Mozart: Violin Sonata in E-flat major, K.481

Introduction

Violin Sonata No. 33 in E-flat major (K. 481) was composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in Vienna on December 12, 1785. It was published on its own by Franz Anton Hoffmeister, a German composer and music publisher to whom Mozart's String Quartet No. 20 (K. 499) is dedicated. While much is unknown about the history of this sonata, it is nevertheless a very mature work, written in what one may call Mozart's period of greatest mastery (during his life in Vienna).

Structure

The work consists of three movements:

1. Molto allegro
2. Adagio
3. Allegretto

Each of the three movements has its own distinct structure: the first movement is in sonata form (although with three clear subjects in the exposition as opposed to the standard two), the second is a rondo, while the finale is a set of variations based on a theme which is twenty measures in length.