Schubert's last sonatas

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The last three of Franz Schubert's piano sonatas, numbered 958-960 in O.E. Deutsch's catalogue, have received critical acclaim as some of the composer's highest achievements. The sonatas were composed during the last months of Schubert's life, and were published only in 1839, eleven years after the composer's death. Due to their several shared characteristics and compositional history, they are often regarded as a trilogy, in a concept similar to Beethoven's last three piano sonatas, or Mozart's last three symphonies^[1].

Contents 1 Structure 1.1 Sonata in C minor, D. 958 1.2 Sonata in A major, D. 959 1.3 Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960 2 History 3 Unifying elements and cyclicism 4 Beethoven's Influence 5 Allusion to other works by Schubert 6 Legacy 7 Performance Issues 8 Available editions 9 Recordings 10 Notes 11 References and further reading 11.1 English references 11.2 German references 12 Media

[edit] Structure

Schubert's three last sonatas have many structural features in common. Each sonata consists of four movements, in the following order:

1. First movement in moderate to high speed, and in sonata form. The exposition consists of two or three thematic and tonal areas and, as common in the Classical style, moves from tonic to dominant (in major mode works) or to the relative major (in minor mode works). However, as often with Schubert, the harmonic scheme of the exposition involves additional, intermediate tonalities, which may be quite remote from the tonic-dominant axis, and sometimes imbue certain expository passages with the character of a development section. The main themes of the exposition are often in ternary form, with their middle section digressing to a different tonality. The themes generally do not form symmetrical periods, and irregular phrase lengths are prominent. The exposition ends with a repeat sign. The development section opens with an abrupt, surprising turn into a new tonal area. A new theme, based on a melodic fragment from the second thematic group of the exposition, is presented in this section over recurrent rhythmic figuration, and then developed, undergoing successive transformations. The first thematic group returns in the recapitulation with different or additional harmonic digressions; the second group returns unaltered, only transposed a fourth up. The short coda maintains the tonic key and mainly soft dynamics, achieving a resolution of the movement's conflicts and ending pianissimo.
2. Slow second movement, in a key different from the tonic, and in A-B-A (ternary) or A-B-A-B-A form. The main sections (A and B) are contrasted in key and character, A is slow and meditative; B is more intense and animated. The movement begins and ends slowly and quietly.
3. Scherzo or minuet in the tonic, and trio in a different key. The scherzo proper is in ternary (A-B-A) form, its B section digressing to new keys – keys which had a prominent dramatic role in the previous movements. The trio is in binary or ternary form.
4. Finale in moderate to high speed, and in sonata or rondo-sonata form. The themes of the finales are characterized by long passages of melody accompanied by relentless flowing rhythms. The exposition is to be played only once. The development section is more ordinary in style than that of the first movement, with frequent modulations, sequences, and fragmentation of the exposition's first theme (or the main theme of the rondo)^[2]. The recapitulation closely resembles the exposition, with the minimal harmonic changes needed to end the section in the tonic: the first theme returns in a shortened version; the second theme returns unaltered, only transposed a fourth up. The coda is based on the exposition's first theme. It is composed of two parts, the first quiet and attenuated, creating a sense of expectation, the second animated, dissipating the final tension in decisive, agitated motion and ending with fortissimo tonic chords and octaves.

[edit] Sonata in C minor, D. 958

1. Allegro. The exposition shifts from the tonic to the relative major (E-flat major), touching midway upon its parallel minor (E-flat minor), all in accordance with Classical practice. The development section is highly chromatic, and is texturally and melodically distinct from the exposition. The recapitulation is once again traditional, staying in the tonic and stressing subdominant tonalities (D-flat, the lowered second degree - in the first theme). The coda returns to the material of the development section, here transformed in character.
2. Adagio in A-flat major, A-B-A-B-A form. The unorthodox, chromatic harmonic structure of this movement is generated from a short progression that appears towards the end of the A section, leading to a plagal cadence in the subdominant key (D-flat), chromatically colored with its own minor subdominant chord (G-flat minor). This leads to the haunted atmosphere of the B section, which is full of chromatic modulations and 'frightening' sforzandos. In the second appearance of the A and B sections, almost the entire music is shifted a semitone up. The kernel progression returns transformed at the end of the movement, with even subtler chromatic coloration and harsher modulations, leading from A-flat minor to C major. Throughout the entire movement, brisk modulations of a rising or falling semitone predominate.
3. Menuetto: Allegro; Trio. This is a somber movement, quite distinct from the typical atmosphere of dance movements. It is relatively conservative in its key scheme, moving to the relative major key and back to the tonic. In the B section, a sequence of hemiolas is interrupted by a dramatic interpolation in A-flat major. The second A section is a transformation of the first, interrupted every four bars by a silent bar, creating a mysterious atmosphere. The trio is in A-flat major, ternary form.
4. Allegro. This movement is written in 6/8 and in tarantella style, and is characterised by a relentless galloping rhythm. It employs the three-key exposition, a recurrent element in Schubert's style. The first theme shifts from C minor to C major - another Schubertian feature, and contains many allusions to D-flat major, which eventually becomes the key of the second theme. After a series of modulations, the exposition ends in the traditional relative major, E-flat. The development section begins in C-flat with a new theme, derived from the last bars of the exposition. Later on, additional material from the exposition is developed, gradually building up towards a climax. The recapitulation is also written in three keys, this time the second theme in B-flat minor and the closing section in the traditional tonic. The coda begins with a long anticipatory passage which stresses A-flat, the submediant, and then reintroduces the first theme, gradually building up tension towards the fortissimo ending.

