Sonata in A major D.959 (1828)

Schubert begins his Sonata in A major - the second of the great series of three written in the last year of his life -    with a gesture of far-reaching importance. In the first movement itself the percussive downward leaps in the left hand do not seem very significant. They are not heard again in the exposition, the most obsessive feature of which is the persistent triplet figuration and the most attractive the beautiful E major melody of the second subject. The version of that melody heard at the end of the exposition is particularly inspired and so captivating that it dominates almost the whole of the development. The opening bars take their due place in the recapitulation of course but are given no special emphasis until the coda.

The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the Allegro is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme in F sharp minor of the Andantino. The relationship is uncertain and would not be worth mentioning but for other indirect indications of Schubert’s concern for long-term unity here. The surprisingly vehement middle section is quite deliberately and equally surprisingly echoed in the next movement.

The beginning of the Scherzo is perhaps another allusion to the opening bars of the work, in spite of its position at the opposite end of the keyboard. Basically, the movement is one of Schubert’s German dances, in A major but with an incongruous intrusion of C sharp minor vehemence in a brilliant descending scale and a tiny echo of the F sharp minor theme of the previous movement. In the middle of the Trio section, which is slower and in D major, the right hand crosses the left in an unmistakable allusion to the opening bars of the first movement.

    The relationship between the broadly shaped last movement and the rest of the sonata is left dangerously unsecured until the very end. Reluctant to labour the structural point and happy to luxuriate in the lyrical atmosphere suggested by a main theme derived from his song Im Frühling - “As I sit quietly on the hillside, the sky above so clear…” - Schubert avoids referring back. The entry of the more urgent second subject scarcely disturbs the serenity, in spite of its tendency to veer off course into the minor. It is not until after Schubert has explored the potential for drama in both main themes, has masterfully restored tranquillity, has tested the equanimity of the first subject by fragmenting it between bar-long rests, and has thrust it into a Presto coda that, with a gesture that could almost be ironic, he recalls the opening bars of the work at the very end.

Schubert: sonata in A major d959

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Sonata in A major (D.959)

Allegretto

Andantino

Scherzo: allegretto

Rondo: allegretto - presto

Schubert begins his Sonata in A major - the second of the great series of three written in the last year of his life - with a gesture of far-reaching importance. In the first movement itself the percussive downward leaps in the left hand do not seem very significant. They are not heard again in the exposition, the most obsessive feature of which is the persistent triplet figuration and the most attractive the beautiful E major melody of the second subject. The version of that melody heard at the end of the exposition is particularly inspired and so captivating that it dominates almost the whole of the development. The opening bars take their due place in the recapitulation of course but are given no special emphasis until the coda.

The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the Allegro is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme in F sharp minor of the Andantino. The relationship is uncertain and would not be worth mentioning but for other indirect indications of Schubert’s concern for long-term unity here. The surprisingly vehement middle section is quite deliberately and equally surprisingly echoed in the next movement.

The beginning of the Scherzo is perhaps another allusion to the opening bars of the work, in spite of its position at the opposite end of the keyboard. Basically, the movement is one of Schubert’s German dances, in A major but with an incongruous intrusion of C sharp minor vehemence in a brilliant descending scale and a tiny echo of the F sharp minor theme of the previous movement. In the middle of the Trio section, which is slower and in D major, the right hand crosses the left in an unmistakable allusion to the opening bars of the first movement.

The relationship between the broadly shaped last movement and the rest of the sonata is left dangerously unsecured until the very end. Reluctant to labour the structural point and happy to luxuriate in the lyrical atmosphere suggested by a main theme derived from his song Im Frühling - “As I sit quietly on the hillside, the sky above so clear…” - Schubert avoids referring back. The entry of the more urgent second subject scarcely disturbs the serenity, in spite of its tendency to veer off course into the minor. It is not until after Schubert has explored the potential for drama in both main themes, has masterfully restored tranquillity, has tested the equanimity of the first subject by fragmenting it between bar-long rests, and has thrust it into a Presto coda that, with a gesture that could almost be ironic, he recalls the opening bars of the work at the very end.

Schubert’s last three piano sonatas represent the end of a life-long campaign to master a form which, as he inherited it, was essentially alien to him. After twenty or so piano-sonata projects undertaken (and not always completed) over a period of thirteen years before he started on those last three, he had come to reconcile his fundamentally lyrical genius with a basically dramatic form. Now, in what turned out to be the last year of his life, he set out towards his ultimate objective of transcending the limitations of the form while, paradoxically, liberating his lyrical spontaneity from structural constraints.

