Sonatina in C, Op. 20 No. 1: III. Rondo
The Rondo, the finale of Friedrich Kuhlau's Sonatina in C, Op. 20 No. 1, is a quick, bright movement in 2/4, Octotune grade 7 of 8: sixteenth-note runs in the right hand over the left hand's broken chords, around a tune that keeps coming back.
At a glance
| Composer | Friedrich Kuhlau (1786–1832) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Advanced: grade 7 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: no sharps or flats |
| Time | 2/4 |
| Tempo | 120 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 157 measures, about 2:37 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | G3 to C7 |
| Left hand | C2 to C5 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Sonatina in C, Op. 20 No. 1: III. Rondo | 7 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
The last movement of Friedrich Kuhlau's Sonatina in C, Op. 20 No. 1, and the hardest of the three. It is a rondo: a bright tune in C major and 2/4 that returns between contrasting sections.
How it is built. It starts on a pick-up of two sixteenths, E F. The tune is a chain of sixteenth notes: G, with quick neighbor notes around it, G F sharp G A G, then the same shape on E and on C. The left hand plays broken chords in eighths, C E G, and later holds longer notes. The right hand's sixteenths run almost without a break, climbing high above the staff in places.
The tricky parts
- Endurance. Sixteenths for page after page. Keep the hand relaxed, and breathe at the phrase ends.
- Neighbor notes. The quick turns around each main note, often a chromatic step away (F sharp, D sharp). Keep them light.
- Evenness at speed. Every note the same. Speed comes last.
- High notes. Read up from high C.
Practice plan
- Right hand alone in Wait for me, a phrase at a time, with a fixed fingering.
- Play along with the right hand at 40–50% speed, the loop on any run that stumbles.
- Both hands, then raise the speed only while the sixteenths stay even.
The whole sonatina: the Allegro and the Andante come first.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 10, then the sonatina's first two movements. The accidentals and highest notes go beyond the path.
Questions
Is the Rondo of Kuhlau's Op. 20 No. 1 hard?
It is the hardest of the sonatina's three movements, Octotune grade 7 of 8, mostly for speed: the right hand runs in sixteenth notes nearly all the way through.
Credits and license
- Music: Friedrich Kuhlau (1786–1832)
- Typeset by Bas Wassink for the Mutopia Project
- License: Public Domain
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece