Mozart: Piano Sonata No. 12 in F, K. 332

Introduction

The Piano Sonata No. 12 in F major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, K. 332/300k, was written at the same time as the Piano Sonata, K. 330, and Piano Sonata, K. 331 ("Alla turca"), Mozart numbering them as a set from one to three. They were once believed to have been written in the late 1770s in Paris, but it is now thought more likely that they date from 1783, by which time Mozart had moved to Vienna. Some believe that Mozart wrote this and the other sonatas during a summer 1783 visit to Salzburg made for the purpose of introducing his wife, Constanze to his father, Leopold. All three sonatas were published in Vienna in 1784.

Form

The sonata is in three movements and has a conventional structure:

1. Allegro - The first movement is in a classical sonata form.
2. Adagio - The second movement is a slow movement in the key of B flat major with two halves repeated. In the autograph, the second half is essentially a repeat of its initial presentation with some minor tonal adjustments. In the earliest printed editions, however, it is considerably elaborated.
3. Allegro assai - The rapid finale is in sonata form with a 6/8 time. While it starts out with a forte chord and passage work, it concludes with a pianissimo cadence.