ABSTRACT
The other single piece which, analogous to the minuet, enjoyed a dual existence both within larger schemes (sonata, chamber music, symphony and concerto) and as an independent movement, was the rondo. This was already popular in both guises in the eighteenth century, but the free-standing rondo became the basis of a veritable industry during the later part of that century and the first third of the next. Its basic principle — an ancient one not only in music but in poetry also — was the return of a well-defined theme alternating with sections of episodic material.
