Piano Sonata No. 11 (Mozart)

The sonata was published by Artaria in 1784, alongside Nos. 10 and 12 (K. 330 and K. 332).

The third movement of this sonata, the "Rondo alla Turca", or "Turkish March", is often heard on its own and regarded as one of Mozart's best-known piano pieces.

Structure

The sonata consists of three movements:

1. Andante grazioso
2. Menuetto
3. Alla turca – Allegretto

All of the movements are in the key of A major or A minor; therefore, the work is homotonal. A typical performance of this entire sonata takes about 20 minutes.

I. Andante grazioso

Since the opening movement of this sonata is a theme and variation, Mozart defied the convention of beginning a sonata with an allegro movement in sonata form. The theme is a siciliana, consisting of an 8-measure section and a 10-measure section, each repeated, a structure shared by each variation.

II. Menuetto

The second movement of the sonata is a standard minuet and trio movement in A major.

III. Alla turca

The last movement, marked Alla turca, is popularly known as the "Turkish Rondo" or "Turkish March".

Mozart himself titled the rondo "Alla turca". The form of this movement is an irregular rondo, structured as A–B–C–B–A–B followed by a coda, with B serving as the refrain in which the sounds of Turkish Janissary band instruments are imitated, in a cartoonish and mocking manner.

Mozart later incorporated this "Alla turca" style in a few other works, including in K. 539 which glorified Emperor Joseph II during the Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791) and portrayed him as so powerful that "even the Turks tremble with fear". Mozart also used the "Alla turca" style in K. 620, in which he portrays Blackness, "Moorishness" and Turkishness in a very negative way and as difficult to separate. Mozart's musical treatment is considered a part of the wider anti-Turkish propaganda of the time; his style sought to portray Turks as "barbaric" and "cartoonish".

• Section A: This section, in A minor, consists of a rising sixteenth-note melody followed by a falling eighth note melody over a staccato eighth-note accompaniment. A melody in thirds and eighth notes is played before the sixteenth-note melody returns slightly varied.
• Section B: This section is the refrain. It is a forte march in octaves over an arpeggiated chord accompaniment. The key changes to A major.
• Section C: This section, in F♯ minor, consists of sixteenth note melody over a broken-chord accompaniment.
• Coda: A forte theme consisting mostly of chords (arpeggiated and not) and octaves. There is a brief piano restatement of the theme in the middle of the coda followed by a final forte restatement before an ending in octaves.