A major Contents History Notable compositions in A major See also References Further reading External links Navigation menu745959e
Musical keysMajor scalesCompositions in A major
major scaleABC♯DEF♯G♯key signaturesharpsrelative minorF-sharp minorparallel minorA minorNeapolitan sixthtenor clefledger lineD majorG majorBeethovenSymphony No. 7BrucknerSymphony No. 6MendelssohnSymphony No. 4MozartClarinet ConcertoClarinet Quintet23rd piano concertoE-flat majorTchaikovskyViolin ConcertostringsFranz SchubertAntonín DvořákPiano Quintet No. 2Johannes BrahmsCésar FranckGabriel FauréKreutzer SonataChristian Friedrich Daniel SchubarttimpaniHector BerliozFranz Berwald
 | |
| Relative key | F♯ minor |
|---|---|
| Parallel key | A minor |
| Dominant key | E major |
| Subdominant | D major |
| Component pitches | |
| A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, G♯ | |
A major (or the key of A) is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C♯, D, E, F♯, and G♯. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The key of A major is the only key where a Neapolitan sixth chord on 2^displaystyle hat 2 requires both a flat and a natural accidental.
The A major scale is:
relative c''
clef treble key a major time 7/4 a4 b cis d e fis gis a gis fis e d cis b a2
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relative c'' In the treble, alto, and bass clefs, the G♯ in the key signature is placed higher than C♯. However, in the tenor clef, it would require a ledger line and so G♯ is placed lower than C♯.
Contents
1 History
2 Notable compositions in A major
3 See also
4 References
5 Further reading
6 External links
History
Although not as rare in the symphonic literature as sharper keys, examples of symphonies in A major are not as numerous as for D major or G major. Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Bruckner's Symphony No. 6 and Mendelssohn's Symphony No. 4 comprise a nearly complete list of symphonies in this key in the Romantic era. Mozart's Clarinet Concerto and Clarinet Quintet are both in A major, along with his 23rd piano concerto, and generally Mozart was more likely to use clarinets in A major than in any other key besides E-flat major.[1] Moreover, the climax part of Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto is also in A major.
The key of A major occurs frequently in chamber music and other music for strings, which favor sharp keys. Franz Schubert's Trout Quintet and Antonín Dvořák's Piano Quintet No. 2 are both in A major. Johannes Brahms, César Franck, and Gabriel Fauré wrote violin sonatas in A major. In connection to Beethoven's Kreutzer Sonata, Peter Cropper said that A major "is the fullest sounding key for the violin."[2]
According to Christian Friedrich Daniel Schubart, A major is a key suitable for "declarations of innocent love, ... hope of seeing one's beloved again when parting; youthful cheerfulness and trust in God."[3]
For orchestral works in A major, the timpani are typically set to A and E a fifth apart, rather than a fourth apart as for most other keys. Hector Berlioz complained about the custom of his day in which timpani tuned to A and E a fifth apart were notated C and G a fourth apart, a custom which survived as late as the music of Franz Berwald.[4]
Notable compositions in A major
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Violin Concerto No. 5, K. 219
Symphony No. 29, K. 201
Piano Sonata No. 11, K. 331
String Quartet No. 18, K. 464
Piano Concerto No. 23, K. 488
Clarinet Quintet, K. 581
Clarinet Concerto, K. 622
Ludwig van Beethoven
Symphony No. 7, Op. 92
Piano Sonata No. 2, Op. 2/2
Piano Sonata No. 28, Op. 101
Violin Sonata No. 6, Op. 30/1
Violin Sonata No. 9, Op. 47
Cello Sonata No. 3, Op. 69
String quartet No. 5, Op. 18/5
Franz Schubert- Trout Quintet
Piano Sonata, D 664
Felix Mendelssohn
Symphony No. 4, Op. 90 ("Italian")
Frédéric Chopin
Polonaise, Op. 40/1 ("Military")
Prelude, Op. 28/7 ("Polish Dancer")
Franz Liszt
Piano Concerto No. 2, S.125
Johannes Brahms
Serenade No. 2, Op. 16
Violin Sonata No. 2, Op. 100 ("Thun")
Piano Quartet No. 2, Op. 26
César Franck- Violin Sonata
Anton Bruckner- Symphony No. 6
Sergei Prokofiev
Piano Sonata No. 6, Op. 82
Dmitri Shostakovich
String Quartet No. 2, Op. 68
Symphony No. 15, Op. 141
See also
- Major and minor
- Chord (music)
- Chord names and symbols (popular music)
References
^ Mark Anson-Cartwright (2000). "Chromatic Features of E♭-Major Works of the Classical Period". Music Theory Spectrum. 22 (2): 178. JSTOR 745959..mw-parser-output cite.citationfont-style:inherit.mw-parser-output .citation qquotes:"""""""'""'".mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registrationcolor:#555.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration spanborder-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon abackground:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center.mw-parser-output code.cs1-codecolor:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-errordisplay:none;font-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-errorfont-size:100%.mw-parser-output .cs1-maintdisplay:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-formatfont-size:95%.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-leftpadding-left:0.2em.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-rightpadding-right:0.2em
^ Peter Cropper, "Beethoven's Violin Sonata in A major, Op.47 'Kreutzer': First Movement", The Strad, March 2009, p. 64
^ Rita Steblin (1996) A History of Key Characteristics in the Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries, University of Rochester Press, p. 123,
ISBN 0835714187.
^ N. D. Mar (1981). Anatomy of the Orchestra University of California Press, p. 349,
ISBN 0520045009.
Further reading
Colin Lawson, Mozart: Clarinet Concerto, A Cambridge Music Handbook, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
External links
Media related to A major at Wikimedia Commons
Media related to A major at Wikimedia CommonsDiatonic scales and keys | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The table indicates the number of sharps or flats in each scale. Minor scales are written in lower case. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Compositions in A major, Major scales, Musical keysUncategorized
