Sonata in C major for piano duet “Grand Duo” D812 (1824)

Schubert’s Sonata in C major is perhaps the most famous of all works for four hands at one piano. It owes it reputation above all to its exceptional structural stature, including a particularly interesting coda in each movement, but partly also to various extraneous factors. The “Grand Duo” title attached to it when it was published by Diabelli, after Schubert’s death, has helped to promote it, and so too has the theory, first postulated by Schumann, that it is a keyboard arrangement of a symphony. In fact, the manuscript - written in 1824 at Zseliz, where the two Esterházy sister were Schubert’s piano pupils - is clearly labelled “Piano Sonata for four hands.” There is a certain orchestral quality in the piano writing, as Schumann observed, but that is a not uncommon feature in Schubert’s solo piano music of the time. The most duettish of the four movements is the finale: the development section of which could have been conceived only for this medium and the witty ending would be pointless in another.

Perhaps the most famous of all works for four hands at one piano is Schubert’s Sonata in C major D812. It owes it reputation mainly to its structural stature and the quality of its material but partly also to various extraneous factors. The “Grand Duo” title attached to it when it was first published, after Schubert’s death, has helped to promote it, and so too has the theory, first postulated by Schumann, that it is a keyboard arrangement of a symphony. It has even been claimed - primarily by Joachim, who was the first of severl composer to orchestrate it - that it is a version of the symphony which Schubert is though to have written at Gastein in 1825.

The Sonata was, in fact, written in 1824 at Zseliz, wherre the two esterhazy sister were Schubert’s piano pupils, and the manuscript is clearly labelled “Piano Sonata for four hands.” As Schumann observed, however, there is a certain orchestral quality in the piano writing. Both the main themes of the Allegro moderato can be imagined in orchestral terms, particularly the second subject (on the cellos) with a (violin) counterpoint above it; and the tremolandos in the bass between the introduction of the two themes and in the treble near the end of the movement look as if they come from a piano arrangement of an orchestral score. On the other hand, these characteristics are not uncommon in Schubert’s solo piano music of the time, and the slow movement, though reminiscent of that of Beethoven Second Symphony, as Schumann pointed out, contains some delightful, essentially two-part exchanges for the two pianists.

The Scherzo too looks orchestral but sounds comparatively weak without the percussive attack of four hands at one piano - in effective contrast to the legato articulation of the trio section As for the finale, it is the most duettish of the four movements. There is the occasional orchestral tremolando but the lively conversations in the development section could have been conceived only for this medium and the witty ending would be pointless in any other.