Rondo in F major

Changes around a singing theme

The singing main theme of the F-major Rondo K. 494 returns in changing surroundings. Brian Robins’s notes for Marcia Hadjimarkos’s recording point to the contrast of its episodes, including minor-key colours. The work also exists in an expanded form used in Sonata K. 533/494. A performance heard on a recording may therefore not correspond in every detail to a standalone score.

At the keyboard

Learn the shape of the principal theme before concentrating on the intervening episodes. When it returns, listen for whether its new setting changes the balance between melody and accompaniment. Compare your chosen recording with the music on the page instead of treating any additional passage as a mistake in your reading. Let familiarity guide the ear without replacing attention to the notation.

Music in this edition

1. Rondo in F major