A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Liszt, Scriabin, Sergei Prokofiev, Alban Berg), others with two movements (Haydn, Beethoven), some contain five (Brahms' Third Piano Sonata, Carl Czerny's Piano Sonata No. 1, Leopold Godowsky's Piano Sonata) or even more movements. The first movement is generally composed in sonata form.
The Baroque keyboard sonata
In the
Baroque music era, the use of the term "sonata" generally referred to either the sonata da chiesa (church sonata) or sonata da camera (chamber sonata), both of which were sonatas for various instruments (usually one or more
plus
basso continuo). The keyboard sonata was relatively neglected by most
.
The sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti (of which there are over 500) were the hallmark of the Baroque keyboard sonata, though they were, for the most part, unpublished during Scarlatti's lifetime. The majority of these sonatas are in one-movement binary form, both sections being in the same tempo and utilizing the same thematic material. These sonatas are prized for both their technical difficulty and their musical and formal ingenuity. The influence of Spanish folk music is evident in Scarlatti's sonatas.
Other composers of Baroque keyboard sonatas (which were primarily written in two or three movements) include Marcello, Domenico Alberti, Giustini, Durante and Platti. J.S. Bach's popular Italian Concerto, despite the name, can also be considered a keyboard sonata.
Piano sonatas in the Classical era
Although various composers in the 17th century had written keyboard pieces which they entitled "Sonata", it was only in the classical era, when the piano displaced the earlier
harpsichord and sonata form rose to prominence as a principle of
composition, that the term "piano sonata" acquired a definite meaning and a characteristic form.
All the well-known Classical era composers, especially Friedrich Kuhlau, Joseph Haydn, Muzio Clementi, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven, wrote many piano sonatas. Muzio Clementi wrote more than 110 piano sonatas. He is well known as "The Father of the Pianoforte". Clementi's Opus 2 was the first real piano sonata composed. The much younger Franz Schubert also wrote many. His later sonatas were inspired by the Classical forms of Haydn and Mozart and the expansion of the forms in Beethoven’s sonatas.
The 32 sonatas of Ludwig van Beethoven, including the well-known Pathétique Sonata, the Piano Sonata No. 14, and the Piano Sonata No. 23 are often considered the pinnacle of piano sonata composition.
Piano sonatas in the Romantic era
As the
Romantic music era progressed after Beethoven and Schubert, piano sonatas continued to be composed, but in lesser numbers as the form took on a somewhat academic tinge and competed with shorter genres more compatible with Romantic compositional style.
Franz Liszt's comprehensive "three-movements-in-one" Sonata in B minor draws on the concept of thematic transformation first introduced by
Franz Schubert in his Wanderer Fantasie of 1822. Piano sonatas have been written throughout the 19th and 20th centuries and up to the present day.
Noted piano sonatas
Classical Era
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Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach
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Württemberg Sonata No. 1 in A minor, H. 30, Wq. 49/1
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'Prussian' Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Wq. 48/4
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Antonio Rosetti
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Piano Sonata in F Major E4
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Baldassare Galuppi
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Piano Sonata No. 5 in C Major
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Friedrich Kuhlau
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Piano Sonata in E-Flat Major op.4
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Piano Sonata in E-flat Major op.127
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Johann Baptist Cramer
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Sonata in A-flat major for piano, Op. 46 ("Die Jungfrau von Orleans")
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Sonata in A-flat major for piano, Op. 23, No. 1 (1799)
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Ludwig van Beethoven
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Piano Sonata, WoO 51 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 2 No. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major, Op. 7 "Grand Sonata"
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Piano Sonata No. 5 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 6 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 7 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 8 in C minor, Op. 13 "Pathétique"
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Piano Sonata No. 9 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 10 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 11 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 12 in A-flat Major Op. 26 "Funeral March"
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Piano Sonata No. 13 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 "Moonlight"
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Piano Sonata No. 15 in D major, Op. 28 "Pastoral"
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Piano Sonata No. 16 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 17 in D minor, Op. 31 No. 2 "Tempest"
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Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 31 No. 3 "The Hunt"
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Piano Sonata No. 19 in G minor, Op. 49 No. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 20 in G Major, Op. 49 No. 2
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Piano Sonata No. 21 in C Major, Op. 53 "Waldstein"
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Piano Sonata No. 22 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 "Appassionata"
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Piano Sonata No. 24 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 25 in G Major, Op. 79 "Cuckoo"
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Piano Sonata No. 26 in E-flat Major, Op. 81a "Les Adieux"
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Piano Sonata No. 27 (Beethoven)
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Piano Sonata No. 28 in A Major, Op. 101
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Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106 "Hammerklavier"
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Piano Sonata No. 30 in E Major, Op. 109
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Piano Sonata No. 31 in A♭ major, Op. 110
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Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111
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Muzio Clementi
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Piano Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 24 No. 2
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Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, Op. 25 No. 5
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Piano Sonata in G major, Op. 40 No. 1
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Piano Sonata in B minor, Op. 40 No. 2
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Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 50 No. 3
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Dussek, Jan Ladislav
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Piano Sonata No. 18 in E-flat major, Op. 44
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Piano Sonata No. 24 in F-sharp minor "Élégie Harmonique", Op. 61
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Piano Sonata No. 28 in F minor, "L'Invocation", Op. 77
