October 29, 200619 yr Ok, so I have two first movements of my Piano Sonata #1 in Ab Major finished... 1st Movement- Allegro-Moderato in Sonata form. 2nd Movement- Allegretto in ABA form. I need an idea for a third movement. I can't decide if I should write a Presto/Prestissimo or an Adagio. Which one is more commonly used as a third movement?
October 29, 200619 yr Hmm. You may have written yourself into a box here. The Classical sonata is fast-slow-fast, with the first movement in Sonata Allegro form and the last movement usually in rondo form. While you don't necessarily have to write that way, it seems fairly easy to understand why that form was so popular: it starts the piece with something ear-catching, allows a lot of expression in the middle movement, and finishes with a flourish. Now that you've written a moderately fast middle movement, a fast third movement means you don't have much contrast in tempo - but a slow one doesn't seem like the best way to finish a piece. I would suggest an alternative solution: a slow third movement, followed by a Presto/Prestissimo fourth movement.
October 29, 200619 yr Author Good idea. I like that. A lot. So, maybe this would be the solution: 1- Allegro-Moderato Sonata Form 2- Allegretto ABA 3- Adagio Espressionato (Using main theme and others) 4- Presto Rondo Thanks much!
October 30, 200619 yr Or... Adagio - Allegro? Change tempos in the movement if you want to keep it to thrice? Eh? You can repeat themes and stuff... But four is good, just alot of composing ^_^ - El "L"
October 30, 200619 yr Author I need a lot more to do. A fourth movement shouldn't take too long. Also, i am performing this piece at my composing class finals in December, so longer is kind of better... as long as the quality is good.
