omposer; he wrote to his father about
her, and described her as "a pretty, charming girl," and added, "she
has a staid manner and a great deal of sense for her age (the young
lady was only thirteen); she speaks but little, and when she does
speak, it is with grace and amiability." On the very next day after
his arrival in Mannheim he began to write this sonata for her. The
Allegro was finished in one day. Young Danner, the violinist, asked
him about the Andante, and Mozart replied: "I mean to make it exactly
like Mdlle. Rose herself." This was the picture to which he worked.
One of Beethoven's finest sonatas, the C sharp minor, was inspired by
a beautiful girl: a strong appeal to the emotions calls forth a
composer's best powers. Mozart's first movement was written on 31st
October, and the Rondo on 8th November. The Allegro maestoso presents
many points of interest. The opening theme with its dotted motive is
prominent throughout the movement; the transition passage to the key
of the relative major is based on it, and so is the coda to the
exposition section. Again, in the development and recapitulation
sections it forms a striking feature, while in the final coda it is
intensified by reiteration of the dotted figure, and also by the rise
from the dominant to the tonic. The slow movement, with its expressive
themes, graceful ornamentation, and bold middle section, was not
surpassed by Mozart even in his C minor Sonata. The Presto closes the
work in worthy manner; it forms a contrast to the first movement, and
yet is allied to it in sentiment. The passionate outburst at the
close, with the repeated E's, seems almost a reminiscence of the
Allegro theme. There are two features in the development section of
that movement which point to Beethoven: the one is the augmentation in
the seventh bar of the quaver figure in the two preceding bars; the
other, the phrase containing the shake which is evolved from an
earlier one by curtailment of its first note. The 3rd Sonata, though
in many ways attractive, will not bear comparison with the other two.
In 1779, at Vienna, Mozart composed, among other sonatas, the
beautiful one in A major,--the first example, perhaps, of a sonata
commencing with a theme and variations. This first movement is very
charming, but the gem of the work is the delicate Menuetto; the Trio
speaks in tender, regretful tones of some happy past. The Alla Turca
is lively, but not far removed from the commonplace.