rondo (It., properly spelt rondó). Round. Form of comp., usually instr., in which one section intermittently recurs. By Mozart's day it was the usual form for the last movt. of a conc. or sonata. Frequent pattern is ABACADA etc., A being the recurring rondo theme and B, C, and D contrasting episodes. Mozart and Beethoven combined this with sonata form into a sonata-rondo. Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel is designated a rondo. The term is also sometimes used in opera for an aria with a slow section followed by a faster one.