Sonata in D major, K.381
Classical Sonata Piano solo 7 min
In brief

This D major sonata projects a bright, chatty clarity with sparkling passagework and call-and-response between the hands that favors conversational timing over virtuosic flash. You will face mainly demands in Analysis harmonique (3.6/5) and Connaissance des formes (3.6/5): you must read the modulations and cadences to shape phrases (outset and return), and grasp the sonata structure so you can balance exposition and recapitulation, translating that understanding into subtle dynamic shading and precise control of hand transitions. From the Classical period, the piece reflects Mozart's emphasis on balance and lucidity and occupies a clear place among his piano sonatas as an example of elegant formal craftsmanship. I do not give a recording recommendation here because I am not 100% certain of a single widely acknowledged reference for this specific sonata.

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Sheet music

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Is this the right work?
MusicCoach difficulty
55/100
Intermediate
Likely range : 43–67/100
Confidence : 35% · to confirm
BeginnerIntermediateAdvancedVirtuoso
Exam grade
About grade 6

Estimated from our difficulty score, not taken from an exam syllabus. Checked against 333 works on the ABRSM syllabus: the exact grade is right 7 times out of 10, and within one grade 99 times out of 100.

Difficulty estimate by MusicCoach on a scale of 1 to 100.

Where this work sits
050100

Most works cluster between 45 and 65: a small score gap often marks a real step. The highlighted bar shows this work among those for the same instrument.

The MusicCoach difficulty measures a work's overall demands (technique, reading, stamina) on a shared 0-100 scale, consolidated from editorial and pedagogical reference points (Henle, exam syllabuses, curation) and our own analyses. It measures neither musical value nor the practice time YOU will need: two musicians of the same level can experience the same work very differently depending on their strengths (hands used to octaves, quick sight-reading…). The confidence reflects how many reference points sit behind the score and how well they agree — a lightly documented score is flagged “to validate”. For a truly personal bearing, the diagnostic and your space compare each work to YOUR estimated level, which the score alone cannot do.

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Relative difficulty
65%
Among Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
75%
Era Classical
38%
Genre
Estimated skills
Theory
Harmonic analysis
1
Theory
Knowledge of forms
1
Style
Classical style
1
Interpretation
Dynamics
1
Interpretation
Phrasing
1
Technique
General technique
1
What to play next?

Each suggestion combines difficulty gap, risk, confidence and skill overlap. The first two cards in each column are the most useful pedagogically.

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