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Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto

Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) · sheet music

  • Key G major
  • Time 2/4
  • Levels 5–9
  • Passages 17

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). The reading release has 17 passages from this piece at levels 5–9; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–4 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 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 G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto.

  1. Hands together · bars 1–4 level 5
  2. The hardest bars · bars 1–8 level 9

How to play Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto

  1. Tempo:Presto means very fast, but choose the speed by the running-sixteenth variation, not the opening theme, so the whole movement can stay at one tempo.
  2. Right hand:Keep the theme light with small, crisp finger strokes and short detached notes where they are marked.
  3. Left hand:In the final return the left hand takes over sixteenth-note figures; practice them slowly as broken chords first, then build speed while keeping them quieter than the tune.
  4. Hands together:Practice each variation hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up, since the hands often play different rhythms at the same time.
  5. Fingering:Choose fingerings for the running sixteenths in the second variation and keep them the same every time, especially at the thumb crossings.
  6. Dynamics:Give the G minor section a different color from the bright theme, then let the final return sound like a homecoming.
  7. Practice:Learn the theme first, then each variation separately, noticing what changes and what stays the same each time.

Common mistakes

  • Starting too fast and breaking down in the running variation. Fix: Set the tempo by the hardest variation, not the easiest theme.
  • Letting the left-hand figures in the final return cover the tune. Fix: Practice the left hand alone at a soft level, then add the right hand slightly louder.
  • Missing the B flats and E flats in the minor section. Fix: Mark them on the first read and say them aloud while practicing.
  • Playing every return of the theme the same way. Fix: Notice how each version gets busier and let the energy grow slightly each time.

Structure: rondo with varied returns (theme, variations, minor episode, return)

A short theme in two repeated halves is followed by two varied repeats, each with faster note values. The music then turns to G minor for a contrasting section before the theme returns in G major with new decoration and a busy sixteenth-note accompaniment to close the movement.

A · Theme (G major)
A light tune that starts with an upbeat and outlines G major chords, in two halves that are each repeated.
A1 · First variation (G major)
The theme returns with sixteenth-note turns and decorations, still in two repeated halves.
A2 · Second variation (G major)
The right hand runs in nearly continuous sixteenth notes while keeping the outline of the theme.
B · Minor section (G minor)
The opening phrase starts in G major and then darkens into G minor, with B flats and E flats, in a more serious passage.
A3 · Final return (G major)
The theme comes back in detached eighth notes, then with sixteenth-note figures in both hands, and a short closing phrase ends the sonata.

About Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto

This Presto closes Haydn's Keyboard Sonata in G major, Hob. XVI:27. Haydn entered the sonata in his own catalogue among six sonatas dated 1776, and the publisher Hummel issued the six together in Berlin and Amsterdam in 1778. In the old Peters edition used for this page it is called Sonata I, which is why it is sometimes listed as Sonata No. 1.

The finale begins with a short, bouncing theme in two repeated halves. Haydn then repeats the whole theme twice with quicker notes, first in sixteenth-note decorations and then in continuous running sixteenths, before a darker section turns to G minor. The theme then comes back in G major, decorated once more, to finish the sonata.

A Japanese piano encyclopedia describes the movement as a rondo whose theme returns in ever finer rhythms and hears that theme as related to the themes of the first two movements.

  • IMSLP also lists the work as Keyboard Sonata No. 42, the number it carries in the Wiener Urtext edition.
  • The sonata's middle movement is a Minuet in G major whose Trio is in G minor, so the finale's G minor section echoes a contrast heard earlier in the work.
  • The Mutopia Project's free edition of this movement, typeset from a Peters edition of the 1880s, lists it for harpsichord or piano.

Why the first passage is level 5

That passage is level 5 rather than 4 because a hand plays several notes at once, a hand plays full chords, a hand covers more than one position, its chords stretch wide, its chords go beyond simple triads.

One sharp in the key signature, quick sixteenth-note runs and turns, staccato marks, and a section with B flats and E flats when the music turns to G minor.

Questions about Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto

How hard is Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto to play?
Its passages grade from level 5 to 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 1–8 at level 9.
Is there an easy part of Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–4 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because a hand plays several notes at once and a hand plays full chords.
What key and time signature is Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto in?
Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto is in G major, 1 sharp. The engraving on this page is in 2/4 time.
Who composed Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto?
Joseph Haydn, Austrian classical (1732–1809). This Presto closes Haydn's Keyboard Sonata in G major, Hob.
Can I practice Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 17 graded passages from Sonata in G Major, Hob. XVI:27: Presto 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 Presto from?
It is the finale of the Keyboard Sonata in G major, Hob. XVI:27, also published as Op. 14 No. 1 and called Sonata I in the old Peters edition.
What form is this movement in?
It is often described as a rondo: the theme keeps returning in new decorations, with a contrasting section in G minor before the last return.
How long does it take to learn this Presto?
It is a substantial piece for a late-intermediate player; expect a month or two of steady practice to reach a comfortable speed.
Is the Haydn Presto in the public domain?
Yes. Haydn died in 1809, and IMSLP and the Mutopia Project both host public-domain scores of this sonata.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 17 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 5
bars 1–4 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 17–20 both hands · bars 41–44 both hands · bars 81–84 both hands
Level 7
bars 33–40 both hands · bars 49–56 both hands · bars 105–112 both hands
Level 8
bars 9–16 both hands · bars 89–96 both hands · bars 97–104 both hands
Level 9
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 25–32 both hands · bars 41–48 both hands · bars 81–88 both hands · bars 121–128 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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