sonata
n. countablen. a long piece of classical music written for one or two instruments. It usually has three or four parts that each have a different speed or mood.
n. a multi-movement composition for one or more instruments, typically following a specific structural pattern such as exposition, development, and recapitulation. Often features a solo instrument accompanied by a piano.
She practices the piano sonata every morning.
The young cellist chose a challenging sonata by Beethoven for her final recital at the conservatory.
While the early classical sonata followed a rigid three-movement structure, later romantic composers expanded the form to include more emotional depth and complex harmonic shifts.
From Italian sonata, from the feminine past participle of sonare (modern suonare), from Latin sonāre (“to make sound”). Doublet of sounded.
Often paired with the name of an instrument, such as 'piano sonata' or 'violin sonata'.