[edit] Sonata in A major, D. 959

1. Allegro. Here both the first and second themes are presented in ternary form (the second thematic group is constructed in two levels of ternary form, as the A-B-A melody is followed by a tense chromatic passage, and then reappears at the end of the exposition). The exposition goes traditionally from tonic to dominant (E major), and even prepares the dominant tonality in the Classical fashion - through its own dominant, V of V - the only first movement to do so in the mature Schubert^[3]. However, at two points during the exposition, a series of modulations by major thirds (e.g. A major to F major) appears, generating a full turn through the circle of fifths, thus creating an illusion of forward harmonic movement, while actually ending in the same key in which it began^[4]. As in the previous sonata, the development section deals only with its own, new melodies and textures. Here, however, rather than developing the main thematic material of the exposition through successive modulations, the harmony constantly shifts back and forth between two tonalities - C major and B major (later replaced by B minor). Later on, a passage in the tonic minor appears, followed by the retransition, which here has the unconventional role of only shifting to the major mode to prepare the recapitulation, rather than fully preparing the tonic key (which in this case has already been previously established)^[5]. The recapitulation is traditional - staying in the tonic, and emphasizing the tonic minor and the flat submediant (F major) as subdominant tonalities. The coda restates the first theme, this time in a much more 'hesitant' manner, pianissimo and with further allusions to subdominant tonalities. The movement ends with serene arpeggios; the penultimate chord is highly unusual for a closing cadence (diminished seventh chord with flattened third, rather than the more usual, ordinary diminished seventh chord), for Schubert's time.
2. Andantino in F-sharp minor, A-B-A form. The A section presents a lamenting, poignant melody, full of sigh gestures (portrayed by descending seconds)^[6]. The middle section is of an improvisatory, fantasia-like character, with extremely harsh modulations and sonorities, culminating in C-sharp minor with fortissimo chords. After this climax, a recitative section leads to a serene phrase in the major mode (C-sharp major), which in turn leads (as the dominant of F-sharp minor) back to the A section, here somewhat transformed, with new accompanimental figuration.
3. Scherzo: Allegro vivace; Trio: Un poco più lento. The B section of the scherzo juxtaposes two distant tonal realms – C major and C-sharp minor. The music moves in and out of these keys without any modulatory preparation, as if by improvisation. C major returns in the concluding A section, this time more tonally integrated into its A-major surroundings, by modulatory sequences. The trio is in D major, ternary form. Its middle section moves to F major.
4. Rondo. Allegretto; Presto. This lyrical rondo movement consists of almost relentless triplet movement and endless songful melody. Its form is a sonata-rondo (A-B-A-development-A-B-A-coda). The second thematic group is written in the traditional dominant key; however, it is very long, modulating through many different subdominant tonalities. The development section, in contrast, culminates in a long passage in C-sharp minor. This leads to a false recapitulation in F-sharp major, which then modulates to begin again in the home key. In the coda, the main theme returns fragmented, with full bar pauses, which lead each time to unexpected changes of key. This is followed by a concluding, agitated presto section, based on the final bars of the main theme.

[edit] Sonata in B-flat major, D. 960

1. Molto moderato. This movement employs a three-key exposition. The first theme introduces a G-flat trill that anticipates the following harmonic events - a shift to G-flat major in the central section of the main theme, and, after a return to the tonic, an enharmonic shift to F-sharp minor at the start of the second theme. After a colorful harmonic excursion arrives the third tonal area, in the traditional dominant key (F major). In contrast to the previous sonatas, here the development section elaborates on several different themes from the exposition. It reaches a dramatic climax in D minor, in which the first theme is presented, fluctuating between D minor and the home key, in a manner similar to the parallel passage from the previous sonata (see above). In the recapitulation, the bass line in the first theme rises to B-flat instead of descending to F (as in the exposition), and the second theme enters in B minor, instead of F-sharp minor. The rest of the exposition is repeated without alterations, transposed a fourth up.
2. Andante sostenuto. This movement is written in ternary form, and the key of C-sharp minor - "the most tonally remote inner movement in Schubert's mature instrumental works in sonata form"^[7]. In the main section, a somber melody is presented over a relentless rocking rhythm. The central section is written in A major, and presents a choral melody over an animated accompaniment; it later touches upon B-flat major, the sonata's home key. The main section returns with a variant of the original accompanying rhythm. This time, the tonal scheme is more unique: after a half cadence on the dominant, a sudden, mysterious harmonic shift introduces the remote key of C major. This eventually turns into E major, and proceeds as before. The coda shifts to the tonic major, but is still haunted by glimpses of the minor mode.
3. Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza; Trio. The first part of the scherzo proper cadences not in the tonic or dominant, but in the subdominant. The second, B part, continues to modulate by ascending fourths, until it reaches the key of D-flat major. In this key, a new theme is presented, and the local subdominant (G-flat major, a further fourth upward) is emphasized, first in the major mode, then in the minor, with an enharmonic shift to F-sharp minor. This harmonic excursion eventually leads, through A major and a diminished triad, back to the tonic and the opening section. The trio is in binary form and in B-flat minor, the first presentation of the tonic minor in the sonata.
4. Allegro, ma non troppo; Presto. The finale has the same structure as that of the previous sonata. The main theme opens with an 'empty' octave on G, which resolves to C minor, subsequently interpreted as V of II in B-flat major. The second theme, in ternary form, is written in the traditional key of the dominant, with a central section in D major; it consists of a long, "endless" melody played over an uninterrupted flow of semiquavers. A third theme, based on a dotted rhythm, follows, beginning in F minor, fortissimo, and then shifting back to the major mode, pianissimo. This theme eventually leads back to the main theme of the rondo. The development section is characterised by clashing rhythms of juxtaposed eighth notes and triplets, and reaches a climax on C-flat major, from which the bass descends to G, returning to the main theme. In the coda, the main theme is fragmented in a manner also similar to the finale of the previous sonata; the octave on G here descends to G-flat and then to F, and the movement closes with a triumphant presto.

[edit] History

The history of the composition of the sonatas can be studied owing to the almost complete survival of their manuscripts. According to these, the sonatas were written in two stages – a preliminary sketch (the first draft) and a full, mature final version (the fair copy)^[8].

