From among the symphonies of Mozart, the three (in G minor, E flat,
and C) which he wrote in 1788 stand out with special prominence; and
so, from the sonatas, do the three in A minor (1778), C minor (1784),
and F (1788). In the first, as regards the writing, virtuosity
asserts itself, and in the third, contrapuntal skill; but in the
second, the greatness of music makes us forget the means by which that
greatness is achieved. The Sonatas in A minor and F are wonderful
productions, yet they stand a little lower than the C minor. The
nobility and earnestness of the last-named give it a place near to
Beethoven's best sonatas. We might say equal, were it not that the
writing for the instrument is comparatively thin; however noble the
ideas, they are but inadequately expressed. This C minor Sonata is
remarkable for its originality, simplicity, and unity; Mozart
possessed qualities which mark creative art of the highest kind. In
writing some of his pianoforte sonatas, he had the public, or pupils,
more or less in his mind; and though he did not become a mere
sonata-maker, like some of his contemporaries, his whole soul was not
always in his work; of this the inequalities in his music give
evidence. In some movements (especially the closing ones) of the
sonatas, the subject-matter is often trivial, and the passage-writing
commonplace. The silkworm produces its smooth, regular ball of silk
without effort, and in like manner Mozart could turn out Allegros,
Rondos, sets of variations _a discretion_. The Sonata in C minor, to
our thinking, is the only one in which he was entirely absorbed in his
art; the only one in which the ideal is never marred by the real. The
last movement is no mere Rondo, but one which stands in close
relationship to the opening Allegro; they both have the same tragic
spirit; both seem the outpouring of a soul battling with fate. The
slow movement reveals Mozart's gift of melody and graceful
ornamentation, yet beneath the latter runs a vein of earnestness; the
theme of the middle section expresses subdued sadness. The affinity
between this work and Beethoven's sonata (Op. 10, No. 1) in the same
key is very striking.

Mozart composed his C minor Sonata towards the end of the year 1784.
The C minor Fantasia, which precedes it in some editions, was not
written until the middle of 1785. The two, however, were published
together by Mozart himself. It is impossible to consider this a new
experiment in sonata-fo