Mystery of the Repeat in K 311.2

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John Ruggero
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Mystery of the Repeat in K 311.2

Post by John Ruggero »

Judging from the way they are squeezed into the manuscript, it appears that after finishing the second movement of his piano sonata K. 311, Mozart decided to add repeat marks around the opening theme and its little codetta, as shown below.
K 311 repeat marks.jpeg
K 311 repeat marks.jpeg (191.51 KiB) Viewed 1121 times
The New Mozart Edition thinks that this is at best awkward, but bows to the Master. The first edition was already doubtful and removed one of the two F#'s that desperately wants to resolve to G next as it did a couple of measures earlier (see the arrows in previous example):
K 311 1st ed.jpeg
K 311 1st ed.jpeg (145.33 KiB) Viewed 1121 times
Most pianists dutifully take this repeat, which I think mars one of Mozart's most beautiful pieces. Some sail on through, seemingly oblivious to a glaring musical non sequitur. Others try mitigate it by hesitating. Or one could suddenly break off as if interrupting oneself. But this isn't great either given the previous written-in forte interruptions. In any case, I've never heard it done well, can't do it well myself and omit the repeat without regret.

Apparently Mozart felt in retrospect that he had miscalculated and not made the A section long enough in relation to what follows. But the very structure of the theme with its codetta makes lengthening it almost impossible. Did he just throw up his hands, throw in a couple of repeat marks and start composing the next sonata?

What do readers think?
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benwiggy
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Re: Mystery of the Repeat in K 311.2

Post by benwiggy »

What about after bar 8?

I see the first edition has dispensed with the staccato marks, too.
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John Ruggero
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Re: Mystery of the Repeat in K 311.2

Post by John Ruggero »

The thought that maybe he misplaced the second repeat mark also occurred to me, Ben, but its even worse that way. First there is the incongruity of sudden change in the accompaniment style at the end of m. 8, but that's the least of it. Essentially the same four measure phrase, with its sudden surprising forte in the middle, would occur 4 times in a row. Not good. Try it and you will see what I mean.

It's quite a puzzle because the movement is perfect without the repeat. The codetta ends the theme so beautifully and to interrupt it is awful. How could a composer this great make such a blunder?

The first editions of Mozart's piano sonatas are very inaccurate. The missing staccatos are not the only problem to be seen in the excerpt.
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