The sonatas were sketched during the spring and summer of 1828, possibly even earlier. The inner movements were sketched up to the barline, while the outer, sonata-form movements were only sketched up to the beginning of the recapitulation, and in the coda. In the sketches, passages from different movements or even different sonatas, sometimes appear on the same leaf; such evidence suggests that the last two sonatas were composed in parallel, at least in part. Furthermore, in the B-flat sonata, Schubert sketched the finale before completing the first movement, unlike his usual practice, in which finales were conceived at a later stage^[9].

The final versions of the sonatas convey the impression of a single unit, and were likely notated in close succession during September 1828. The sonatas were labeled Sonate I, II, III, respectively, and Schubert wrote at the bottom of the last folio of the third sonata the date September 26. As compared to the sketches, the final versions are written much more neatly and orderly, with full notation and greater care for small details^[10].

A thorough study of the emendations that Schubert edited into the final versions, in comparison with his sketches, reveals many insights. "Examination of Schubert's sketches for the sonatas reveals him as highly self-critical; moreover, it shows that the 'heavenly lengths' of the sonatas were actually a later addition, not conceived from the start. In his subsequent corrections, Schubert elaborated on his themes and expanded them, giving them more 'musical space'", in Alfred Brendel's words. In the revision, Brendel continues, "proportions are rectified, details start to tell, fermatas suspend time. Rests clarify the structure, allowing breathing space, holding the breath or listening into silence"^[11].

The major emendations in the final versions can be summarized as follows:

1. The most frequent modification is expansion of the original material. The expansions frequently repeat preceding measures or consist of rests or left-hand figurations without the melody, providing a pause in the motion. This is especially noticeable in the Adagio, minuet and finale of the C minor sonata, the middle section of the Andantino in the A major sonata, and the first movement of the B-flat sonata^[12].
2. Changes in the tempo or meter indications, mainly in the opening movements: D.958/I was originally marked allegro moderato; D.959/I was originally in alla breve time; D.959/II was originally marked andante; and D.960/I was originally marked moderato^[13].
3. Some of the major cyclic elements in the sonatas were only added in the final version. This includes the final bars of the A major sonata, which consist of a cancrizan of its opening; and the arpeggiation at the end of the slow movement of the same work, which anticipates the opening of the scherzo ^[14].
4. Classical-type sonata-form transitions, going from tonic to dominant, were also modified. In the opening movement of the A major sonata, the transition was originally written a fourth higher; as it appears, only after figuring out the recapitulation, did Schubert decide to transpose the transition in the exposition in accordance with the recapitulation's harmonic scheme, thus creating the more Classical type transition that establishes V of V, found in no other opening movement in late Schubert^[15]. In the analogous place in the finale of the same sonata, Schubert started writing the transition but eventually discarded it and started again, once he realized he was still in the tonic, rather than establishing the dominant^[16]. These examples demonstrate the weakening of the tonic-dominant axis in Schubert's harmonic thinking, and his general "aversion to the dominant"^[17].
5. Two passages in the sonatas were radically modified: the development section in the finale of the A major sonata, and the middle section in the slow movement of the B-flat sonata^[18].

In addition to the differences mentioned above, numerous other, local modifications of the structure, harmony or texture were applied to the original material. In these modifications, certain uniquely 'daring' original progressions were occasionally toned down, whereas in other places, the new version was even bolder than its predecessor.

As mentioned before, the final editing and writing down of the fair copies of the sonatas were achieved in September 1828. During this month, Schubert also wrote his string quintet and some of the Schwanengesang songs – an outstanding achievement for such a short time. The last sonata was completed on September 26, and two days later, Schubert played from the sonatas at an evening gathering in Vienna^[19]. In a letter to Probst – one of his publishers, dated October 2, Schubert mentioned the sonatas amongst other works he had recently completed and wished to publish^[20]. However, Probst was not interested in the sonatas^[21], and by November 19 Schubert was dead. In the following year, Ferdinand, Schubert's brother, sold the sonatas' autographs to another publisher, Anton Diabelli, who would only publish them ten years later, in 1839^[22].

Schubert had intended the sonatas to be dedicated to Johann Nepomuk Hummel (whom he greatly admired), a pupil of Mozart, composer (a pioneer of the Romantic style, like Schubert himself), and leading pianist ^[23]. However, by the time the sonatas were published, in 1839, Hummel was dead, and the new publisher decided to dedicate them to Schumann, who had praised many of Schubert's works in his critical writing. Schumann, however, seems to have been disappointed by the sonatas. He criticized their "much greater simplicity of invention" and Schubert's "voluntary renunciation of shining novelty, where he usually sets himself such high standards", and claimed the sonatas "ripple along from page to page as if without end, never in doubt as to how to continue, always musical and singable, interrupted here and there by stirrings of some vehemence which, however, are rapidly stilled" ^[24].

Another composer who took serious interest in Schubert's music is Johannes Brahms. Brahms was involved in the discovery and publication of unknown works by Schubert, and he took special interest in his piano sonatas. In her diary, Clara Schumann mentioned Brahms's playing of Schubert's last sonata, and praised his performance^[25].

Apart from the rare positive attitude of Brahms, during the entire nineteenth century, Schubert's piano sonatas, and the last ones included, seem to have been mostly neglected, or dismissed for being too long, lacking in formal coherence, being un-pianistic, etc., not unlike Schumann's criticism^[26]. Only well into the twentieth century, around the centennial of Schubert's death, did they begin to receive serious attention and critical acclaim, with the writings of Donald Francis Tovey, and the public performances of Arthur Schnabel and Eduard Erdmann^[27]. During the following decades, the sonatas received growing attention, and by the end of the century, have finally come to be regarded as essential members of the classical piano repertoire, frequently appearing on concert programs, studio recordings, and musicological writings. Some late twentieth century scholars have even argued that Schubert's last sonatas should rank together with Beethoven's most mature sonatas^[28]. The B-flat sonata, the last of them all, has gained the highest acclaim and popularity among the three.

