[Listening extract audio not available in printed QP. Skeleton score in Insert.] A symphony movement is in sonata form. (a) What is the section where two co...

(a) The section where two contrasting themes are presented is the exposition. [1]

In sonata form, the exposition is the opening section where the main thematic material is introduced. It typically presents a first subject (or theme group) in the home key (tonic), followed by a transition (or bridge passage) that modulates to a new key, and then a second subject in the new key (usually the dominant in major keys, or the relative major in minor keys). The contrast between the two subjects provides the dramatic tension that drives the rest of the movement. The exposition is often repeated to help the listener absorb the thematic material.

(b) The section where themes are developed through different keys is the development. [1]

The development is the central and often the most harmonically adventurous section of sonata form. The composer takes motifs and themes from the exposition and subjects them to a range of techniques: fragmentation (breaking themes into smaller units), modulation (moving through multiple keys, often remote from the home key), sequence, inversion, augmentation, and combination of themes. The development builds harmonic tension and instability, creating a sense of drama and anticipation that prepares for the return to the home key.

(c) The section where themes return in the home key is the recapitulation. [1]

The recapitulation restates the thematic material from the exposition, but with one crucial difference: both subjects now appear in the home key (tonic). The first subject returns much as it was in the exposition, and the second subject, which was originally in a contrasting key, is now transposed to the tonic. This resolves the tonal tension established in the exposition and confirmed through the development, bringing the movement to harmonic stability. The recapitulation may be followed by a coda to provide a definitive conclusion.