Development

Abstract

Abstract A number of the most important full-movement forms sonata, sonata-rondo, and concerto-include a central section traditionally termed development.1 Like other formal labels employed in this study, development can refer to both a particular section of a movement and a distinct formal function. As a formal unit, a development stands between an exposition and a recapitulation. As a formal function, a development generates the greatest degree of tonal and phrase-structural instability in the movement and thus motivates a restoration of stability (to be accomplished by the recapitulation).