[edit] Unifying elements and cyclicism

As previously discussed, Schubert composed his three last sonatas in close succession; furthermore, the titles that he gave to the sonatas, as well as his request to dedicate them to Hummel, suggest that he intended to publish them together as a set^[29]. Supporting their view as a single unity, pianist and scholar Alfred Brendel has found profound musical links between the sonatas. He has argued that the sonatas complement each in their different characters, and demonstrated that the entire sonata trilogy is based on the same basic group of intervallic motifs^[30]. Moreover, as Brendel and other scholars have shown, each of the sonatas contains a complex network of inner harmonic and motivic connections linking together all movements, and passages from one movement often reappear, usually transformed, in later movements^[31]. Most of these subtle connections are implicit, and will usually remain unnoticed for the listener. In some cases, however, Schubert quotes a theme or passage from an earlier movement with little alteration, and inserts it in structurally significant locations, creating an immediately audible allusion. Such explicit connections are related to the cyclic form, one of the musical forms associated with the Romantic period in music.

The most manifestly cyclical work of the three sonatas is the sonata in A major^[32]. In the sonata's scherzo, a joyous passage in C major is suddenly interrupted by a fierce downward rushing scale in C-sharp minor, which closely recalls a parallel passage at the climax of the preceding movement; this is followed in the scherzo by a dance theme whose melody is derived from the Andantino's opening melody. This unique moment is one of the most explicit, audible cyclic references in the sonata trilogy. Another important cyclic element in the A major sonata is the subtle similarities and connections that exist between each movement's ending and the following movement's opening; the connection between the opening and ending of the sonata as a whole, is even bolder: the sonata ends in a precise cancrizan of its opening, a framing device which is probably unprecedented in the sonata literature^[33].

Charles Fisk has described another cyclic element in Schubert's last sonatas, manifested in the unique tonal design of each sonata. He further argues that this tonal design, together with the thematic and gestural transformations that the cyclic motives undergo during the course of each sonata, strongly suggest the existence of a unique course, a narrative, a basic dramatic scheme that lies behind the musical drama within each of these works^[34].

According to Fisk, each sonata presents at its very beginning, the generative kernel of a musical conflict from which all the ensuing music will derive. The first movement, beginning and ending in the sonata's home key, confronts this key with a contrasting tonality or tonal stratum^[35]. This dichotomous tonal design is also manifested in both third and final movements, whose openings are variants of the first movement's opening. Moreover, the contrasting tonality becomes the main key of the second movement, thus increasing the harmonic tension in the middle of the sonata, while projecting the first movement's tonal design on the sonata as a whole (home key – contrasting tonality – home key). In the first half of each sonata, the musical material in the contrasting tonality is presented in sharp conflict with the material in the home key – in each appearance boldly detached from its surroundings. However, in the third movements and especially in the finales, this contrasting tonal realm is gradually integrated into its environment, bringing a sense of unity and resolution to the tonal conflict which was presented at the beginning of the sonata (see also the legacy section below)^[36].

[edit] Beethoven's Influence

It is well acknowledged that Schubert was a great admirer of Beethoven, and that Beethoven had an immense influence on Schubert's writing, especially in the latter's late oeuvre^[37]. An example of Schubert's absorption of Beethoven's compositional style can be found in the new methods of melodic construction which appear in the last sonatas, which are a prominent feature of Beethoven's style, nevertheless absent from Schubert's earlier piano sonatas^[38].

Schubert often borrowed musical and structural ideas from the works of Beethoven, to combine them into his own compositions. There are two outstanding examples for this practice in the last piano sonatas:

1. The opening of the sonata in C minor is "taken almost note-for-note" from the theme of Beethoven's Thirty-Two Variations in C minor, WoO 80^[39].
2. The structure of the finale of the sonata in A major is borrowed from the finale of Beethoven's 16th sonata, Op. 31 No. 1, as evident through numerous parallels in structural features^[40].

Numerous additional, less obvious similarities to works by Beethoven have been frequently mentioned in the literature. In these cases, the question of whether or not Schubert had actually borrowed his ideas from Beethoven is open to musicological debate. Here are some examples:

• in the C minor sonata, certain passages in the first two movements resemble parallel passages from Beethoven's eighth piano sonata (the Pathétique), written in the same key^[41].
• in the A major sonata, bars 200-206 from the end of the development section in the finale, recall bars 51-55 from the first movement of Beethoven's piano sonata in C-sharp minor, Op. 27 No. 2 (the Moonlight Sonata)^[42].
• in the B-flat sonata, the opening theme of the first movement, recalls the opening of Beethoven's "Archduke" trio, whereas bars 34-39 recall bars 166-169 from the first movement of Beethoven's fifth piano concerto, the Emperor; in the latter case, both passages are similarly modified in the recapitulations^[43]. The opening of the sonata's finale, in turn, recalls the opening of the finale from Beethoven's string quartet in B-flat major, Op. 130^[44].

A striking feature of many of these borrowings from Beethoven is that they retain, in their borrowed state, the same structural position they had in Beethoven's original design – they appear in the same movements, at the same structural points. However, despite all this evidence in support of Schubert's borrowing from Beethoven, "he evokes the memory of Beethoven and the classical style, but is no docile follower", as Alfred Brendel points out. "On the contrary, his familiarity with Beethoven's works taught him to be different... Schubert relates to Beethoven, he reacts to him, but he follows him hardly at all. Similarities of motif, texture or formal pattern never obscure Schubert's own voice. Models are concealed, transformed, surpassed"^[45]. A good example of Schubert's departure from Beethoven's line can be found in his most overt quotation of Beethoven – the opening of the sonata in C minor. Once Schubert's theme has reached A-flat – the highest note in Beethoven's theme – instead of the original, witty cadence in the tonic, Schubert's theme continues to ascend to ever higher pitches, culminating fortissimo on another A-flat, two octaves higher, tonicized as a downward rushing A-flat major scale. From this A-flat major interlude – an evasion of the opening material's harmonic goal, the main generative thematic material for the entire sonata will arise. In this way, what had initially appeared to be a mere note-to-note plagiarism of Beethoven, has eventually given way to a radically different continuation, one which invokes Schubert's own, idiosyncratic compositional style^[46].

