Violin Sonata No. 29 in A (fragment; completed by M. Stadler), K. 402
av Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Violin Sonata in A major (K. 402) is an unfinished Vienna work from 1782, usually performed in a completion associated with Abbé Maximilian Stadler. What survives suggests Mozart experimenting with a two-part design—an Andante followed by a fugal Allegro moderato—at a moment when the keyboard-led Viennese sonata was central to his public profile.
What Is Known
Mozart’s K. 402 survives as an uncompleted sonata for violin and keyboard (often billed today as “Violin Sonata No. 29”) and is linked with Vienna in 1782, when Mozart was 26 and newly established as a freelance virtuoso-composer. The work is widely encountered in a performing version completed (or at least supplemented) by Abbé Maximilian Stadler, a Mozart contemporary known for editorial interventions in unfinished pieces.[1]
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
In modern reference and performing practice, K. 402 is generally presented in two movements, Andante, ma un poco adagio followed by Allegro moderato (a fugue), but the latter was left incomplete by Mozart and later supplied in Stadler’s completion. The exact boundary between Mozart’s autograph text and Stadler’s additions is not always transparent in later transmission, a situation already noted in editorial commentary.[2]
Musical Content
As transmitted, the sonata pairs a lyrical opening Andante in A major with a more academic, contrapuntal second movement: a fugue in Allegro moderato tempo. The juxtaposition is telling. The first movement aligns with Mozart’s Viennese gift for poised, vocal melody over a clear keyboard texture; the second turns toward learned counterpoint, bringing the violin into a tighter dialogue with the keyboard line rather than mere accompaniment.[1]
Even in fragmentary form, K. 402 sits persuasively within Mozart’s early-1780s chamber output: music designed for salon and subscription audiences, yet written with enough finesse—especially in the violin writing—to reward players beyond the amateur circle. The piece’s mixed authorship in performance should be heard less as a flaw than as a window onto how Mozart’s circle preserved (and sometimes “finished”) works that otherwise would have remained silent.[2]
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel-Verzeichnis entry for KV 402 (instrumentation, status as uncompleted work, Vienna dating context, Stadler listed for additions).
[2] IMSLP work page for Violin Sonata in A major, K. 402/385e (two-movement layout; notes on incomplete fugue and Stadler completion; edition/transmission details).