YourClassical

Learning to Listen: Let's Get Ready to Rondo

Learning to Listen: Let's get ready to rondo
race car
The words 'race car' comprise a palindrome -- it's spelled the same forwards and backwards. Sometimes, a rondo can resemble a palindrome.
Alf van Beem via Wikimedia Commons

My theory professor in graduate school used to say, "Let's get ready to rondo!"

A rondo is a form, like the structure of a house. You often hear rondos as the final movement of a symphony, concerto, sonata or other type of piece that has multiple movements. A rondo follows a fairly simple pattern, although what composers choose to do with that pattern is often complex.

Each rondo has a repeated melody, separated by contrasting sections of music. Sometimes, a rondo can resemble a palindrome (think of words you can spell backwards and forwards, like "radar" or the name "Hannah"). If you assign a letter to each section of music in a rondo, the final result might be A B A C A B A.

A rondo doesn't have to be a palindrome, however. This famous rondo by J.S. Bach follows this form: A B A C A D A E A

There are more complicated types of rondos that composers combined with sonata form; this combination is called Sonata-rondo form. The rondos in Beethoven's symphonies are examples of that type.

Program Playlist

Franz Joseph Haydn
Piano Sonata no. 58, 2nd movement
Alfred Brendel, piano
Philips 416643

Johann Sebastian Bach
Violin Partita No. 3, 3rd movement: Gavotte & Rondeau
Monica Huggett, violin
Virgin 45205

Ludwig van Beethoven
Piano Sonata No. 21, "Waldstein" 3rd movement
Richard Goode, piano
Nonesuch 79328

Franz Joseph Haydn (again)
Piano Sonata no. 58, 2nd movement
Alfred Brendel, piano
Philips 416643​

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Piano Sonata No. 11, 3rd movement: Rondo alla turca
Alicia De Larrocha, piano
Sony 75944

Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 8, 4th movement
Osmo Vanska, conductor
Minnesota Orchestra
Bis 1516

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