But perhaps the best example of Schubert's departure from the style of his idol is the finale of the A major sonata. Although starting from themes of equal length, Schubert's movement is much longer than Beethoven's. The added length comes from the episodes within the rondo structure^[47]:

• Schubert's second theme (the B section of the rondo) indulges in a long harmonic and melodic excursion, going through the keys of the subdominant and flat submediant. Beethoven's more traditional short and simple theme merely consists of alternating tonic and dominant harmonies.
• Schubert's development section ends with a long passage in C sharp minor, with no parallel in Beethoven's finale.

Charles Rosen, who unraveled this unique borrowing of a Beethovenian structure in Schubert's A major sonata, has also referred to Schubert's departure from the former's style in this instance: "Schubert moves with great ease within the form which Beethoven created. He has, however, considerably loosened what held it together, and stretched its ligaments unmercifully... the correspondence of part to whole has been considerably altered by Schubert, and explains why his large movements often seem so long, since they are being produced with forms originally intended for shorter pieces. Some of the excitement naturally goes out of these forms when they are so extended, but this is even a condition of the unforced melodic flow of Schubert's music". Rosen adds, however, that "with the finale of the A major Sonata Schubert produced a work that is unquestionably greater than its model"^[48].

[edit] Allusion to other works by Schubert

Besides the internal references that they often make to earlier passages within them, Schubert's last sonatas contain distinct allusions and resemblances to previous works by Schubert, mostly earlier piano works, as well as many of his songs.

The finale of the A major sonata, uses as its main theme, a transformation of an earlier theme from the second movement of the piano sonata in A minor, D. 537. Schubert introduced some changes to the original melody, which make it conform better with the sonata's basic motifs, in accordance with the cyclical scheme of the sonata^[49]. Another allusion to an earlier piano work appears in the middle of the sonata's slow movement: after the climax in the middle section of the Andantino, appears a passage (bars 147-158) that closely recalls bars 35-39 from the Impromptu in G-flat major, D. 899^[50].

An important, unique work for solo piano written by Schubert, stands apart from his sonatas, but is closely related to them in its concept and style: the Wanderer Fantasy of 1822. The harmonic scheme inherent in each of Schubert's last sonatas, according to Charles Fisk, of a tonal conflict gradually resolved through musical integration, finds its precedent in the Fantasy^[51]. Moreover, a tonal stratum which plays a unique role throughout the sonata trilogy – C-sharp minor/F-sharp minor, is also precedented in the Fantasy as well as the song on which it was based, Der Wanderer (of 1816)^[52] (Fisk calls C-sharp minor "the wanderer's key"^[53]). In these two earlier works, and likewise in the last sonatas, passages written in the C-sharp minor/F-sharp minor stratum portray a sense of alienation, of wandering and homelessness, according to Fisk^[54]. The allusion to the song Der Wanderer becomes fully explicit when, in the development section of the B-flat sonata's opening movement, the new theme first presented in this section, undergoes a transformation (in bars 159-160) to become an almost literal quotation of the song's piano introduction^[55].

Another composition from the song genre, also mentioned by Fisk and others, as intimately related to the last sonatas, and also depicting a feeling of wandering and homelessness, is the Winterreise (A Winter's Journey) song cycle. Numerous connections between different songs from the cycle and the sonatas, especially the C minor sonata, have been mentioned. For example: In the C minor sonata, the first movement's development section recalls the songs Erstarrung and Der Lindenbaum; the second movement and the finale recall the songs Das Wirsthaus, Gefrorne Tranen, Gute Nacht, auf dem Flusse, Der Wegweiser, and Einsamkeit. These allusions to Winterreise retain the alienated, lonely atmosphere of its songs^[56].

Several of Schubert's last songs, posthumously published in the Schwanengesang collection, also portray a deep sense of alienation, and bear important similarities with specific moments in the last sonatas. These include the songs Der Atlas (recalls the opening of the C minor sonata), Ihr Bild (the B-flat major/G-flat major conflict at the opening of the B-flat sonata), Am Meer, and Der Doppelganger^[57].

Additional songs which have been mentioned in analogy to specific passages in the last sonatas include Im Fruhling (to the opening of the A major sonata's finale)^[58], and Pilgerweise (to the main section of the Andantino in the A major sonata)^[59].

At the time of the composition of the last sonatas, Schubert also wrote his famous string quintet. The slow movements of the quintet and the B-flat sonata bear striking similarities in their main sections; both employ the same unique textural layout, in which two-three voices sing long notes in the middle register, accompanied by the contrasted, short pizzicato notes of the other voices, in the lower and upper registers. In both movements, the long notes over the relentless ostinato rhythm, convey an atmosphere of complete stillness, of arrest of all motion and time^[60]. In general, the last sonatas often seem to employ string quintet textures^[61].

[edit] Legacy

As mentioned above, Schubert's last sonatas have long been historically neglected, dismissed as inferior in style to Beethoven's piano sonatas. However, the negative view has changed during the late twentieth century, and today these works are usually praised for their conveying of an idiosyncratic, personal Schubertian style, indeed quite different from Beethoven's, but holding its own virtues. In this mature style, the Classical perception of harmony and tonality, and the treatment of musical structure, are radically altered, generating a new, distinct type of sonata form^[62].

A comparison of Schubert's last sonatas with his earlier sonatas for the piano, reveals several important differences. The typical movement length has increased, due to the use of long, lyrical, fully rounded-off, ternary-form themes, the insertion of development-like passages within expositions, and the lengthening of the development section proper^[63]. Texturally, the orchestral grandeur of the middle-period sonatas gives way to a more intimate writing that resembles a string ensemble^[64]. New textures appear in the last sonatas – scale-like melodic elements, free counterpoint, free fantasia, and simple accompanimental patterns such as Alberti bass, repeated chords, and ostinatos; the orchestral unison texture, abundant in the preceding sonatas, has disappeared^[65]. The harmonic language has also changed: more distant key relationships are explored, longer modulatory excursions, more major/minor shifts of mode, and more chromatic and diverse harmonic progressions and modulations, using elements such as the diminished seventh chord^[66]. In general, the last sonatas seem to enact a return to an earlier, more individual and intimate Schubertian style, here combined with the compositional craftsmanship of Schubert's later works^[67].

