Sonata No. 9 in C Major

Started: 3-13-2001, 4:33 PM
Completed: 3-13-2001, 5:09 PM
Huntington Beach, CA

After the sonatas for this set were picked, I noticed a huge disparity in the number of sonatas in minor keys versus major keys, so when choosing how they'd appear in sequence, I tried to sprinkle the few sonatas in major keys between those in minor to reduce the risk of things becoming tiresome for anyone listening to them all in one sitting. This was a little difficult, because as it happened, many of the sonatas selected were actually paired with others. This particular sonata is a standalone in C, and I've sandwiched it between the previous in e minor and a pair coming up in c minor.

This is a playful sonata that makes use of a lot of octaves in the bass. There are some pretty big jumps in the right hand near the close of each half, but I wouldn't classify this sonata as difficult to play by any means. With that said, I should point out just for the sake of humor that there is a scratched out trill in this manuscript at the close of each section. Apparently I'd originally called for a trill to be performed on both notes of the sixths that end each section. I guess I realized at some point that this would be insanely difficult to negotiate, so I killed the trill on the lower note and brought this sonata back into the realm of something people might actually like (and be able) to play.

Enjoy!