Piano Sonata in A major, D 664 (Schubert) explained

Piano Sonata in A major
Subtitle:No. 13
Composer:Franz Schubert
Key:A major
Opus:120
Catalogue:D. 664
Composed:1819
Duration:23 minutes
Movements:3

The Piano Sonata in A major, D 664, Op. posth. 120, is a sonata for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in the summer of 1819.

Movements

This piano sonata, numbered D 664 in the Schubert Thematic Catalogue, consiste of three movements:Well regarded among pianists, the "Little" A major sonata is so called to distinguish it from the hefty 1828 sonata in the same key. It is the shortest among Schubert's complete sonatas.[1] The manuscript, completed in July 1819, was dedicated to 18-year-old Josephine von Koller of Steyr in Upper Austria, whom he considered to be "very pretty" and "a good pianist". The lyrical, buoyant, in spots typically poignant nature of this sonata fits the image of a young Schubert in love, living in a summery Austrian countryside, which he also considered to be "unimaginably lovely".

The A major sonata is straightforward, with a dulcet melodic opening. It was the first of Schubert's piano sonatas where the sonata form as perfected by his idol, Beethoven, does not seem to be wrestled with; rather, it is a "joyous breakthrough", a carefree triumph over strict rules of construction.

The original manuscript to this "little" sonata has been lost.[2]

Further reading

James Webster noted the particular A–B–A form of the first movement's first thematic group.[3] Daniel Coren summarised the nature of the recapitulations in the first and third movements.[4] Leo Black noted Schubert's reworking of the opening theme from the sonata's slow movement into his song "Der Unglückliche".[5]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Newbould, Brian. Brian Newbould. 1999 . Schubert: The Music and the Man . University of California Press . 9780520219571 . 318.
  2. Book: Deutsch, Otto Erich. Otto Erich Deutsch. Schubert Thematic Catalogue. Dover Publications. 1995. .
  3. Webster . James. James Webster (musicologist). Schubert's Sonata Form and Brahms's First Maturity. 19th-Century Music. 2 . 1 . 18–35 . July 1978 . 10.1525/ncm.1978.2.1.02a00020 . 746189.
  4. Coren . Daniel . Ambiguity in Schubert's Recapitulations . The Musical Quarterly. LX . 4 . 568–582 . 1974 . 10.1093/mq/LX.4.568.
  5. Black . Leo . Oaks and Osmosis . The Musical Times. 138 . 1852 . 4–15 . June 1997 . 10.2307/1003664. 1003664.