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shop – to jot down this wonderful inspiration, perhaps
related to the Adagio from the Sonata Opus
10/i of Beethoven. This first sketch already reveals
a characteristic found in all the symphonic work of
Schubert: it contains in essence – in an embryonic
fashion – the whole tragedy of this movement, a
shattering lament which sets against a dark background
the general gaiety of the rest of the Sonata.
The shadow cast by the minor key in the minuet
and especially in the development and recapitulation
of the vast finale show that the grief expressed
by this Andante is in no way an isolated phenomenon
within the work. But we should also mention
two delightful moments in the middle of this
Sonata: the «rocking» trio from the third movement,
whose five-bar phrases constantly upset
the balance for the listener (who expects four-bar
phrases), and the delightful Viennese Waltz in the
middle of the finale. The Sonata fades out in peace
and tranquillity in the low register – one of the rare
«true» points related to Beethoven, whose Sonata
in E flat major, Opus 7 closes in a very similar way.
∆
Sonata no. 8 in F sharp minor, D 571/604/570
June 1817
Like the Sonata in F minor, composed about
a year later, this Sonata in F sharp minor
also introduces us straight into romanticism.
The choice of key alone is enough to arouse our
curiosity. Although Schumann and Brahms were
later to write sonatas in this same key, the classical
repertory had not hitherto used it much. Brahms
was not yet born and Schumann was only six
26
years old when Schubert wrote this work. Neither
of the later masters, moreover, were to know of
this Sonata’s existence (it was not published until
1897!). And so it is the more surprising to note
that like Schumann’s Sonata Opus 11, this piece
also begins with an introduction, albeit one that
is rather longer and in rather lower register. At
the start the harmony is fixed in F sharp minor
through four bars, rather like the beginning of a
lied or in the Barcarolle of Chopin; after this and
above the same harmony a plaintive cantabile
theme, springing from the note C sharp thrice repeated,
develops and dominates throughout the
rest of the movement, appearing again and again
like a leitmotiv, sometimes furtively as in the second
movement (in the birdsong and in the final
chords), sometimes openly, as in the fourth movement.
As well as the thematic work, the pianistic
writing also presents an innovative character.
The important intervals between the notes in
this introduction, which later serve as an accompaniment,
require the use of the pedal. it is the
same for the melody of the main theme, which is
throughout doubled in octaves. Another novelty is
the fact that this main theme, quite contrary to the
principles of the traditional sonata, is constructed
in lied form (ABA) and ends with a cadence in F
sharp minor. (Schubert was to use a similar pattern
two years later for the Sonata in A major D
664). Despite this conclusion – which is not a real
ending at all – the progression as a whole is not
in the least affected; in the most natural way in the
world Schubert continues with the same harmony,
moving the accompaniment motif into a higher reg-