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Correct me if I'm wrong but from my knowledge appogiaturas begin on the beat and acciaccaturas begin before the beat.

How then exactly is one supposed to play this 3-note appogiatura (or any-note appogiatura in any piece for that matter) in Rondo alla Turca? From what I hear and see other people play, the appogiatura here is played before the beat and then the A note and C# octave are played on the beat. My initial thought was since this is an appogiatura the first note of the appogiatura and the C# octave above would be played on the beat brushing up to the A note.

So my question is how are you supposed to play multi-note appogiaturas (in this piece and in general) and how would it be different if it were an acciaccatura?

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  • I’ve revised my answer, which was wrong initially.
    – Aaron
    Commented Nov 5 at 1:20
  • Yes, that is correct. The top is the treble clef and the bottom is the bass.
    – Colossians
    Commented Nov 9 at 9:09
  • 2
    @ToddWilcox given the key signatures, there's no other possibility.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 9 at 23:19

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In general, it depends on the style of the piece and sometimes the specific composer. However, in the case of Mozart's Rondo alla Turca, it should be initiated before the beat. The appogiaturas in the piece are imitations of percussion instruments, which, of course, would play on the beat, but to get the proper effect on piano, the need to start a bit early.

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Both the timing (an appoggiatura is to be played at least at notated length which would more than gobble up the next note) and the positioning (an appoggiatura should be really printed on the beat rather than before it though that is less universally obeyed) make clear that we are not talking about an appoggiatura here but rather an acciaccatura that is missing its tell-tale slash. That also better fits the rhythmic role of the bass line.

The role of an appoggiatura is a harmonic one, providing tension/suspense by delaying an expected on-beat resolution. The run written here does not serve that role because the individual notes are too short for establishing a suspended harmony.

The melodic part right at the start of the Alla Turca section actually contains bonafide appoggiature right away though modern editions have a tendency to rewrite them as plain notes, regularizing the note view at the cost of junking the harmonic information an appoggiatura provides.

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Even though they are notated without the slash, these aren't the 'suspension' type of appogiatura. Don't try to analyse them too closely or look for a 'rule'. It's a style sort of thing. In a Chopin Ballade these sort of gracenotes might be played quite lingeringly. In this case I'd suggest they're more like a drum 'ruff', to be played fast and before the beat.

Listen to some performances. This pianist hardly spreads them at all. https://fb.watch/vHgcSB8CFy/

This one takes a lot more time over them, almost to the point of pausing the tempo.

My preference would be for something in between.

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