Structural Landmarks in the Evolution of the Sonata Form

Abstract

The astonishing process of the sonata-form crystallization has been achieved through a sinuous path along music history, from the timid formal prefigurations to its own accomplishment, from monothematism to bithematism, from bistrophic to tri strophic form, from polyphonic to homophonic support, from early Baroque to Viennese Classicism, from Romantic to modern sonata; the entire path having been marked out by the personalities of the composers: Philip Emmanuel Bach, Johann Christian Bach, Leopold Mozart, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, on one hand; and Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, on the other hand.