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Opus vs Sonata - What's the difference?

opus | sonata |

As nouns the difference between opus and sonata

is that opus is a work of music or set of works with a specified rank in an ordering of a composer's complete published works while sonata is a musical composition for one or a few instruments, one of which is frequently a piano, in three or four movements that vary in key and tempo.

opus

English

Noun

(en-noun)
  • A work of music or set of works with a specified rank in an ordering of a composer's complete published works.
  • Beethoven's ''opus'' eighteen quartets are considered by many to be the beginning of the Romantic era.
  • A work, especially of art.
  • The painter's last opus was a dedication to all things living, in a surprising contrast to all of his prior work.

    Usage notes

    The most common plural of opus'' in English is ''opuses''. Some people use the Latin plural, ''opera''. ''Opi'' is fairly common in the field of classical music, though mostly in informal contexts. The use of any of these three pluralizations may result in the speaker being corrected, though ''opi'' above all should be avoided in formal contexts. Outside of music, the word ''opus'' sees particularly frequent use in the expression ''magnum opus .

    sonata

    English

    (wikipedia sonata)

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • (music) A musical composition for one or a few instruments, one of which is frequently a piano, in three or four movements that vary in key and tempo
  • Derived terms

    * sonata form * sonatina

    Anagrams

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