Sonata Rondo Form - Structure

Structure

An explanation of sonata rondo form requires first some preliminary coverage of rondo form and sonata form.

Rondo form involves the repeated use of a theme, set in the tonic key, with episodes, each involving a new theme, intervening among the repetitions, like this:

Sometimes the A section could change slightly, especially at the very last time it comes back. Usually the episodes (B, C, D, etc.) are in a different key from the tonic.

Sonata form is usually in 3 sections. Exposition, is mainly showing the composer's ideas and the main themes. It normally ends in the dominant key in the case of major-key movements, or in the relative major in the case of minor-key movements, even though sometimes it could be in other keys. The Exposition could also have an introduction. The 2nd section is the Development section, this develops the expositon, by inversions, different keys..... The 3rd section is the Recapitulation, this comes back to the main theme in the tonic in the end, instead of going to a different key it goes to the tonic. At the end there could sometimes be a coda in the tonic.

where a single prime (') means "in the dominant" and a double prime (") means "in remote keys".

Occasionally, sonata form includes an "episodic development," which uses mostly new thematic material. Two examples are the first movements of Mozart's piano sonata K. 330 and Beethoven's piano sonata Op. 14, no. 1. The episodic development is often the kind of development that is used in sonata rondo form, to which we now turn.

The simplest kind of sonata rondo form is a sonata form that repeats the opening material in the tonic as the beginning of the development section.

By adding in this extra appearance of A, the form reads off as AB'AC"AB, hence the alternation of A with "other" material that characterizes the rondo. Note that if the development is an episodic development, then C" will be new thematic material—thus increasing the resemblance of sonata rondo form to an actual rondo.