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Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) · sheet music

  • Key E-flat major
  • Time 3/4
  • Levels 9
  • Passages 1

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). The reading release has 1 passage from this piece at level 9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 113–120 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 113–120 at level 9.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato.

  1. Hands together · bars 113–120 level 9

How to play Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato

  1. Tempo:Allegro moderato means moderately fast: a lively but unhurried speed, where the sixteenth-note runs can stay clean.
  2. Right hand:The right hand has quick scale passages and large leaps; learn the hand shapes and the fingering for each run before increasing the speed.
  3. Left hand:The left hand ranges widely and sometimes reads in a different clef, so identify the clef at the start of each line.
  4. Hands together:Combine the hands in two-beat units and listen for where the left hand answers the right, rather than always accompanying.
  5. Dynamics:Use crisp, light articulation and let dynamic contrast come from the shape of each phrase, not from large changes in volume.
  6. Fingering:Choose a fingering for each run and use it every time; the leaps are easier if the hand moves before the finger lands.
  7. Practice:Work on the leaps first, in isolation, then connect them to the runs on either side; this is the quickest way to make the passage feel natural.

Common mistakes

  • Playing the runs too heavily, as if they were Romantic. Fix: Keep the fingers light and close to the keys, with a clear, light touch.
  • Missing the clef change in the left hand. Fix: Scan ahead for clef symbols and name the first note of each new line before starting.
  • Dropping accidentals in the chromatic spots. Fix: Mark the accidentals in pencil and play the passage slowly with the metronome.
  • Over-pedaling the passagework. Fix: Use little or no sustain pedal so the runs stay articulate.

Structure: sonata form (first movement)

Like most Classical first movements, this one is in sonata form: an exposition presents the themes and moves away from the home key, a development works them through other keys, and a recapitulation brings them back in E-flat. The page's single passage comes from late in the movement.

Exposition · Themes
A graceful E-flat theme in triple time leads to new material in a contrasting key; read for quick runs against a light accompaniment.
Development · Development
Ideas from the exposition are broken into fragments and pass through new keys, so accidentals become more frequent.
Recapitulation · Return
The main ideas come back in the home key of E-flat; the leaps and runs here are the ones the page's passage drills.

About Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato

Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) wrote this E-flat major sonata, catalogued as Hob. XVI:28, around 1774-76, while he was Kapellmeister at the Esterházy court. IMSLP lists it as Piano Sonata No. 28, and Landon's numbering makes it No. 43.

The sonata has three movements: this Allegro moderato, a minuet whose trio turns to E-flat minor, and a Presto finale. The public-domain edition behind this page heads it Sonata II from a set of six sonatas dated 1776, which is why it is sometimes called Sonata No. 2.

Haydn spent most of his career in the service of the Esterházy family before his celebrated trips to London in the 1790s. He was a friend of Mozart and, for a time, Beethoven's teacher.

  • The same sonata goes by several numbers: Hob. XVI:28, Landon No. 43, and Piano Sonata No. 28.
  • The minuet's trio moves from E-flat major into the darker key of E-flat minor.
  • Haydn joined the Esterházy household in 1761 as Vice-Kapellmeister and was promoted to full Kapellmeister in 1766.
  • Haydn traveled to London twice, in 1791-92 and 1794-95, and both visits were great successes.

Why the first passage is level 9

That passage is level 9 rather than 8 because a hand covers more than one position, it leaps a octave plus an octave, the clef changes partway through.

The graded passage is level 9 and starts far into the movement, where the left hand changes clefs and the hands leap far apart: read the clef and the leaps before the notes.

Questions about Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato

How hard is Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato to play?
Its passages grade from level 9 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 113–120 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 9, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 113–120 for both hands together, the level-9 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 9 because a hand covers more than one position and it leaps a octave plus an octave.
What key and time signature is Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato in?
Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato is in E-flat major, 3 flats. The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato?
Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) wrote this E-flat major sonata, catalogued as Hob.
Can I practice Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the one graded passage from Sonata in E-flat Major, Hob. XVI:28: I. Allegro moderato in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Which Haydn sonata is this?
The first movement of the Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. XVI:28, also known as Landon No. 43 or Piano Sonata No. 28.
How many movements does it have?
Three: this Allegro moderato, a minuet with a trio in E-flat minor, and a Presto finale.
Is Haydn's sonata in the public domain?
Yes. Haydn died in 1809, and the Mutopia Project edition used for this page is itself released into the public domain.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades one passage of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 9
bars 113–120 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (mutopia-ly), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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