Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major

Mozart’s four piano sonatas K. 330-333 were all composed in the early 1780s, most likely as teaching material for use with daughters of the Viennese aristocracy, although he would also have played them himself in the city’s fashionable salons. The second of these, the Piano Sonata No. 11, is nicknamed “Alla Turca” (Turkish March) on account of its hugely famous finale. The work opens with a set of variations in A major, “Andante grazioso”, where the siciliano rhythm theme in 6/8 is followed by six variations each comprising two repeated sections. The second movement is a minuet and trio, again in A major but with a harmonically more adventurous middle section. The rondo finale, an “Allegretto” headed “Alla Turca”, is in the Turkish style that was all the rage in the late 18th century. The popular allusions to a battery of cymbals and other percussion are found in the left-hand arpeggio chords that underline the distinctive rhythmic profile of the refrain.