Mozart ends Sonata No. 8 in A minor, K. 310, with a Presto built around short dotted phrases and persistent eighth-note motion. The upper melody often falls within a small slur while the left hand enters after the beat with a broken-chord figure. Held inner notes add another layer beneath these brief melodic gestures. The movement repeatedly returns to its urgent A-minor material, but a contrasting A-major episode introduces a brighter sound before the final return and forceful close.

The opening keeps its gestures compact. Accents emphasize the beginning of the right-hand phrases, while rests at the start of many left-hand figures leave a small gap before the accompaniment enters. Repeated dotted shapes connect the phrases even as the harmony changes. The upper part sometimes expands into double notes or short chords, and the printed piano, mezzo-piano, and forte-piano markings create quick changes of emphasis within the flowing pulse.

As the music continues, the texture becomes more conversational. Eighth-note lines move through the upper register, while the left hand supplies accented notes, held tones, or its own moving response. The accompaniment’s familiar broken shapes can appear above the melody when the hands exchange roles. Chromatic notes and changing chord positions carry the music through this passage, followed by a quieter return toward the recognizable opening idea.

The central contrast changes the key signature to three sharps for A major. Its melody still uses compact slurred shapes, but the gentler harmony gives the passage a different color. The lower hand combines a sustained note with a moving broken-chord pattern, keeping the texture connected. Both sections of this episode are repeated, and the second uses different first and second endings. Short upper phrases and answering lower chords lead out of the major-key passage.

When A minor returns, the opening dotted rhythm and offbeat accompaniment reestablish the movement’s earlier tension. The following material again combines moving eighth notes with sustained or accented upper tones. On the final page, short melodic statements alternate with more continuous motion, and the dynamics move between quiet passages and stronger answers. The familiar dotted figure persists late into the ending before a final burst of running notes and emphatic fortissimo chords brings the sonata to a firm conclusion.

Interesting fact: The A-major episode has its own repeat signs and alternative endings, while the surrounding A-minor music continues without an opening-to-ending repeat. The contrasting section therefore has a distinct written repeat plan inside the larger finale.