Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 02/27/2013, uploaded on 07/27/2013

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Composed in October 1826 and published in 1827 by Tobias Haslinger, this work is one of only three piano sonatas (out of a total of 21) that were published during Schubert’s lifetime. This shows that Schubert – unlike Beethoven – belonged to a subculture: most of his works were performed only in small, private circles.

The work is dedicated to Schubert’s close friend Joseph von Spaun.  Like most of his later instrumental works, it shows an epic, almost symphonic dimension. The monumental first movement, in 12/8 time, evolves slowly, giving every theme space and time to develop. The second subject is an evolution of the first one rather than a huge contrast. Despite the quiet and serene character of the movement, it shows a remarkable dynamic range from whispering ppp to an orchestral fff in the climax of the development section.

As in the sonatas in C major (D 840) and in B flat major (D 960), the second movement – Andante – seems to be a seamless extension of the preceding one. It follows a rather simple ABABA form, with a lied-like first subject and a contrasting middle section that is introduced by a harsh eruption of ff-chords.

In Schubert’s music the major keys often stand for the unattainable and illusive, while the sadness of reality is represented by the minor tonality. This is clearly displayed in the Menuetto (in B minor) with its dreamlike Trio in B major.

The last movement is full of eloquence, wit, melodic and harmonic ingenuity. The left hand plays an important role in the two extensive middle sections, contributing to their elegant dance character. The whole movement requires considerable pianistic skills. After the last, culminating recapitulation of the main subject, the music vanishes into the highest registers of the keyboard, concluding the sonata pianissimo, as it had begun.       Ran Jia

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Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894     Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert’s instrumental music was largely neglected during his lifetime; his publishers preferring only to put in print his lieder and shorter piano pieces. Thus, Schubert only saw three of his twenty-one piano sonatas published. Furthermore, he was forced to endure publishers appending artificial, if not completely erroneous titles, to his works (in some cases even changing the titles altogether). Such was the case with his Piano Sonata No. 18 in G major, which has ever been known as the “Fantasy” Sonata. Composed in October 1826, it was Schubert’s last sonata to be published before his death. Tobias Haslinger, who thought the first movement too congenial and restrained to be an opening sonata-allegro, printed the work under the title “Fantasia, Andante, Menuetto, and Allegretto,” and consequently bequeathed upon the work its epithet. Indeed, the opening movement, marked Molto moderato e cantabile, is perhaps the most subdued and technically correct sonata form movement he ever composed. It certainly stands in stark contrast to its counterpart, the dramatically intense Allegro, in the String Quartet No. 15 in G major composed only a few months earlier.

In a gentle compound meter, the first movement begins with its hushed principal melody. Rarely do shadows pass over the bright tone of this movement, and the music seems to glide forward without any effort at all. The following Andante is made to embrace greater contrasts with a tender opening melody juxtaposed against dramatic forte sections in the relative and parallel minor keys. A graceful Minuet and Trio, the third movement begins with rather fervent chords in B minor before subsiding into an elegant tune in the relative major. The repetitive chords, however, dominate much of the minuet. In contrast, the Trio section in D major is blithe and charming. The rondo finale, marked Allegretto, returns somewhat to the unhurried feeling of the first movement, yet is certainly imbued with a greater amount of energy. A witty conclusion to the sonata, the finale sparkles with brilliant passagework, yet concludes with a tender restatement of the refrain’s opening measures marked Un poco più lento.      Joseph DuBose

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.