Schubert's Piano Sonata Cycle

FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828)

Schubert's musical gift was not unrecognised during his lifetime, but for years after his death in 1828, contemporaries and critics continued to evaluate Schubert's music in relation to Beethoven's legacy, with some even depicting Schubert as a composer who failed to write sonatas in the likeness of Beethoven's. Surely Schubert admired Beethoven; not only was he one of the torchbearers in Beethoven's funeral, he also requested to be buried alongside the great German composer when he died. This narrative that casts Schubert under the shadow of Beethoven can easily limit our understanding of Schubert's artistry. Schubert's achievement in the Lied, a genre that was considered more intimate, as well as his lack of virtuosic performance may also lead to an overlook of his piano music.

Schubert's solo piano music includes sonatas, fantasies, dances, and other shorter pieces, but his piano sonatas in particular gained new attention in the early 20 th century. In the year 1928, Theodor W. Adorno published a rather harsh critique of Schubert, describing his music as "potpourri" because of its loose thematic and structural links. In contrast to this view that has been protested by Alfred Brendel who argues "Schubert's form is a matter of propriety, a veil of order, to quote Novalis, that conceals the most beautiful chaos music has ever seen," Donald Francis Tovey offered another perspective that focused on the tonal colours and key relationships in Schubert's sonatas.

The question of how many piano sonatas Schubert wrote remains a subject of debate as Schubert left many sonatas "incomplete" as fragments. According to Eva Badura-Skoda whose husband Paul Badura-Skoda completed five of the "unfinished" sonatas, the total number of Schubert's piano sonatas should be twenty, since D. 769A / D. 994 in E minor and D. 655 in C-sharp minor are too fragmentary to be included. The current Henle three-volume Urtext edition, however, establishes the number as twenty-two. Why Schubert often chose not to finish a sonata is an enigma that has intrigued many. Scholars in general agree that this tendency to leave his music incomplete simply reveals Schubert possessed a vigorous and quick force of imagination that his pen could not follow.

Schubert's twenty piano sonatas can be divided into three groups: the early period, the middle period, and the last period. Beginning with D. 157 in E major, the early period spans from 1815 to 1818. Schubert was prolific, especially in 1817 and 1818: in two years, he conceived eight sonatas in which the writing of melodies in octaves and in unison became prevalent. He also adopted more expansive harmonic progression. In 1817, Schubert composed a sonata in the delicate D-flat major known as D. 567, but he later transposed it to the key of E-flat major with slight elaboration, resulting in what is numbered today as D. 568.

After composing D. 664 in A major, sometimes considered a link between the first and second groups, Schubert did not produce any piano sonatas for almost four years. Written in 1823 after the Wanderer Fantasy of 1822, D. 784 in A minor marked the beginning of the second period. Dedicated to Felix Mendelsohn when it was first published in 1839 by Anton Diabelli, it remains one of the most performed Schubert sonatas today with recordings by pianists like Daniel Barenboim, Brendel, Stephen Hough, Evgeny Kissin, Paul Lewis, Radu Lupu, Maria João Pires, Andras Schiff, and Mitsuko Uchida, among others. Subtitled "Tragic", this sonata opens with a dark, despairing theme characterised by a successive use of sigh motives that seems to reflect his pessimism in dealing with his sickness. As Schubert confessed in a letter later in 1824, "In a word I feel myself the most unhappy and wretched creature in the world. Imagine a man whose health will never be right again, and ... who in sheer despair over this ever makes things worse and worse instead of better My peace is gone, my heart is sore, I shall find it never and nevermore." Also set in the melancholic key of A minor is D. 845, entitled Premiere Grande Sonata. Written in 1825 and dedicated to Archduke Rudolph, it was the first of the three sonatas published during the composer's lifetime. In 1826, Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung published a review that praised Schubert for his ability to interweave unity, freedom, and originality together in this sonata so much so that "it might not unjustly have been called a fantasy."

Schubert's last three sonatas, D. 958, D. 959, and D. 960, were written in C minor, A major, and B-flat major respectively in 1828, shortly before Schubert's death. Artur Schnabel and Eduard Erdmann were likely the first pianists to perform this set of three sonatas in one evening. Although the sonatas were initially dedicated to Johann Nepomuk Hummel, they were later dedicated to Robert Schumann by Diabelli when he published them in 1838. Schumann expressed disappointment when they were first published, lamenting that these sonatas lacked coherence and direction: "Alas, he also tells us about Schubert's voluntary renunciation of shining novelty, where he usually applies such high standards to himself... As if there could be no end, doubt as to how to continue, always musical and singable, these pieces ripple along from page to page, interrupted here and there by stirrings of some vehemence which, however, are quickly calmed." Schumann's words somewhat capture the overall negative attitude towards these last sonatas in his days. Today, however, these final three sonatas stand among the most commonly performed from the sonata cycle. For some who are used to comparing Schubert with Beethoven, these sonatas are also considered some of Schubert's greatest works that are no less inferior to Beethoven's most famous piano sonatas.

With more and more appearances in both recordings and concerts, Schubert's piano sonatas are now recognised as momentous works that are both beautiful and sublime, deserving our full attention. For pianist and pedagogue Menahem Pressler, Schubert transcends above Beethoven in his own way and is, in its melodic simplicity, closer to Mozart, "Schubert, like Mozart, is difficult to play because of the purity of the line and the beauty of his melody. Schubert gave the world something that even Beethoven didn't have—this overflow of melodies, a feeling that either in life or in heaven, the angels' music dance."

For this cycle series, Paul Lewis will be presenting 12 sonatas in 4 concerts over 2 seasons. This year, in the Part 1 & 2 programmes, he will be performing D. 568, D. 784, D. 850, D. 840 (including 'Reliquie'), D. 664, and D. 845.

Part 1 Programme

Sonata in E-flat major, D. 568 is a transposed and expanded version of Sonata in D-flat major, D. 567 which was written in June 1817. Scholars conclude that D. 568 was completed not earlier than November 1817 and likely later. The reason behind Schubert's transposition remains unknown; it could be that the publisher hoped to make the sonata more accessible to amateur players who might find this key of five flats challenging. D. 784 in A minor, one of Schubert's most frequently performed sonatas, was composed in 1823 but not published until 1839. Generally considered the first sonata of his second period, it exemplifies a melancholy that echoes its epithet, "Tragic". Sonata in D major, D. 850 is usually known as the Gasteiner because it was composed in Gastein, Austria, in 1825. Published in the next year as Schubert's Seconde Grande Sonate, it was dedicated to Schubert's friend and pianist Carl Maria von Bocklet. The joyous spirit of this sonata stands in striking contrast with the tragic tone of D. 784.

Part 2 Programme

Sonata in C major, D. 840, usually called 'Reliquie', was first published in 1861 even though it was written in 1825. The publisher F. Whistling gave it a misleading title "Schubert's Last Sonata", thinking it was Schubert's last work. Schubert only completed the first two movements and the trio section of the third movement. Various composers and performers have thus attempted to complete the work in different fashions. Composed in 1819, Sonata in A major, D. 664 opens with a liedlike theme that charms with dreamlike sweetness. The finale, too, conveys a sense of delight that led musicologist Konrad Wolff to describe it as "a Viennese waltz danced in heaven". Sonata in A minor, D. 845, entitled Premiere Grande Sonata, was written in May 1825 as a set together with D. 850 and D. 894, published during Schubert's lifetime. Dedicated to Archduke Rudolph, it enjoyed great success upon its publication with one reviewer in Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung suggesting likening the work to a fantasy.

Programme

notes by

Keri Hui PhD in Musicology

The University of Hong Kong and Kings College London