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A three-part structure consisting of exposition (two contrasting themes), development (themes transformed), and recapitulation (themes return in the home key). The most important form in Classical and Romantic music.
Sonata form is the backbone of symphonic first movements. The key to writing good sonata form is the contrast between themes — they should differ in character, key, and texture. The development is where your craft shows: fragment, reharmonize, combine, and modulate the themes.
Mozart's Symphony No. 41 ("Jupiter"), first movement — a textbook sonata form with sharply contrasted themes and a masterful development.
Sonata form is one of 1760 terms in the Gradus musical dictionary: the words, abbreviations and instrument names that appear in printed scores, plus the vocabulary composers use to talk about them.
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