The magnificently expansive Sonata in A major, the second of the last three, begins with a gesture of far-reaching importance – a series of heavily percussive downward leaps in the left hand. In the first movement itself the gesture does not seem to be very significant. It is not heard again in the exposition, the most obsessive feature of which is the persistent triplet figuration and the most attractive the lovely melody that appears by way of a winding approach as the second main theme. The version of that melody heard at the end of the exposition is particularly inspired and so captivating that it dominates almost the whole of the development. The opening bars take their due place in the recapitulation, of course, but the downward leaps are given no special emphasis until they reappear, very quietly and interestingly varied, in the coda.

The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the Allegro is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme iof the Andantino. The relationship is uncertain and would not be worth mentioning but for other indirect indications of Schubert’s concern for long-term unity here: the surprisingly vehement middle section – a fantasia sounding very much like a tribute to J.S. Bach at certain points – is quite deliberately and equally surprisingly echoed in the next movement.

The beginning of the Scherzo is perhaps another allusion to the opening left-hand gesture of the work, in spite of its position at the opposite end of the keyboard. Basically, the movement is one of Schubert’s German dances but with more than the usual keyboard brilliance and an incongruous intrusion of the kind of vehemence encountered in the previous movement. In the middle of the more leisurely Trio section the left hand crosses the right in an unmistakable allusion to the opening gesture of the first movement.

The relationship between the broadly shaped last movement and the rest of the sonata is left dangerously unsecured until the very end. Reluctant to labour the structural point and happy to luxuriate in the lyrical atmosphere suggested by a main theme derived from his song Im Frühling – “As I sit quietly on the hillside, the sky above so clear…” – Schubert avoids referring back. The entry of the more urgent second subject scarcely disturbs the serenity, in spite of its tendency to veer off course into the minor. It is not until after Schubert has explored the potential for drama in both main themes, has masterfully restored tranquillity, has tested the equanimity of the first subject by fragmenting it between bar-long rests, and has thrust it into a Presto coda that, dramatically and conclusively, he recalls the opening gesture of the work at the very end.

Sonata in A major, D.959

Allegretto

Andantino

Scherzo: allegretto

Rondo: allegretto - presto

Schubert’s last three piano sonatas represent the end of a life-long campaign to master a form which, as he inherited it, was essentially alien to him. After twenty or so piano-sonata projects undertaken (and not always completed) over a period of thirteen years before he started on those last three, he had come to reconcile his fundamentally lyrical genius with a basically dramatic form. Now, in what turned out to be the last year of his life, he set out towards his ultimate objective of transcending the limitations of the form while, paradoxically, liberating his lyrical spontaneity from structural constraints.

The magnificently expansive Sonata in A major, the second of the last three, begins with a gesture of far-reaching importance – a series of heavily percussive downward leaps in the left hand. In the first movement itself the gesture does not seem to be very significant. It is not heard again in the exposition, the most obsessive feature of which is the persistent triplet figuration and the most attractive the beautiful E major melody of the second subject. The version of that melody heard at the end of the exposition is particularly inspired and so captivating that it dominates almost the whole of the development. The opening bars take their due place in the recapitulation, of course, but the downward leaps are given no special emphasis until they reappear, very quietly and interestingly varied, in the coda.

The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the Allegro is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme in F sharp minor of the Andantino. The relationship is uncertain and would not be worth mentioning but for other indirect indications of Schubert’s concern for long-term unity here: the surprisingly vehement middle section – a fantasia sounding very much like a tribute to J.S. Bach at certain points – is quite deliberately and equally surprisingly echoed in the next movement.

The beginning of the Scherzo is perhaps another allusion to the opening left-hand gesture of the work, in spite of its position at the opposite end of the keyboard. Basically, the movement is one of Schubert’s German dances, in A major but with an incongruous intrusion of C sharp minor vehemence in a brilliant descending scale and a tiny echo of the F sharp minor theme of the previous movement. In the middle of the Trio section, which is slower and in D major, the right hand crosses the left in an unmistakable allusion to the opening gesture of the first movement.

The relationship between the broadly shaped last movement and the rest of the sonata is left dangerously unsecured until the very end. Reluctant to labour the structural point and happy to luxuriate in the lyrical atmosphere suggested by a main theme derived from his song Im Frühling - “As I sit quietly on the hillside, the sky above so clear…” – Schubert avoids referring back. The entry of the more urgent second subject scarcely disturbs the serenity, in spite of its tendency to veer off course into the minor. It is not until after Schubert has explored the potential for drama in both main themes, has masterfully restored tranquillity, has tested the equanimity of the first subject by fragmenting it between bar-long rests, and has thrust it into a Presto coda that, dramatically and conclusively, he recalls the opening gesture of the work at the very end.

