*The general title for a large work written for instruments, often with piano or for piano solo, and until the late 19th-century implying multiple movements in contrasting tempi.
*The multi-movement plan of such a work, either in three movements (fast-slow-fast), or in four (fast-slow-minuet (or scherzo)-fast).
*The specific form or principle usually employed in the first movement of such a work, though also often used in other movements of the work. (See main article: [[Sonata form]])
==See also:==
[[Classical_period_(music)|Classical period]]
[[category:Musical forms]]