Why does my set work only partially conform to Sonata Form?

Sonata form is so ubiquitous throughout GCSE and A level studies than many students misunderstand—or are never taught—that it is but one example of multiple ways to analyse any piece of music. This might seem daunting but should be liberating; good analysis need not be prescriptive or monotonous. This question would best be answered with regards to a specific set work, where the Formal discrepancies could be dealt with individually however, for the sake of brevity, a deeper understanding of Sonata Form’s genesis and original aim would also be helpful. Sonata Form was not a 20th Century invention, since the end of the 18th Century documents outlining the form describe it in much the same way as it is studied today. Further, composers such as Mozart and Haydn, and certainly those after, would have been aware of sonata form (although under no label) as a ‘first movement blueprint’ to be exploited. Nevertheless, its popularity as a teaching tool certainly grew exponentially in the 20th Century, resulting in its codification and leading to the A level syllabus studying most first movements through the prism of the Sonata Form. Yet there are other, more nuanced ways to analyse classical music: Schenkerian analysis reduces pieces down to their simplest parts, attempting to turn Sonata Form pieces into an elongated or prolonged perfect cadence. Contrastingly Schoenberg’s analyses tend to focus on surface level motifs and how they permeate entire movements and form. Neither scholar would discount sonata form, but would identify formally confusing areas and examine them from other perspectives. If Shenkerian or Schoenbergian analytical styles interest you, by all means investigate them further, however I am using them to demonstrate the many other forms of analysis. There is no Grand Unified Theory. It would be a very boring piece which followed a perfect Sonata Form so don’t be dissuaded if it subverts expectations, identifying these ‘subversions’ is the first step to a higher level analysis. Try and explain how they work using tools you already have, forget about form and investigate the harmony, melody, rhythm, timbre and motifs. Then confidently state in your essay that this passage does not conform to a archetypal Sonata Form and explain why it doesn’t (perhaps a second subject never properly appears, or it starts in a key other than the tonic). Finally attempt to suggest reasons why this works (the first subject presents sufficient material to negate a second, it resolves quickly to the tonic which is subsequently tonicised). Finally I would suggest looking at the first chapter of Nicholas Cook’s A Guide to Music Analysis to understand the aim of analysis and Hepokoski and Darcy’s Sonata Theory to appreciate the range of different permutations within the form.