Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert explained

Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert include all works for solo piano by Franz Schubert, except separate dances. They also include a number of works for two players: piano four hands, or piano and a string instrument (violin, arpeggione).

Sonatas for piano solo

Twenty-four extant sonatas and sonata fragments are listed in the 1978 version of the Deutsch catalogue:

  1. D 154, Piano Sonata in E major (1815, fragment; similarity with the first movement of the Piano Sonata in E major, D 157)

I. Allegro (fragment)

  1. D 157, Piano Sonata in E major (1815, unfinished – first three movements are extant)

I. Allegro ma non troppo

II. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegro vivace – Trio

  1. D 279, Piano Sonata in C major (1815, unfinished – first three movements are extant; the Allegretto in C major, D 346 fragment is probably the fourth movement)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegro vivace – Trio

IV. Allegretto (D 346, fragment)

  1. D 459, Piano Sonata in E major (1816, in 2 movements; also paired with D 459A to have a five movement sonata or five piano pieces "Fünf Klavierstücke")

I. Allegro moderato

II. Scherzo. Allegro

  1. D 459A, Three piano pieces "Drei Klavierstücke" (1816?, also paired with D 459 to have a five movement sonata or five piano pieces "Fünf Klavierstücke"

III. Adagio

IV. Scherzo. Allegro – Trio. Più tardo

V. Allegro patetico

  1. D 537, Piano Sonata in A minor (1817, first published as Op. posth. 164)

I. Allegro ma non troppo

II. Allegretto quasi andantino

III. Allegro vivace

  1. D 557, Piano Sonata in A-flat major (1817; there is not complete certainty that the third movement, in E-flat major, is the Finale of the work)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante

III. Allegro

  1. D 566, Piano Sonata in E minor (1817, unfinished? – first three movements are extant; the Rondo in E major, D 506 is probably the fourth movement)

I. Moderato

II. Allegretto

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio

IV. Rondo. Allegretto (D 506)

  1. D 568, Piano Sonata in D-flat major/E-flat major (1817, 2 versions; for the 1st version, the Scherzo in D-flat major, D 593 No. 2 possibly constitutes the third movement; the last movement is a fragment; NSA also appends an amended first movement from the 1st version; 2nd version first published as Op. posth. 122)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante molto

III. Scherzo. Allegro moderato – Trio (D 593 No. 2)

IV. Allegretto (fragment)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante molto

III. Menuetto. Allegro – Trio

IV. Allegro moderato

  1. D 571, Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (1817, unfinished – fragment of an "Allegro moderato" first movement is extant. The Piano piece in A major, D 604, an Andante, as well as the Scherzo in D major and Allegro in F-sharp minor fragment from D 570 probably constitute the remaining movements)

I. Allegro moderato (fragment)

II. Andante (D 604)

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio (D 570)

IV. Allegro (D 570, fragment)

  1. D 575, Piano Sonata in B major (1817, first published as Op. posth. 147)

I. Allegro, ma non troppo

II. Andante

III. Scherzo. Allegretto – Trio

IV. Allegro giusto

  1. D 613, Piano Sonata in C major (1818, unfinished – fragments of two movements are extant; the Adagio in E major, D 612 as well as the Minuet with Trio D 600/610 possibly constitute the remaining movements)

I. Moderato (fragment)

II. Adagio (D 612)

III. Menuetto – Trio (D 600/610)

IV. Without tempo indication (fragment)

  1. D 625, Piano Sonata in F minor (1818, unfinished – a completed Scherzo with Trio, and fragments of two "Allegro" movements are extant; the Adagio in D-flat major D 505 is probably the second movement)

I. Allegro (fragment)

II. Adagio (D 505)

III. Scherzo. Allegretto – Trio

IV. Allegro (fragment)

  1. D 655, Piano Sonata in C-sharp minor (1819, fragment)

I. Allegro (fragment)

  1. D 664, Piano Sonata in A major, Little A major (1819 or 1825, first published as Op. posth. 120)

I. Allegro moderato

II. Andante

III. Allegro

  1. D 769A, Piano Sonata in E minor [formerly D 994] (ca. 1823, fragment)

I. Allegro (fragment)

  1. D 784, Piano Sonata in A minor, Grande Sonate (1823, first published as Op. posth. 143)

I. Allegro giusto

II. Andante

III. Allegro vivace

  1. D 840, Piano Sonata in C major, Reliquie (1825, unfinished – first and second movements are complete; third and fourth movements are fragments)

I. Moderato

II. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegretto – Trio (fragment)

IV. Rondo. Allegro (fragment)

  1. D 845, Piano Sonata in A minor (1825, first published as Op. 42)

I. Moderato

II. Andante poco mosso

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio. Un poco più lento

IV. Rondo. Allegro vivace

  1. D 850, Piano Sonata in D major, Gasteiner (1825, first published as Op. 53)

I. Allegro

II. Con moto

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio

IV. Rondo. Allegro moderato

  1. D 894, Piano Sonata in G major, Fantasie (1826, first published as Op. 78; NSA also appends a discarded 1st version of the second movement)

