3 Worksheet 2.

9 Wider Listening

Task
In order to place Beethoven’s Pathétique sonata in the context of the late-Classical,
and early-Romantic style, it will be useful for you to explore an earlier keyboard sonata
written by Mozart.

This worksheet will help to guide you in comparing some of the important features of
Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545, first movement and Beethoven’s Piano Sonata
No. 8 in C minor, first movement.

Questions

{
First Subject

œ
Ϫ
œ ˙ œ œ Ÿœ œ œ œ
Allegro
œ œœœ
&c ˙ Œ Œ
p

&c œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
Chords: C G C F C G C

1) Listen to the opening of Mozart’s Piano Sonata in C major, K. 545, first movement.

List three features of the movement’s first subject.

1. ............................................................................................................................................

2. ............................................................................................................................................

3. ............................................................................................................................................

2) Compare what you know about the harmony of Beethoven’s Pathétique with the
harmony of the opening of Mozart’s Sonata in C major. The chords have been given in
the extract above to help you.

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3) Which of the following terms best describes the overall texture of the first movement of
Mozart’s Sonata in C major? Circle your answer.

Monophonic Homophonic Polyphonic Heterophonic

Pearson Edexcel GCSE Music (9-1), 2016 Specification Area of Study 1: Instrumental Music (1700-1820)
Copyright © 2017 Sean Young
1
 {
Second Subject
14 œ œ œ™ œ œ œ. œ. Ÿœ™ #œœ œ œ œ™ œ œ œ. œ. Ÿœ™ #œœ
& Ó Ó
œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ
? œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ œ

Chords: G G D G D G C D G D

4) The second subject is presented in the key of G major. Based on your knowledge of
sonata form, is this an expected or unexpected key? How does this compare with the key
used for Beethoven’s second subject?
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5) Evaluate how effectively Mozart and Beethoven use melody and dynamics in the
opening movements of their sonatas.

Remember, a successful answer to this type of question should:

• Use relevant musical vocabulary where appropriate;
• Give examples from both pieces of music (with bar numbers) to support the arguments made;
• Compare features from both pieces throughout;
• Reach a conclusion about the effectiveness of the use of melody and dynamics in each piece.
A score for Mozart’s sonata can be found online at: http://imslp.org

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Pearson Edexcel GCSE Music (9-1), 2016 Specification Area of Study 1: Instrumental Music (1700-1820)
Copyright © 2017 Sean Young
2
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Pearson Edexcel GCSE Music (9-1), 2016 Specification Area of Study 1: Instrumental Music (1700-1820)
Copyright © 2017 Sean Young
3