The Allegretto finale of Mozart’s Sonata in D major, K. 576, begins with a compact dotted theme above lightly detached accompaniment. Its two-beat meter supports an easy forward motion, but the texture soon fills with flowing sixteenth-note triplets and exchanges between the hands. This advanced finale combines a graceful melodic character with demanding independence and evenness. The main challenge is to keep the recognizable theme audible as increasingly active figures move around it.

The opening phrase relies on clear differences between slurred groups, detached notes, and small expressive accents. Its return with a more active left hand changes the balance without changing the melodic outline. Let the accompaniment move freely beneath the theme, and avoid emphasizing every triplet group. As the running figures move into the right hand, maintain the same lightness and direction. Brief ornaments should lead naturally into the next phrase rather than delay the beat.

Contrasting material gives the lower voice a more prominent melodic role and introduces fuller chords, changing registers, and chromatic lines. The theme returns before the central passages develop its rhythmic ideas within more independent textures. Later exchanges place the recognizable motive against flowing notes in the other hand, requiring the performer to decide which voice leads at each moment. Another return of the main theme prepares the final stretch, where repeated triplet patterns and firm concluding gestures bring the sonata to a bright close.

Practice the triplet figures in short harmonic groups, first ensuring that the fingers know their destination and then connecting the groups smoothly. Work on the left-hand passages with the same attention to tone and articulation as the right-hand melody. In contrapuntal sections, play the thematic voice alone before adding the moving part quietly. Check dotted rhythms against a steady pulse so that they remain distinct from the surrounding triplets. Rehearse each transition into the main theme to preserve its recognizable character.

The finale’s distinctive appeal comes from the relationship between its small, neatly shaped theme and the continuous motion that develops around it. A successful performance keeps the two layers balanced even when the texture becomes fuller or the harmony more unsettled. Use the printed slurs and articulations to organize the passagework into phrases, and keep any pedal clear enough to preserve the independent voices. The final page needs the same ease as the opening, with enough energy in the last bass figures to support a decisive ending.

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