I. Molto moderato e cantabile

II. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegro moderato – Trio

IV. Allegretto

  1. D 958, Piano Sonata in C minor (1828)

I. Allegro

II. Adagio

III. Menuetto. Allegro – Trio

IV. Allegro

  1. D 959, Piano Sonata in A major (1828)

I. Allegro

II. Andantino

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace – Trio. Un poco più lento

IV. Rondo. Allegretto

  1. D 960, Piano Sonata in B-flat major (1828)

I. Molto moderato

II. Andante sostenuto

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace e con delicatezza – Trio

IV. Allegro, ma non troppo

There are also some possibly lost piano sonatas:

Piano compositions that possibly were intended as piano sonata movements:

Distinction between complete and incomplete piano sonatas

Complete sonatas

These works are by all accounts complete and have always been taken as such:

Possibly complete sonatas

The works listed below are considered complete or incomplete, depending on source:

Incomplete sonatas and sonata fragments

They can be divided into the following categories:

There's no doubt about the movements Schubert intended for the following sonata:

The five works listed below are by all accounts unfinished, but have independent movements (either complete or fragments) that are generally accepted as forming part of their structure:

The three works listed below are by all accounts incomplete and have always been taken as such; only a fragment of the first movement is extant in each case:

Numbering of the piano sonatas

For the piano Sonatas, there is no uniform numbering system. There are several reasons for this, including that there is no consensus regarding the inclusion of independent movements as being part of incomplete or unfinished sonatas. This issue has proven to be troubling to scholars and performers of the works, who have to decide which of these movements, if any at all, should be included for a certain sonata. In some instances, it is also necessary to determine the order in which they are to be presented.

A common numbering system, found on recordings and some websites has 21 sonatas:[3]

  1. D 157
  2. D 279 ('Unfinished')
  3. D 459
  4. D 537, Op. posth. 164
  5. D 557
  6. D 566
  7. D 567
  8. D 571 (fragment; including various other mvmts.)
  9. D 575, Op. posth. 147
  10. D 613 (fragment)
  11. D 625
  12. D 655 (fragment)
  13. D 664, Op. 120
  14. D 784, Op. posth. 143
  15. D 840 ('Relique')
  16. D 845, Op. 42
  17. D 850, Op. 53 ('Gasteiner')
  18. D 894, Op. 78 ('Fantasy')
  19. D 958
  20. D 959
  21. D 960

Unnumbered editions

The following two editions of Schubert's piano sonatas are incomplete and abstain from providing a numbering system:

The following edition of Schubert's piano sonatas is complete, but abstains from providing a numbering system:

Numbered editions

This was the first publication that claimed to print the complete set of Schubert's piano sonatas. This edition has been reprinted from 1970 onwards by Dover Publications. The International Music Score Library Project IMSLP website has facsimiles of many of the sonatas according to this first edition, including the numbering X,1X,2 – etc. on the score.

The only differences with the above "commercial" 21 sonatas numbering system are in the range 8–12 (starting with whether or not 567/568 is counted as one or two sonatas, and ending where the D 655 fragment is included or left out). It was edited from the sources and provided with commentary and fingering by Martino Tirimo.

Apart from preliminary sketches of some of the above, also following incomplete piano compositions are printed in the appendices of these volumes:,,,,, and .

Other numbering systems

In addition to the numbering systems found in the above named editions, one more can be cited. This numbering system can be found in two websites:[7]

This is a system in which twenty-three sonatas and fragments are numbered. In this system D 769A is numbered as No. 4.

Fantasies for piano solo

I. Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo

II. Adagio

III. Presto

IV. Allegro

I. Molto moderato e cantabile

II. Andante

III. Menuetto. Allegro moderato – Trio

IV. Allegretto

Sonatas and Fantasies for piano four-hands

I. Adagio - Allegro

II. Presto - Allegretto

III. Finale: Allegro maestoso (an alternative discarded first version of the Finale also exists)

Sonatas and duos for a piano and an instrument

Violin and piano

See also: Schubert's compositions for violin and piano.

Arpeggione and piano

Flute and piano

Sonatas for three players

None of the other trios Schubert composed are indicated as sonata.

Scores

References

  1. [Paul Badura-Skoda]
  2. [Eva Badura-Skoda]
  3. http://www.classicalarchives.com/composer/3308.html Franz Peter Schubert
  4. [Franz Schubert's Werke: Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe]
  5. Numbering of the piano sonatas according to Franz Schubert: Complete Sonatas the Wiener Urtext Edition, Schott/Universal Edition–Musikverlag Ges. m. b. H. & Co., K. G. Wien: Wiener Urtext Edition, 1997.
  6. [New Schubert Edition]
  7. Numbering of the piano sonatas as encountered in Franz Schubert: Catalogo delle composizioni at and http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/catal/schubert/schf610.html at
  8. Book: Franz Schubert . Franz Schubert. Thematisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke in chronologischer Folge.

Lists of (piano) compositions by Schubert

Further reading

External links