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Sonata in G minor, K. 35

Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) · sheet music

  • Key G minor
  • Time 4/4
  • Levels 6–7
  • Passages 5

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). The reading release has 5 passages from this piece at levels 6–7; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 3–6 for the left hand alone.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 1–8 at level 7.

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 minor, K. 35.

  1. Left hand alone · bars 3–6 level 6
  2. Hands together · bars 1–8 level 7

How to play Sonata in G minor, K. 35

  1. Tempo:The only marking is Allegro. Start well below performance speed and raise the metronome only while every sixteenth stays even.
  2. Right hand:The right hand opens with an upbeat D-C-D, runs up from G to a high B flat, and lands on F sharp. Practice that run alone with light fingertips.
  3. Left hand:When the left hand takes the figure, each statement begins with an octave leap, first from D, then C, B flat, and A. Look ahead to the low note before you move.
  4. Hands together:The hands take turns: one plays the sixteenths while the other holds a single note or rests. Practice each handoff slowly so the line sounds unbroken from hand to hand.
  5. Fingering:Choose one fingering for the circling figure and keep it every time it returns, in either hand; consistent fingering makes the sequences automatic.
  6. Reading:This page shows two flats, and F sharp appears constantly as the leading tone; later passages add further accidentals as the harmony moves.
  7. Practice:Work in single beats, then half bars, then whole handoffs between the hands, keeping the hand shape of the figure the same at every pitch level.

Common mistakes

  • Rushing the circling figure because the marking is Allegro. Fix: Start at half speed and raise the tempo a few clicks at a time.
  • A gap or bump where the figure passes from one hand to the other. Fix: Practice just the last note of one hand and the first note of the other until they join smoothly.
  • Forgetting the F sharp. Fix: Circle every F sharp on a first read and play those beats slowly.
  • Landing the left-hand octave leap with a thump. Fix: Keep the wrist loose and aim for the upper note before you play the lower one.

Structure: single-movement sonata with imitative opening

The movement grows from one idea: an upbeat figure that circles around a note in sixteenths and is answered at once by the other hand. Sequences carry the figure down step by step and away from G minor to a resting point midway, and the music then works its way back to close in G minor.

A · Opening and answers (G minor)
The right hand states the circling figure over a plain bass, then the left hand takes it up starting with an octave leap, so both hands read the same shape.
B · Sequences and return (G minor)
The figure is passed between the hands in falling sequences with new accidentals before the harmony turns home to G minor.

About Sonata in G minor, K. 35

Domenico Scarlatti wrote 555 keyboard sonatas, single movements that are mostly in binary form. Ralph Kirkpatrick's 1953 catalogue gave them the K. numbers used today; Alessandro Longo's 1906 numbers and Giorgio Pestelli's 1967 numbers also survive, so this sonata is K. 35, L. 386, and P. 20.

IMSLP's oldest listed print of K. 35 is in Thomas Roseingrave's 42 Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin, published in London by Benjamin Cooke around 1739, where it is No. 13 of the first volume. Wikipedia notes that Scarlatti's keyboard music was first championed outside Spain in England, with Roseingrave as its chief advocate.

Most of the sonatas were written for Maria Barbara, the Portuguese princess Scarlatti taught in Lisbon and later followed to Spain, where she became queen. K. 35 is a compact Allegro built from a single figure that the two hands trade back and forth.

  • K. 35 was printed in London around 1739 in a collection edited by the English organist Thomas Roseingrave.
  • Kirkpatrick used the word crux for the pivotal point that each half of a Scarlatti sonata leads to, sometimes marked by a pause.
  • Scott Ross was the first performer to record all 555 of Scarlatti's sonatas.
  • Scarlatti taught Maria Barbara in Lisbon and followed her to Seville and Madrid after her marriage to the Spanish crown prince.

Why the first passage is level 6

That passage is level 6 rather than 5 because it runs fast figuration.

Two flats in 4/4 with fast sixteenth-note figures and frequent F sharps. Some passages give the left hand alone first, then bring in both hands; expect octave leaps and a few ledger lines.

Questions about Sonata in G minor, K. 35

How hard is Sonata in G minor, K. 35 to play?
Its passages grade from level 6 to level 7 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 7.
Is there an easy part of Sonata in G minor, K. 35 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 6, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 3–6 for the left hand alone, the level-6 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 6 because it runs fast figuration.
What key and time signature is Sonata in G minor, K. 35 in?
Sonata in G minor, K. 35 is in G minor, 2 flats. The engraving on this page is in 4/4 time.
Who composed Sonata in G minor, K. 35?
Domenico Scarlatti, Italian baroque (1685–1757). Domenico Scarlatti wrote 555 keyboard sonatas, single movements that are mostly in binary form.
Can I practice Sonata in G minor, K. 35 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 5 graded passages from Sonata in G minor, K. 35 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
What do the K., L. and P. numbers mean?
They are catalogue numbers from three editors: Kirkpatrick (K., 1953), Longo (L., 1906), and Pestelli (P., 1967). This sonata is K. 35, L. 386, and P. 20.
Should Scarlatti sonatas be played on piano or harpsichord?
They were probably most often played on the harpsichord in Scarlatti's time, but they are widely played on piano today; aim for crisp, even articulation and little pedal.
When was K. 35 first published?
IMSLP lists a London print of about 1739 in Thomas Roseingrave's 42 Suites de Pièces pour le Clavecin.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 5 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 6
bars 3–6 left hand · bars 7–8 left hand
Level 7
bars 1–8 both hands · bars 1–4 both hands · bars 5–8 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

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

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