Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

sonatina

American  
[son-uh-tee-nuh, saw-nah-tee-nah] / ˌsɒn əˈti nə, ˌsɔ nɑˈti nɑ /

noun

Music.

PLURAL

sonatinas, sonatine
  1. a short or simplified sonata.


sonatina British  
/ ˌsɒnəˈtiːnə /

noun

  1. a short sonata

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sonatina

1715–25; < Italian, diminutive of sonata

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In middle school, when most of his fellow piano students were content performing one Clementi sonatina movement, he had mastered all three.

From Seattle Times

I began playing half an hour a day: working through Mozart’s sonatinas, sampling Tchaikovsky’s “Seasons” and gloomy Norwegian folk songs by Grieg.

From New York Times

Huang has a superb command of his instrument: warm and bright in Dvorak’s sonatina in G, lilting and mellow in Brahms’s third sonata, which concluded the program.

From Washington Post

He wrote his first published work, a sonatina for piano, in 1943.

From New York Times

Clementi is often remembered for his genial sonatinas, a staple for most piano students, but the G minor sonata from 1821 has been unjustly neglected.

From New York Times