Comparatively few theoretical studies exist on the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti. His music remains largely unexplored. This study investigates formal and functional aspects of the "first halves" in the Venice XIII collection (K 514--K 543) and reveals links to the aesthetics and traditions of his contemporaries. It suggests and examines relationships to the development of the sonata genre. To accomplish this, the study proposes a theoretical base for critical analysis and presents a specialised terminology to examine the features of mid-eighteenth-century sonata forms. The arguments of Michelle Fillion, J. P. Larsen, and Wilhelm Fischer are central to the discussion. Studies by William Caplin, Barbara Foster, Klaus Heimes, Ralph Kirkpatrick, and James Unger also contribute to the development of the theoretical base. An analysis section views the selected repertoire and some contemporary works according to the criteria the thesis establishes. An epilogue sums up pertinent observations made in the analysis section.

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Although Robert Schumann’s late style has been the subject of several probing studies in recent years, few scholars have concentrated their attention on the chamber works composed in the autumn of 1851. Perhaps most intriguing are the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, whose first movements suggest a dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form by preserving many of the same rhetorical and structural elements. Throughout both movements, however, Schumann uses an intricate web of tonal ambiguities, metrical dissonances, and unusual key relationships to recast the internal workings of these outwardly conventional sonata forms. As he uses these techniques to undermine important structural moments of each movement, Schumann significantly changes the overall plot of the eighteenth-century sonata form, while also demonstrating his sensitivity to the dramatic possibilities of this historical form in the middle of the nineteenth century. By discussing Schumann’s dialogue with the eighteenth-century sonata form throughout the opp. 105 and 121 violin sonatas, this study attempts to situate these works within both their historical and contemporary musical contexts, and thus considers a previously unexplored avenue toward rehabilitating the reception of Schumann’s late chamber works. / School of Music