Rondo in A major, D.438

Adagio - allegro giusto

Schubert wrote very little virtuoso music - no concertos and few instrumental or vocal pieces specifically designed to show off the agility of a favourite performer. But there is the “Wanderer” Fantasia, which was written for a far more accomplished pianist than the composer himself could claim to be, and there is the Rondo in A major for violin and strings.

The Rondo was written when Schubert was 19, which would make it an early work for any ordinary composer. Schubert, however, had written four or five symphonies and some excellent string quartets by this time, as well as a number of masterly songs. By its very virtuoso nature, the Rondo is not as characteristic of the mature Schubert as those other works. On the other hand, it is interesting for the peculiarity of its wholehearted indulgence of the solo violin. From its first entry, half-way through the Adagio introduction, the violin scarcely rests. It is the first to play the main rondo theme, as the tempo changes to Allegro giusto, and it is responsible for every major structural event from that point on, tirelessly decorating the melodic line with runs and arpeggios until it excels itself in a climax of virtuosity shortly before the end.

The virtuoso violinist in Schubert’s circle was Josef Slawjk, whom he first met in 1826 and for whom he wrote his two last violin pieces, the Rondo in B minor and the Fantasy in C, both with piano rather than orchestral accompaniment. As a violinist himself, however, Schubert knew enough about the instrument to have written several accomplished works for the violin even before he met Slawjk, including four Sonatas and the Rondo in A major for violin and string orchestra. The fact that this earlier group of violin pieces was composed round 1816 or 1817 suggests that he was writing for a specific instrumentalist at that time too but, if so, nobody knows who it was.

Schubert wrote few virtuoso pieces for any instrument or any voice: it was simply not in his nature. So the whole-hearted indulgence of the solo violin in the Rondo in A major is as interesting as it is exceptional. From its first entry, half-way through the Adagio introduction, the violin scarcely rests. It is the first to play the main rondo theme, as the tempo changes to Allegro giusto, and it is responsible for every major structural event from that point on, tirelessly decorating the melodic line with runs and arpeggios until it excels itself in a climax of virtuosity shortly before the end.