The Allegro from Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 576, begins with a bright rising figure shared by both hands. Its compound meter gives the music a buoyant two-beat motion, while quick scales, trills, and imitative exchanges bring increasing detail. This advanced movement requires the pianist to make several independent lines sound clear and purposeful. Brilliance grows from the interaction of the voices as much as from the speed of the passagework.

The short opening pickup leads into a firm melodic statement, answered by a softer phrase with a trill. The contrast between these gestures establishes an expressive range that continues throughout the movement. Running sixteenths soon pass between the hands, sometimes appearing against a different rhythmic pattern in the other part. Give each entry a recognizable shape while keeping the larger pulse steady. The left hand must be ready to speak with the same clarity as the right.

A more lyrical idea interrupts the active exchanges before further running passages lead to the exposition’s closing cadence and repeat. The development moves familiar figures through changing harmonies and registers. Short motives appear in different voices, and longer held notes must remain audible alongside the moving accompaniment. When the opening returns, its familiar shape provides a point of recognition, but the surrounding textures continue to develop. The final pages revisit the dialogue and gather energy toward a decisive close.

Practice the imitative passages by playing each voice separately and singing the answering entry before adding it. Then combine the parts slowly, listening for a continuous conversation rather than two competing streams of notes. Group scales according to the two main beats of the bar, using the smaller subdivisions to check evenness. For trills, establish the resolution before increasing speed. Sustained notes need their full value even when another finger in the same hand begins a new figure.

The movement’s distinctive challenge is the rapid change between a unified gesture and independent voices. A convincing performance keeps these changes clear without breaking the phrase. Use the quieter lyrical material to broaden the sound, while preserving the rhythmic connection to the more active music around it. Practice transitions and cadences as carefully as the fastest runs. At the end, retain the precision of the dialogue while allowing the final harmonic arrival to sound confident and complete.

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