertoin some passages the two hands seem to imitate, in turn, the full orchestra and the soloist. Try to tell the places where the sound grows big and thick from those where it sings lightly.
• The cadenzanear the end the music halts on a chord, and the piano freely displays its skill alone. It is a cadenza Mozart wrote out in notes himself.

When it was written

In 1783 Mozart visited his hometown of Salzburg with his wife Constanze, and on the way back to Vienna they stopped in Linz. The story of how, in the few days he spent there, he wrote and performed his Symphony No. 36, the 'Linz', is well known. This sonata is thought to date from the same time.

In those years Mozart was winning great popularity in Vienna with the piano concertos he performed himself. Perhaps that is why the texture and cadenza of a concerto have seeped into this sonata.