Skip to main content
sonata

sonata

9 7.8
A musical piece for one or two instruments with several different parts
  • noun
  • /səˈnɑːtə/
: sonata
  • Beethoven was 23 when he composed his first piano sonata.
  • Mozart sonata
  • Beethoven sonata
  • piano sonata

And this is this is the first movement of the Sonata for Trumpet, Cello and Piano composed by Greg Hopkins.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Who doubts the greatness of Beethoven's piano sonatas and string quartets or of Schubert's songs?

    Blog text (4)
  • Ana has played that sonata two or three times.

    Academic text (2006)
  • I always loved that sonata of his.

  • The last movement of a sonata.

  • I should have played Jason's sonata for the jury.

  • Yeah, he wrote some beautiful piano sonatas.

  • In three days, he developed the melody into sonata form, scoring it for piano and violin.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • "You should play Mozart sonatas every day," he explained.

    Academic text (2007)
  • He loved classical music and I grew up hearing Mendelssohn's Elijah and Beethoven's Spring Sonata coming from the studio.

  • At the concert, she performed a stunning sonata by Mozart, captivating the audience with its complexity.

Compounds

1 4.9

A piece of music for one piano, usually in several parts with different speeds and moods

sonata form
  • Specialized
8.6

A musical pattern with three main parts used at the start of many symphonies and sonatas

How Complex

symphony
72 5.6
concerto
32 7.5
sonata
9 7.8
sonatina
8.4
song
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

sonata singular
sonatas plural

Etymology

Sonata comes from the Italian verb sonare, which means 'to sound' or 'to play' and is the same root as English sound. So a sonata is a musical piece meant to be 'sounded' by instruments rather than sung, which is why sonatas are usually for piano or violin and have several parts.