Certain features of Schubert's last sonatas have been mentioned as unique among his entire output, or even that of his period. Here one can mention the profound level of cyclic integration (especially the cancrizan which 'parenthesizes' the A major sonata)^[68], fantasia-like writing with a harmonic daring looking forward to the style of Liszt and even of Schoenberg (in the slow movement of the A major sonata, middle section)^[69], exploitation of the piano's ability to produce overtones, both by use of the sustain pedal (in the slow movement of the B-flat sonata), and without it (in the A major sonata)^[70], and the creation of tonal stasis by oscillating between two contrasting tonalities (in the development sections of the A major and B-flat sonatas, opening movements)^[71].

The tonal oscillation just mentioned, is one means by which Schubert's mature music often manipulates our sense of time and forward movement. Another important compositional device creating a similar effect, which appears frequently in the last sonatas (mainly in the first and second movements), is the insertion of passages or complete movements which are tonally (and often also texturally) detached from their home-key surroundings, often introduced by sudden, 'magical' harmonic shifts that closely juxtapose the home key (or a closely related key such as the dominant) with the new, distant tonality^[72]. These shocking transitions, and the novel passages that follow, create a sense of standstill, of arrest of time and motion^[73]; they suggest a feeling of detachment, of entering a new dimension, independent of the preceding material, such as the realm of dreams and memories (if the preceding material is conceived as reality), or an alienated, inhospitable environment, an exile (if the preceding material is conceived as home). Texturally, the use of mechanically repetitive accompanimental patterns, such as ostinati and repeated chords, in the new, tonally remote passages, strengthens the emotional impact by disrupting the sense of time and forward motion, thus also creating a feeling of complete stillness, suggestive of the detached realm of a dream or memory^[74]. The invocation of memory becomes even more pronounced when the 'detached' passages allude to previously stated material, as in the middle of the Scherzo of the A major sonata. The use of similar harmonic and textural means to compose verses which tell of such emotional states in Schubert's songs, only strengthens the suggestion of these psychological connotations^[75].

Extramusical connotations of this kind have sometimes been used as a basis for the construction of a psychological or biographical narrative, attempting to interpret the musical program behind Schubert's last sonatas^[76]. Charles Fisk has suggested that the sonatas portray a protagonist going through successive stages of alienation, banishment, exile, and eventual homecoming (in the A major and B-flat sonatas), or self-assertion (in the C minor sonata). Discrete tonalities or tonal strata, appearing in complete musical segregation from one another at the beginning of each sonata, suggest contrasting psychological states, such as reality and dream, home and exile, etc.; these conflicts are further deepened in the ensuing slow movements. Once these contrasts are resolved at the finale, by intensive musical integration and the gradual transition from one tonality to the next, a sense of reconciliation, of acceptance and homecoming, is invoked^[77]. Fisk's hypothetical narrative is grounded on the basis of the ample cyclic connections within the sonatas, as well as their musical similarities to songs such as Der Wanderer and the Winterreise song cycle; and on biographical evidence concerning Schubert's life, including a story written by Schubert ("Mein Traum" – My Dream^[78]). Fisk suggests that the sonatas convey Schubert's own feelings of loneliness and alienation; by their striving towards musical and tonal integration, the writing of these works offered Schubert a release from his emotional distress, particularly deepened after finishing the composition of the lonely, depressive and hopeless songs of Winterreise, during the preceding year^[79].

Since the sonatas have remained largely unknown and unappreciated during the nineteenth century, there is little evidence of their influence on the later Romantic composers. However, Brahms, who studied and played Schubert's piano sonatas (the B-flat sonata in particular, see the history section above), is known to have been influenced by Schubert's instrumental works. In Brahms's works dating from the early 1860s, a clear Schubertian influence can be observed, in features such as closed lyrical themes, distant harmonic relationships, and use of the three-key exposition. Two of these works, the first string sextet and the piano quintet, contain specific features that resemble Schubert's B-flat sonata^[80]. In addition, the opening movement of the piano quintet ends with the same descending-third, plagal progression as the Andantino of Schubert's A-major sonata; these descending thirds are one of the unifying motifs of Schubert's entire trilogy.

Schubert's last sonatas are sometimes compared to Mozart's last symphonies, as unique compositional achievements: both consist of trilogies with one tragic, minor-key work, and two serene, major-key works; both were created during an astoundingly short period of time; and both creating a culmination of the composer's lifetime achievement in their respective genres^[81].

[edit] Performance Issues

Several key issues are routinely raised by musicians and music scholars, when discussing the performance of Schubert's compositions for piano. These discussions also concern the last piano sonatas. For most of these issues, such as the extent of using the sustain pedal, the execution of repeats, the combining of triplets and dotted rhythms, and the fluctuation of tempo – no general agreement has been reached^[82].

The issue of choice of tempi, particularly in the opening movements, is of special relevance in Schubert's major instrumental works. Schubert often notated his opening movements with moderate tempo indications, the extreme case being the "molto moderato" of the B-flat piano sonata. The latter movement in particular, has been interpreted in vastly different speeds. Ever since the famous performances by Sviatoslav Richter, taking the opening movement at an extremely slow pace, similar tempo interpretations for this movement have been frequent. However, the majority of Schubert scholars tend to dismiss such an interpretation, arguing instead for a more flowing pace, a measured allegro^[83]. A similar criticism has been mentioned for Schubert's slow movements, sometimes interpreted at extremely slow tempi^[84].

