The Piano Sonata in F minor, D. 625 (Schubert) is a piano sonata written in 1816-1817 by Franz Schubert.
First movement: Allegro in F Minor
The entire movement revolves around the rhythm of the first bars, and there is an extensive use of trills, an element which forms part of the initial motive. The second subject could be described as being "a consolatory version of the first." [1] As is the case with other Schubert sonatas, the composer left the movement unfinished, breaking off at the beginning of the Recapitulation. The movement has been completed by Paul Badura-Skoda, who recorded the sonata using his completed version. András Schiff recorded the movement as Schubert left it, without attempting to write an ending to it.
Second movement: Scherzo in E Major
Misha Donat describes the movement as one "whose very distant key and full-blooded sonority following the much leaner texture of the first movement comes as a severe shock." [2]
Third movement: Adagio in D-Flat Major
As with other Schubert sonatas, controversy exists surrounding the different movements that make up the work. This Adagio is thought to have been composed in December 1816 and has been cataloged in the Deutsch numbering as D.505. While there is no full certainty that the piece belong to this Sonata, two strong reasons can be considered favoring this argument:
1) The key of the piece and the time of composition are consistent and fit appropriately with what undoubtedly appears to be the missing slow movement of the sonata.
2) Schubert rarely composed miscellaneous pieces that were not meant to be a part of a larger whole. Even more so, an Adagio in the seldom used key of D-Flat Major seems to be oddly out of place in such a category.
Fourth movement: Allegro in F Minor
The choice of key and the turbulent writing, unusual for Schubert, indicate an affinity and influence from Beethoven's "Appassionata" Sonata, Op. 57. While Schubert left only a completed sketch of this movement, the soprano line allows the harmony to be easily reconstructed. [3]