Rondo alla Turca (Sonata in A, K. 331, finale)

Background

The Rondo alla Turca is the last movement of Mozart's Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331. The sonata is usually dated to around 1783 and was published in Vienna by Artaria in 1784, alongside two other sonatas. It is an unusual sonata: none of its three movements is in sonata form. It opens with a theme and variations (the theme is in the library as the Andante grazioso), continues with a minuet, and ends with this rondo, which Mozart headed Alla Turca, "in the Turkish style".

"Turkish" music meant the sound of the Ottoman Janissary military bands, with their drums, cymbals and triangles, which was fashionable in Vienna at the time. Mozart had used the same colour in his opera The Abduction from the Seraglio (1782). In the rondo, the left hand's thumping chords and quick rolled chords imitate that percussion.

In 2014 a few pages of Mozart's own manuscript of the sonata were found in the National Széchényi Library in Budapest, which helped scholars check some details of the text.

How to practise it

The movement alternates a twirling A minor tune with a loud, march-like refrain in A major, plus a middle section in F sharp minor full of running sixteenth notes. Each section repeats, so there is less to learn than the length suggests.

Begin with the opening twirl. Each little group circles a note: B, A, G sharp, A, then up to C. The same shape then returns around C and around E, climbing each time.

The pattern 3-2-1-2 for each turn keeps the hand relaxed, and the thumb does the small shift each time. Practise every turn slowly in dotted rhythms (long-short, then short-long) until the four notes are completely even. Keep the eighth notes short and crisp.

The left hand under this tune is a simple drum pattern: a bass note on the beat, then light two-note chords.

Keep these chords soft and short. The most common mistake is a heavy left hand that buries the right-hand twirls.

In the A major refrain the left hand adds very quick rolled chords before strong beats, imitating cymbals. Practise them as solid chords first, then spread them quickly from the bottom note upwards, finishing exactly on the beat.

A practice order:

1. The A minor tune, hands separately, then together at 60 beats a minute.
2. The A major refrain, with the rolled chords.
3. The F sharp minor section, slowly, in short groups.
4. Join sections, then step up through 76 and 92 to the full 112.

Musically, aim for contrast: light and playful in the A minor sections, bold and festive in the refrain.

If finger numbers like 3-2-1-2 are new to you, start with the piano finger numbers guide.