Some Schubert performers tend to play the entire trilogy of the last sonatas at a single recital, thereby stressing their interrelatedness, and conceiving them as a single, complete cycle. However, since each of these sonatas is rather long (as compared, for instance, with most of Mozart's or Beethoven's sonatas), such a program may prove exhausting to some listeners. One of the solutions to this problem is to shorten the program by omitting repeats, mainly those of the opening movements' expositions (however, this practice is highly disputed; see above). The pioneers of the Schubert sonata performance, Schnabel and Erdmann, are known to have played the entire trilogy in one evening; so does the contemporary pianist Alfred Brendel^[85].

[edit] Available editions

Several highly acclaimed editions of Schubert's last sonatas are available today, namely those of Bärenreiter, Henle, Universal, and Oxford University Press. These editions have, however, occasionally received some criticism for the wrong interpretation or notation of Schubert's intentions, on issues such as deciphering the correct pitches from the manuscript, notating tremoli, discriminating between accent and decrescendo markings, and reconstructing missing bars^[86].

[edit] Recordings

Schubert's last sonatas have been performed and recorded by numerous pianists. Many, especially the devoted Schubert performers, have recorded the entire sonata trilogy (and often all of Schubert's sonatas or his entire piano repertoire altogether). Others have sufficed with only one or two of the sonatas. Of the three sonatas, the last (in B-flat) is considered the most famous and therefore is also the most often recorded.

• Notable recordings of the entire sonata trilogy: Claudio Arrau, Stephen Kovacevich, Alfred Brendel (recorded several times), Wilhelm Kempff, Radu Lupu, Murray Perahia, Maurizio Pollini, Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida.

• of the sonata in C minor: Sviatoslav Richter.

• of the sonata in A: Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jorge Bolet, Christoph Eschenbach, Murray Perahia^[87], Arthur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin.

• of the sonata in B-flat: Géza Anda, Daniel Barenboim (recorded twice), Clifford Curzon, Leon Fleisher, Clara Haskil, Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Artur Rubinstein, Arthur Schnabel, Rudolf Serkin.

[edit] Notes

[edit] References and further reading

[edit] English references

• Badura-Skoda, Eva, The piano works of Schubert, in R. Larry Todd [ed.], Nineteenth-Century Piano Music, Schirmer, 1990, pp. 97–126.
• Badura-Skoda, Paul, Schubert as written and as performed. The Musical Times, Vol. 104, No. 1450. (1963), pp. 873-874.
• Brendel, Alfred, Schubert's last sonatas, in Alfred Brendel [au.], Music Sounded Out: Essays, Lectures, Interviews, Afterthoughts, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1991, pp. 72-141.
• Brendel, Alfred, Schubert's piano sonatas, 1822-1828. in Alfred Brendel [au.], Musical thoughts and afterthoughts, Noonday, 1991.
• Brown, Clive, Schubert's tempo conventions, in Brian Newbould [ed.], Schubert Studies, Ashgate, 1998.
• Brown, Maurice J. E., Drafting the masterpiece, in Maurice J. E. Brown [ed.], Essays on Schubert, St. Martin's Press, 1966.
• Brown, Maurice J. E., Towards an Edition of the Pianoforte Sonatas. in Maurice J. E. Brown [ed.], Essays on Schubert, St. Martin's Press, 1966, pp. 197-216.
• Burnham, Scott, Schubert and the sound of memory. The Musical Quarterly, 84(4), 2000, pp. 655-663.
• Carlton, Stephen Edward. Schubert’s working methods: an autograph study with particular reference to the piano sonatas. Ph.D. Diss., University of Pittsburgh, 1981.
• Chusid, Martin, Cyclicism in Schubert's piano sonata in A major (D. 959). Piano Quarterly 104 (1978), pp. 38-40.
• Cohn, Richard L., As wonderful as star clusters: instruments for gazing at tonality in Schubert. 19th Century Music XXII/3, (1999), pp. 213-232.
• Cone, Edward T., Schubert's Beethoven. The Musical Quarterly 56, 1970, pp. 779-793.
• Cone, Edward T., Schubert's Unfinished business, 19th-Century Music, Vol. 7, No. 3 (1984), pp. 222-232.
• Deutsch, Otto Erich, Franz Schubert's letters and other writings, 1974, New York, Vienna House.
• Einstein, Alfred, Schubert: a musical portrait. 1951, New York, Oxford.
• Fisk, Charles, Returning cycles: contexts for the interpretation of Schubert's Impromptus and last sonatas, Norton, 2001.
• Fisk, Charles, Schubert recollects himself: the piano sonata in C minor, D. 958. The Musical Quarterly 84(4), 2000, pp. 635-654.
• Fisk, Charles, What Schubert's Last Sonata Might Hold, in Jenefer Robinson [ed.], Music and Meaning, 1997, pp. 179-200.
• Hanna, Albert Lyle, A statistical analysis of some style elements in the solo piano sonatas of Franz Schubert. Ph.d. Diss, Indiana University, 1965.
• Hatten, Robert S. Schubert the Progressive: The Role of Resonance and Gesture in the Piano Sonata in A, D. 959, Integral 7 (1993), 38-81.
• Howat, Roy. Architecture as drama in late Schubert. In Brian Newbould [ed.], Schubert Studies, Ashgate, 1998, pp. 166-190.
• Howat, Roy, Reading between the lines of tempo and rhythm in the B flat sonata, D960, in Brian Newbould [ed.], Schubert the Progressive: History, Performance Practice, Analysis, Ashgate, pp. 117-137.
• Howat, Roy, What do we perform?, in John Rink [ed.], The Practice of Performance, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1995.
• Kerman, Joseph, A Romantic detail in Schubert's "Schwanengesang", The Musical Quarterly XLVIII(1), 1962, pp. 36-49;
• Kinderman, William, Schubert's piano music: probing the human condition. In Cristopher H. Gibbs [ed.], The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press, 1997, pp. 155-173.
• Kinderman, William, Wandering Archetypes in Schubert's Instrumental Music, 19th-Century Music, Vol. 21, No. 2, 1997, pp. 208-222.
• Kramer, Richard, Posthumous Schubert, 19th-Century Music, Vol. 14, No. 2. (1990), pp. 197-216.
• Marston, Nicholas. Schubert's homecoming. Journal of the Royal Musical Association 125(2), 2000, pp. 248-270.
• McKay, Elizabeth Norman, Franz Schubert: a biography, New York, Clarendon Press, 1997.
• Misch, Ludwig, Beethoven Studies, Norman, 1953.
• Montgomery, David, Franz Schubert's Music in Performance: Compositional Ideals, Notational Intent, Historical Realities, Pedagogical Foundations, Pendragon, 2003.
• Montgomery, David, Modern Schubert Interpretation in the Light of the Pedagogical Sources of His Day, Early Music, Vol. 25, No. 1 (1997), pp. 100-104+106-118.
• Montgomery, David, Robert Levin, and Walter Durr. Exchanging Schubert for schillings. Early Music, Vol. 26, No. 3. (1998), pp. 533-535.
• Newbould, Brian, Schubert: the music and the man, University of California Press, 1999.
• Newman, William S. Freedom of Tempo in Schubert's Instrumental Music, The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 61, No. 4 (1975), pp. 528-545.
• Pesic, Peter, Schubert's dream, 19th-Century Music, Vol. 23, No. 2. (1999), pp. 136-144.
• Rosen, Charles, The Classical Style, New York, 1971, pp. 456-458.
• Rosen, Charles, The Romantic Generation, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1995.
• Rosen, Charles. Schubert and the example of Mozart. In Brian Newbould [ed.], Schubert the Progressive: History, Performance Practice, Analysis, Ashgate, pp. 1-20.
• Rosen, Charles, Schubert's inflections of Classical form. In Cristopher H. Gibbs [ed.], The Cambridge Companion to Schubert, Cambridge University Press, 1998, pp. 72-98.
• Rosen, Charles, Sonata Forms, revised edition, Norton, 1988.
• Schiff, Andras, Schubert's piano sonatas: thoughts about interpretation and performance. In Brian Newbould [ed.], Schubert Studies, Ashgate, 1998, pp. 191-208.
• Schumann, Robert, Schubert's Grand Duo and three last sonatas. Published in Robert Schumann [au.], Henry Pleasants [ed.], Schumann on Music: A Selection from the Writings, Dover, pp. 141-144.
• Shawe-Taylor, Desmond, Paul Hamburger, et al. Schubert as written and as performed. The Musical Times, Vol. 104, No. 1447 (1963), pp. 626-628.
• Solomon, Maynard, Franz Schubert's 'My Dream', American Imago 38:137–54, 1981.
• Tovey, Donald F., Tonality, Music & Letters, Vol. 9, No. 4 (1928), pp. 341-363.
• Waldbauer, Ivan F. Recurrent harmonic patterns in the first movement of Schubert's sonata in A major, D. 959. 19th Century Music XII/1, 1988, pp. 64-73.
• Webster, James, Schubert's sonata form and Brahms's first maturity, Part I. 19th Century Music II/1, 1978, pp. 18-35.
• Webster, James, Schubert's sonata form and Brahms's first maturity, Part II. 19th Century Music III, 1979, pp. 52-71.
• Whittall, Arnold, The sonata crisis: Schubert in 1828. The Music Review 30, 1969, pp. 124-129.
• Winter, Robert, Paper studies and the future of Schubert research, in Eva Badura Skoda and Peter Branscombe [eds.], Schubert Studies: Problems of style and chronology, Cambridge University Press, 1982.
• Wolff, Konrad. Observations on the Scherzo of Schubert's B-flat major Sonata, op. posth., Piano Quarterly 92: 28-29 (1975-6).

