Piano Lessons: Mozart’s Sonata K 457

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We’ve had a lot of questions about this particular Mozart Sonata K 457 and today I’m going to address a very common question I receive about this piece. In the second movement, there is a section of very fast notes – some are 64th notes, some even go to 128th notes – and people are very interested in how to fit these notes in.

The simple answer is that you don’t need to fit these notes in perfectly as written – the final product should come out correctly but there is a certain level of freedom allowed. Here is an example of the section we are discussing:

That looks intimidating, doesn’t it? Well, there is a secret to playing this section and actually making it sound even better. Start the run a little bit early (just a hair before it’s supposed to actually start). Now is this going to affect the sound of the piece and make it lose its integrity? Not at all.

Mozart was known as a great improviser – as so many of the great composers of the past were – and they did their best to write down their music as accurately as they could. However, when it comes to cadenza-style passages, there is only so much you can do to write it down so that the music makes sense visually. So by experimenting with the timing, you can actually produce a better execution of the passage and not have to worry about having such a rapid string of notes. You are much better off not slowing down your tempo at all, but instead adjusting the timing to fit the notes in a musical way.

In the video example provided with this article, I show how I personally start a little bit before the run of notes. Would Mozart mind? I don’t believe so. I personally believe that you are always better off playing something that sounds good rather than forcing something. For example – How to Play Trills on the Piano.

You will want to play the number of notes you can execute comfortably and shouldn’t feel compelled to play a larger number of notes or strain yourself in playing higher notes in an attempt to keep the authenticity of the piece intact. Ultimately you must make music; that is the bottom line.

I hope this lesson has been helpful for you and I encourage you to experiment and play these pieces with your own interpretation and make them sound as great as you can. Thanks again for joining us, if you have any comments, suggestions or topic for future videos please contact us directly: info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729