Pieces › Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Piano Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310

II. Andante con espressione

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart · 1778 · F major · 88 bars · 250 chords analysed

Mozart's first minor-key sonata, written in Paris in 1778 — the summer his mother died there. It is restless and dramatic.

Mozart's 18 piano sonatas span his career, from Munich in 1775 to Vienna in 1789. Most have three movements — fast, slow, fast — and the first movement is usually in sonata form: two contrasting themes, a development that travels through other keys, and a return home.

Keys visited: F major, C major, D minor.