[edit] German references

• Dürr, Walther, Klaviermusik, in Walther Dürr and Arnold Feil, Franz Schubert (Stuttgart: Philipp Reclam, 1991).
• Godel, Arthur, Schuberts Letzte Drei Klaviersonaten: Entehungsgeschichte, Entwurf und Reinschrift, Werkanalyse (Baden-Baden: Valentin Koerner, 1985).
• Gulke, Peter, Franz Schubert und seine Zeit (Laaber, 1991).
• Hilmar, Ernst, Verzeichnis der Schubert-Handschriften in der Musiksammlung der WienerStadt- und Landesbibliothek (Kassel, 1978), pp. 98-100.
• Hinrichsen, Hans-Joachim, Untersuchungen zur Entwicklung der Sontenform in der Instrumentalmusik Franz Schuberts (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1994).
• Költzsch, Hans, Franz Schubert in seinen Klaviersonaten (1927; rpt. Hildesheim, 1976)
• Krause, Andreas, Die Klaviersonaten Franz Schuberts: Form, Gattung, Aesthetik (Basel, London, New York: Bärenreiter, 1992).
• Mies, Paul, Die Entwurfe Franz Schuberts zu den letzten drei Klaviersonaten von 1828, Beitrage zur Musikwissenschaft 2 (19601, 52-68).
• Schubert, Franz, Drei grosse Sonaten fur das Pianoforte, D958, D959 und D960 (Frühe Fassungen). Faksimile nach den Autographen in der Wiener Stadt- und Landesbibliothek, Nachwort von Ernst Hilmar (Tutzing: Hans Schneider, 1987).

[edit] Media

• A recording of Ralph Hokanson playing the B-flat sonata, D. 960.

v • d • e Piano sonatas by Franz Schubert E major, D. 157 · C major, D. 279 · E major, D. 459 · A minor, D. 537 · A-flat major, D. 557 · E minor, D. 566 · E-flat major, D. 568 · F-sharp minor, D. 571 · B major, D. 575 · C major, D. 613 · F minor, D. 625 · C-sharp minor, D. 655 · A major, D. 664 · A minor, D. 784 · C major, D. 840 · A minor, D. 845 · D major, D. 850 · G major, D. 894 · C minor, D. 958 · A major, D. 959 · B-flat major, D. 960 List of compositions by Franz Schubert