Piano Sonatina in D

Hello!  I decided to write a classical mini-little piano sonatina allegro movement!  I didn't use any dice or try to make the music overly complicated or anything.  I was going for just a pure easy-listening simplicity and ease of playing.  It's not exactly sonata form as there's scarcely a development here.  There are three themes though, which come back in the home key in the recapitulation.  Let me know what you think and I hope you enjoy!

You definitely met your goal.  Very pleasant and easy on the ear but still with a few little wrinkles which keep it interesting.  I particularly like transition to the second theme in minor, really nice.

An absolute delight! 

4 hours ago, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

It's not exactly sonata form as there's scarcely a development here.  There are three themes though, which come back in the home key in the recapitulation.

That's actually very common for sonatinas, to have more of a bridging passage in minor than a true development. Sonatina in C by Clementi for example(the very famous sonatina for beginners) has a bridging passage in the first movement that is in C minor briefly instead of a true development. Even some full sonatas(namely the Moonlight Sonata and its first movement) have a similar structure to the typical sonatina form.

And you certainly met your goal. It is easily listenable, simple, but not so simple that it becomes boring, and definitely playable(I'd say it's at about the same difficulty level as the K 545 sonata, though that's just from listening).

The 3 against 4 rhythm beginning at measure 34 sounds so cool

Thanks @bkho, @Papageno, @caters and @jejrekmek for your comments and for listening!

2 hours ago, caters said:

That's actually very common for sonatinas, to have more of a bridging passage in minor than a true development. Sonatina in C by Clementi for example(the very famous sonatina for beginners) has a bridging passage in the first movement that is in C minor briefly instead of a true development.

It's been a while since I've played the Clementi sonatinas, but I guess some of that stuck in the back of my mind/my subconscious since I also did that here.  I actually just thought I was using three themes with the third in E minor because in D major the ii chord is minor.

2 hours ago, caters said:

And you certainly met your goal. It is easily listenable, simple, but not so simple that it becomes boring, and definitely playable(I'd say it's at about the same difficulty level as the K 545 sonata, though that's just from listening).

Thank you!  Actually, I just listened to the K 545 sonata after you mentioned it and I realized that it also recapitulates the first theme (in the 1st movement) at the subdominant level - just like I do in this sonatina!  Thanks for your review!

A very playful melody, enjoying it a lot! 😄

A very nice and lively piece that reflects the classical period. has many elements that will attract the listener. thanks for sharing

This is a enjoyable and iight-hearted sonatina for me which fits well for a sonatina. I really enjoy it!

To begin the recapitulation from the subdominant G major, then to modulate back to D major (overall tonic, G major's dominant) as in the exposition is very Mozartian for me like in his "Easy" piano sonata in C major (which is not easy at all!!!). When I say it's Mozartian I didn't look at your reply but later find this!

On 7/17/2021 at 11:36 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

Thank you!  Actually, I just listened to the K 545 sonata after you mentioned it and I realized that it also recapitulates the first theme (in the 1st movement) at the subdominant level - just like I do in this sonatina!  Thanks for your review!

The modal mixture in the second subject, vivacious rhythm and lighter texture remind me of Mozart as well!

Sonatina needs not be easy to play though, like Ravel's or Bartok's sonatine. The triplets against semiquavers are definitely not easy for novice and could be challenging for intermediate players as well, but it creates good contrast to predominant steady texture!

The last half of b.7 and similar is quite neo-classical for me with harmonic emphasis on the mediant minor chord.

On 7/17/2021 at 5:04 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

I was going for just a pure easy-listening simplicity and ease of playing.  It's not exactly sonata form as there's scarcely a development here.

For a sonatina the length is absolutely fine. In the last movement of Beethoven's op. 10 no.1, the development only contains 11 bars, and the tempo is pretissimo so you can imagine it flows within a few seconds:

Also there's a type 1 sonata named by Hepokoski in which there's no development: The recapitualtion immediately follows the exposition after the cadence in the second subject. It happens more in the slow movement like that of also in Bee's op.10 no.1, but for a sonatina it's fine to have a diminutive development or no development at all.

On 7/17/2021 at 11:36 AM, PeterthePapercomPoser said:

It's been a while since I've played the Clementi sonatinas, but I guess some of that stuck in the back of my mind/my subconscious since I also did that here.  I actually just thought I was using three themes with the third in E minor because in D major the ii chord is minor.

I love playing the Clementi and Kuhlau piano sonatinas! They are very lovely!!

Thanks for sharing Peter!

Henry