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Joseph Haydn
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Hummel, Johann Nepomuk
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Piano Sonata No. 5 in F-sharp minor, Op. 81
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Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in C Major (KV. 279/189d)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in F Major (KV. 280/189e)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in B-flat Major (KV. 281/189f)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in E-flat Major (KV. 282/189g)
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Piano Sonata No. 5 in G Major (KV. 283/189h)
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Piano Sonata No. 6 in D Major, “Dürnitz” (KV. 284/205b)
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Piano Sonata No. 7 in C Major (KV. 309/284b)
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Piano Sonata No. 8 in A Minor (KV. 310/300d)
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Piano Sonata No. 9 in D Major (KV. 311/284c)
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Piano Sonata No. 10 in C Major (KV. 330/300h)
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Piano Sonata No. 11 in A Major (KV. 331/300i)
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Piano Sonata No. 12 in F Major (KV. 332/300k)
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Piano Sonata No. 13 in B-flat Major “Linz Sonata” (KV. 333/315c)
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Piano Sonata No. 14 in C minor (KV. 457)
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Piano Sonata for four-hands in C Major (KV. 521)
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Piano Sonata No. 15 in F Major (3rd Mvt: KV. 494; 1st, 2nd Mvt, & 3rd Mvt revision: KV. 533)
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Piano Sonata No. 16 in C major (KV. 545)
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Piano Sonata No. 17 in B-flat Major (KV. 570)
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Piano Sonata No. 18 in D major (KV. 576)
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Piano Sonata ‘No. 19’ in F Major (KV. 547a/Anh. 135)
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Piano Sonata ‘No. 20’ in B-flat Major (KV. 498a/Anh. 136)
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Maria Hester Park
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Marianna Auenbrugger
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Piano Sonata in E-flat major
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Marianna Martines
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Piano Sonata No.3 in A Major
Romantic
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Alkan, Charles-Valentin
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Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges'
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Isaac Albéniz
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Piano Sonata in A flat Major op.68 (1886)
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Victor Bendix
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Piano Sonata in G minor, op. 26 (published 1901)
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Vincent d'Indy
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Piano Sonata in E major op.63
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Johannes Brahms
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in F minor, Op. 5
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Chopin, Frédéric
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Piano Sonata No. 1 (Chopin)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 35, "Funeral March"
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
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Carl Czerny
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Piano Sonata No. 10 in B-flat Major Op. 268
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Paul Dukas
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Piano Sonata in E flat minor
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Edvard Grieg
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Piano Sonata in E minor, Op. 7
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Franz Liszt
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(often erroneously referred to as the "Dante Sonata")
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Sonata in B minor
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Joseph Woelfl
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Piano Sonata in C minor op.25
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Piano Sonata in D major op.58
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Edward MacDowell
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Sonata Tragica, Op. 45
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Sonata Eroica, Op. 50
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Third Sonata, Op. 57
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Fourth Sonata, Op. 59
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Mendelssohn, Fanny
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Mendelssohn, Felix
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Piano Sonata in E major, Op. 6
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Piano Sonata in G minor, Op. 105
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Piano Sonata in B-flat major, Op. 106
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Rachmaninoff, Sergei
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 28
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 36
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Franz Schubert, (See List of Schubert's works)
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Piano Sonata in E major, D 157 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in C major, D 279 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in E major, D 459 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in A minor, D 537 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in A-flat major, D 557 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in E minor, D 566 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in D-flat major, D 568 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, D 571 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in B major, D 575 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in F minor, D 625 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor, D 655 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata No. 13 in A Major, D.664
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Piano Sonata in E minor, D 769A (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata No. 14 in A Minor, D.784
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Piano Sonata in C major, D 840 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in A minor, D 845 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata in D major, D 850 (Schubert)
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Piano Sonata No. 18 in G Major,"Fantaisie," D.894
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Piano Sonata No. 19 in C Minor, D.958
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Piano Sonata No. 20 in A Major, D.959
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Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-flat major, D.960
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Clara Schumann
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Piano Sonata in G minor (1841–42)
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Robert Schumann
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Piano Sonata No. 1 (Schumann) in F-sharp minor, Op. 11 "Grosse Sonate"
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (Schumann) in G minor, Op. 22
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (Schumann) in F minor, Op. 14 "Concerto without Orchestra"