Sonata in A major (D.959)

Allegretto

Andantino

Scherzo:    allegretto

Rondo:    allegretto - presto

Schumann was convinced that the sonatas could not be later than the Trio in E flat, which he continued to regard as Schubert’s “last and most individual work,” unless these sonatas were written on his sickbed. In fact, the Trio in E flat was written in November, 1827, and the last three sonatas in September 1828, two months before the composer’s death but not on his sickbed. They are also nearer the romantic ideal of the post-Beethoven, large-sacle, lyrical sonatas than anything written later.

Like Beethoven, in the “Hammerklavier” Schubert begins his Sonata in A major, the second of his last three sonatas, with a gesture of far-reaching importance. In the first movement itself the percussive downward leaps in the left hand do not seem very significant. They are not heard again in the exposition, the most obsessive feature of which is the persistent triplet figuration and the most captivating the beautiful E major melody of the second subject. Another persistent feature is the dactylic rhythm derived from the second subject; and a new version of the E major melody, heard at the end of the exposition, is so captivating that it dominates almost the whole of the development. The opening bars take their due place in the recapitulation of course but are given no special emphasis until the coda.

The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the Allegro is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme (in F sharp minor) of the Andantino. The relationship is uncertain and would not be worth mentioning but for other indications of Schubert’s concern for long-term unity here. The surprisingly vehement middle section - a fantasia tribute to J.S. Bach inspired enough, surely, to have delighted an enthusiast like Robert Schumann - is quite deliberately and equally surprisingly echoed in the next movement.

The beginning of the Scherzo is perhaps another allusion to the opening bars of the work, in spite of its position at the opposite end of the keyboard. Basically, the movement is one of Schubert’s German dances, in A major, but with an incongruous intrusion of C sharp minor vehemence in a brilliant descending scale and a tiny echo of the F sharp minor theme of the previous movement. In the middle of the Trio section, which is slower and in D major, the right hand crosses the left in an unmistakable allusion to the opening bars of the first movement.

The relationship between the last movement and the rest of the work is not so clear, at least until the very end. The rhythm of the first two notes of the main theme does, in fact, echo a recurring motif near the beginning of the first movement, but this is the least remarkable aspect of a melody more closely related to the song Im Frühling. Perhaps it is only with the entry of the second subject, more urgent in E minor and based on a retrograde of the dactyl rhythm, that Schubert begins to form links with earlier events. Certainly, as he pursues the major-minor conflict which is the basic concern of the movement, that three-note rhythm becomes a prominent feature of the development. It figures largely and decisively in the recapitulation too, when the apparent resolution of the conflict, in the conversion of the second subject to A major, proves illusory. When the tonic is achieved again, in triplet arpeggios over the dactylic rhythm, it seems that the first subject - hesitating between major and minor - cannot believe it. Even the Presto coda strays from the tonic and its supremacy is onfirmed only in the last bars, which convincingly echo the openg bars of the first movement.

Schubert begins his A major Sonata, the second of the last three, with a gesture of far-reaching importance.      In the first movement itself the percussive downward leaps in the left hand do not seem very significant.      They are not heard again in the exposition and they are given no special emphasis until the coda.      The gesture is, however, a very positive indication of Schubert’s interest at this time in securing long-term unity as well as in enlarging the scope of the sonata.

    The rhythmic shape adopted by the downward leap at one point in the coda of the first movement is not unlike that of the left-hand accompaniment to the first theme (in F sharp minor) of the Andantino .      It is a small point and less obviously deliberate on Schubert’s part than the way the vehement middle section of the Andantino    is echoed in an incongruous intrusion of C sharp minor brilliance in the A major Scherzo.      The main theme of the Scherzo and the rhythm of the left hand crossing the right in the slower Trio section are, on the other hand, unmistakable allusions to the opening bars of the first movement.

    The relationship between the last movement and the rest of the sonata is not so clear until the very end. Reluctant perhaps to labour the point, Schubert avoids references to the opening bars of the work in both the main themes of the Allegretto    - although there are other relationships between the two outer movement, like the dactylic rhythm associated with both the second subjects. It is not until after the resolution of the preoccupying conflict between major and minor that the opening gesture is recalled, both to confirm in the closing bars the supremacy of the major and to put a conclusive seal on the structural unity of the work.