Which style is most likely to feature a "sonata form"?

Sonata form is a musical structure that typically consists of three main sections: exposition, development, and recapitulation. This form became particularly prominent during the Classical period, where composers like Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven used it extensively in their symphonies, chamber music, and sonatas.

The exposition introduces the main themes, the development takes those themes and explores them through modulation and variation, and the recapitulation returns to the original themes, usually in the home key. This structured approach allows for both thematic development and a clear sense of organization in the music.

While some elements of sonata form can be found in Romantic and Contemporary music, the strict adherence to this structure is most characteristic of the Classical style. The Baroque period, on the other hand, focused more on forms like the fugue and binary/ternary forms, rather than the sonata form that defined much of Classical music.