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Julius Reubke
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Jean Sibelius
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Piano Sonata in F major, Op. 12
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Weber, Carl Maria von
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in C major, Op. 24 (J. 138)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in A flat major, Op. 39 (J. 199)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Op. 49 (J. 206)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in E minor, Op. 70 (J. 287)
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Ludwig Schuncke
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Grande Sonata in G minor Op. 3 (1832)
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Richard Strauss
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Piano Sonata in B minor (Strauss) op.5
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Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
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Piano Sonata in G major (Tchaikovsky) op.37
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Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor (Tchaikovsky) op.80
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Xaver Scharwenka
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in C-sharp minor, Op. 6
Modern (1900-present)
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Alec Rowley
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Piano Sonata No.2 in D major (1949)
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Akira Miyoshi
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William Alwyn
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Sonata alla Toccata (1945–46)
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Ethel Smyth
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (Geistinger) in C-sharp minor (1877)
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Karol Szymanowski
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Yevgeny Svetlanov
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Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
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Piano Sonata No. 1, KSS 20
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Elliott Carter
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George Enescu
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (Enescu)
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Alban Berg
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Mily Balakirev
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Piano Sonata op.102 in B-flat Minor (fugato sonata)
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Ivor Gurney
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Piano Sonata No.1 in F minor
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Vasyl Barvinsky
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Piano Sonata in D Flat Major
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Samuel Barber
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Sonata for Piano in E-Flat Minor, Op. 26
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Barraqué, Jean
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Bartók, Béla
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Arnold Bax
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Piano Sonata in F♯ minor No. 1 (1910)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (1919)
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Piano Sonata in E-flat (Bax)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (1926)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in G major (1934)
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Charles Tomlinson Griffes
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Lennox Berkeley
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Piano Sonata in A major, Op. 20 (1941–45)
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Pierre Boulez
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Piano Sonata No. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 2
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (Unfinished: only two of the five movements have been published.)
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Frank Bridge
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John Ogdon
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Piano Sonata "Dedicated to my Friend Stephen Bishop"
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Ernest Bloch
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Dmitry Kabalevsky
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (Kabalevsky) op.45
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Piano Sonata No.3 op.46
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Julian Cochran
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Piano Sonata No. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 2
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Aaron Copland
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Sergei Protopopov
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Henri Dutilleux
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Mohammed Fairouz
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Piano Sonata No. 1 "Reflections on Exile"
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Piano Sonata No. 2 "The Last Resistance"
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Ferguson, Howard
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Piano Sonata in F minor, Op. 8 (1938–40)
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Ginastera, Alberto
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Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 22
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Glenn Gould
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Paul Hindemith
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in A Major "Der Main"
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in G Major
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in B flat Major
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Stephen Hough
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Sonata for piano (Broken Branches) (2010)
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2nd Piano Sonata (Notturno luminoso) (2012)
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Piano Sonata III (Trinitas) (2014)
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Piano Sonata no. 4 (Vida Breve) (2016)
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Ireland, John
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Charles Ives
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Piano Sonata No.2, Concord, Mass., 1840-60
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Janáček, Leoš
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Jennings, David
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Piano Sonata, Op. 1 (1988, revised 1995 and 2009)
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Kenneth Leighton
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Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 2 (1948)
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Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 17 (1953)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 Op. 27 (1954)
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Piano Sonata, Op. 64 (1971–72)
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Liebermann, Lowell
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Piano Sonata No. 1, Op. 1 (1977)
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Piano Sonata No.2 ("Sonata Notturna") Op. 10 (1983)
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Piano Sonata No.3 Op. 82 (2002)
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Douglas Lilburn
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in C minor Op. 1 (1932)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in F♯ minor (1939)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in A minor (1939)
