Fantasy in C major, Op.159 (D934)

Schubert didn’t much enjoy composing virtuoso music and, perhaps because his own instrumental technique was fairly limited, he wasn’t always very good at it either. There are, however, several notable successes in that vein, like the “Wanderer” Fantasy for piano and two lesser known works written for the Czech violinist Josef Slavík - “the second Paganini,” as Chopin described him - the wonderful Rondo in B minor of 1826 and the similarly if less consistently inspired Fantasy in C major of 1827. Though far less celebrate than the “Wanderer,” which dates from five years earlier, the violin Fantasy is comparable with it in every way. Certainly, its construction is just as original and, like the piano work, it is based on the melody of one of his songs - in this case “Sei mir gegrüsst” of 1822.

Whether Schubert was conscious of the relationship between the song and the theme of the beautifully written Andante molto beginning - introduced by violin over quiet tremolando harmonies on the piano - one can only guess. But, in the light of subsequent events, it seems more than likely that he was. Before the formal entry of the song itself, however, there is a long Allegretto episode based on a definitely unrelated Hungarian tune in A minor, finally and daringly modulating to A flat major. It is in A flat major that “Sei mir gegrüsst” first appears, with the melodic line on the piano. There are three variations in the same key and the same Andantino tempo, a coda with a violin cadenza, and then a most effective return of the opening Andante molto in C major.

Although that return to the beginning could signal the approaching end of the work, it is actually far from over at this point. Another variant of “Sei mir gegrüsst” is presented as the main theme of an Allegro episode in C major. Then, just before that same theme is precipitated into a predictable C major Presto finale, Schubert introduces yet another and entirely unpredictable Allegretto variation on “Sei mir gegrüsst” in that teasing key of A flat major.