The sonata form as it developed in late-18th-century central Europe is based on a large-scale plan involving a modulation, or change of [[key (music)|key]], away from the main key of the work. At the end of the exposition, the music modulates to a second key and finishes off with a decisive cadence. However, in the classic period composers considered it unacceptable to end a work in a different key than which it had begun, so the second half of the movement would represent a dramatic attempt to modulate back to the original key. | The sonata form as it developed in late-18th-century central Europe is based on a large-scale plan involving a modulation, or change of [[key (music)|key]], away from the main key of the work. At the end of the exposition, the music modulates to a second key and finishes off with a decisive cadence. However, in the classic period composers considered it unacceptable to end a work in a different key than which it had begun, so the second half of the movement would represent a dramatic attempt to modulate back to the original key. |