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Piano Sonata No. 5 (1949)
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Piano Sonata No. 6 (1956)
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Nikolai Medtner
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 5 (1901–3)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in A, Op. 11 (1904–7)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in D minor, Sonate-Elegie, Op. 11 (1904–7)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in C, Op. 11 (1904–7)
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Piano Sonata No. 5 in G minor, Op. 22 (1909–10)
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Piano Sonata No. 6 in C minor, Sonata-Skazka, Op. 22 (1910–11)
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Piano Sonata No. 7 in E minor, Night Wind, Op. 22 (1910–11)
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Piano Sonata No. 8 in F, Sonata-Ballade, Op. 27 (1912–14)
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Piano Sonata No. 9 in A minor, War Sonata, Op. 30 (1914–17)
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Piano Sonata No. 10 in A minor, Sonata-reminiscenza, Op. 38 No. 1 (1920)
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Piano Sonata No. 11 in C minor, Sonata Tragica, Op. 39, No. 5 (1920)
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Piano Sonata No. 12 in B minor, Romantica, Op. 53 No. 1 (1930)
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Piano Sonata No. 13 in F minor, Minacciosa, Op. 53, No. 2 (1930)
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Piano Sonata No. 14 in G, Sonata-Idyll, Op. 56 (1937)
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Leopold Godowsky
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Leo Ornstein
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Piano Sonata No. 4
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Piano Sonata No. 8
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Pejačević, Dora
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Sonata in B flat minor, Op. 36 (1914; dedicated to Anny von Lange)
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Sonata in A flat major, Op. 57 (in one movement; 1921)
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Persichetti, Vincent
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Sonata No. 12 (Mirror Sonata)
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Florence Price
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Sergei Prokofiev
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Piano Sonata No. 1 in F minor, Op. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in D Minor, Op. 14
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Piano Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op. 28 ("From Old Notebooks")
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Piano Sonata No. 4 in C minor, Op. 29
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Piano Sonata No. 5 in C major, Op. 38
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Piano Sonata No. 6 in A major, Op. 82 ("War Sonata 1")
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Piano Sonata No. 7 in B-flat major, Op. 83 ("War Sonata 2/Stalingrad")
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Piano Sonata No. 8 in B-flat major, Op. 84 ("War Sonata 3")
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Piano Sonata No. 9 in C major, Op. 103
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Frederic Rzewski
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Sonata for Solo Piano (1991)
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Alfred Schnittke
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Piano Sonata No. 1
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Piano Sonata No. 2
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Piano Sonata No. 3
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Scriabin, Alexander
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Piano Sonata No. 2 "Sonata-Fantasy"
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Piano Sonata No. 4
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Piano Sonata No. 5
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Piano Sonata No. 6
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Piano Sonata No. 7 "White Mass"
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Piano Sonata No. 9 "Black Mass"
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Shostakovich, Dmitri
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 61
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Wilhelm Grosz
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Piano Sonata in G major op.21
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Roy Harris
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Richard Stoker
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Piano Sonata No.1, Op.26 (1970)
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Piano Sonata No.2, Op.71 (1998)
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Igor Stravinsky
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Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (Stravinsky)
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Piano Sonata (Stravinsky) 1924
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Szymanowski, Karol
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (Szymanowski) in A Major op. 21
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Piano Sonata No. 3 op. 36
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Bohuslav Martinů
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Michael Tippett
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Piano Sonata No. 1 (1936–38)
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Piano Sonata No. 2 (1962)
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Piano Sonata No. 3 (1972–73)
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Piano Sonata No. 4 (1983–84)
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Carl Vine
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John Williams
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Charles Wuorinen
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Piano Sonata (1969)
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Second Piano Sonata (1976)
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Third Piano Sonata (1986)
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Fourth Piano Sonata (2007)
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Boris Tishchenko
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Nikolai Kapustin
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Piano Sonata No. 1 "Sonata-Fantasy" (1984)
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Nikolai Roslavets
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Piano Sonata No. 1 (1914) — Published by Muzyka, 1990 (edited by Eduard Babasyan)
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Samuil Feinberg
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Piano Sonata No. 3 op.3 in G Minor
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Vasily Kalafati
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Piano Sonata op.4 no.2 in D Minor
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Alexei Stanchinsky
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Piano Sonata No. 2 in G major (1912)
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Viktor Kosenko
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Piano Sonata in B flat minor op. 13
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Ulvi Cemal Erkin
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Earl Wild
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Alexander Glazunov
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Piano Sonata No 1 in B flat minor, Op 74
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Alexander Rosenblatt