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Piano Sonata No.18 in D major, K.576

Sonata · in D major · K. 576

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756–1791
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
D major
Key
Sonata
Form
Allegro
Tempo
K. 576
Catalogue
Score
First page of Piano Sonata No.18 in D major, K.576

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Themes & character
Mozart's last sonata·Hunting-horn theme·Contrapuntal richness·Unfinished set of six

At a glance

Catalogue
K. 576
Key
D major
Tempo / character
Allegro
Form
Sonata

Movements

I
AllegroD major

A bright horn-call theme opens what has come to be nicknamed "The Hunt."

II
AdagioA major

A songful, ornamented slow movement.

III
AllegrettoD major

A light, contrapuntally intricate closing movement.

About the piece

Composed in 1789, this was the last piano sonata Mozart wrote. He had planned a set of six "easy" sonatas for Princess Friederike of Prussia but completed only this one, and it is in fact more contrapuntally demanding than easy, weaving imitative lines throughout. Its opening horn-call theme has earned it the nickname "The Hunt" sonata, though the name was never Mozart's own.

The composer

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756–1791

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a Classical composer and musician. He completed more than 800 works in his life—including outstanding examples of most of the genres of his time: symphonies, concertos, chamber music, opera, and choral music—and is regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music.

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