John Stewart Sonata Analysis

The biggest applause I received from performing music was when I stopped playing midway through a sonata and graciously bowed and smiled off stage. I was also four years old and performing at my mother’s recital. As a pianist, my mother taught me the C Major scale before the alphabet. As a four year old performer, stage fright did not exist in my vocabulary and neither did self-consciousness. As we grow older and become more aware, that boldness begins to fade. However, being aware and gaining new knowledge has its benefits. Some may call it the Dunning-Kruger effect and others may say that ignorance is a bliss. In other words, it is crucial to thirst and crave new knowledge and understanding, for it teaches us far more greater lessons than hiding in our comfort zones of ignorance.
I’ve always liked sonatas because it told a story. The sonata form, used by composers throughout

It is arguably the most important because it sets the foundation for the rest of the piece. My childhood is full of memories. They vary in clarity but the various snapshots of time allow me to maintain a hold on who I was, and by extension how I came to be who I am. Growing up in San Francisco, I was unconsciously in the midst of history in the making. I was surrounded by people from all over the world with different faces, languages, and opinions. The eclectic characters and oddities of San Francisco shaped much of my outlook on life and as a result placed me in the movement of opinionated people that has transformed our society today. Therefore, vibrant cultures and diversity were the social norm. From hippies to capitalists, tree huggers to techies, and meat lovers to vegans, San Francisco’s tradition of tolerance and inclusivity was what I considered — normal. Now that I look back, San Francisco is a contradiction of its own. Ironically, I was enclosed by progressive and liberal ideas that also lead to ignorance of other