Télécharger le livret - Outhere

structural unity. Schubert took this risk creating
the counterweight of a strong unity in his rhythmic
organisation: at the very beginning a dotted
motif with an anacrusis appears, and it runs
through the whole of the ensuing progression, retiring
only when the “good” key of the dominant is
reached. in the conclusion this motif is again murmured
one last time in the bass part, while briefly
above we hear the “soft stream of silver light”.
The development is dominated by chthonian
powers, with an almost grotesque exaggeration in
the intervallic leaps of the opening theme. Through
some romantic and modulatory passages, we
reach in a very short time some very distant keys.
Following the example of earlier Sonatas the recapitulation
begins in the subdominant key of E major.
This was certainly not done for convenience, but
with the intention of increasing the importance of
the subdominant (in the first sketches it still began
in B major). After this, the first section is repeated
almost literally, transposed, and it fades out while
subsiding into the rediscovered key of B major.
The second movement is no less inspired than
the first. The main subject is reminiscent of an
intimately religious chorus, in which the two-bar
phrases, each separated by rests, are set against
each other in dialogue. The composer’s art consists
of knowing how to avoid the destruction
of continuity despite these silences. (Mozart, in
the second movement of his Piano Concerto in C
minor and also Beethoven in the two movements
of his Sonatas for piano opus 2/iii and opus 78,
also succeeded in this.) The gentle and meditative
atmosphere is disrupted by a unexpected “thunder
30
clap” with broad and powerful chords of E minor
suddenly emerging above an agitated staccato
bass. A “savage” modulation moves in harmonic
steps from this E minor to F sharp minor, passing
by way of B, until this eruption is discharged into
a cascade in C major which disappears as quickly
as it arrived. But the effect of upheaval remains.
Fragments of the motif – emerging from the preceding
staccato – float shrill and nervous into
space, as if frightened, before calming down after
about a minute. But this motif in semiquavers is
not so easily forgotten. We find it again combined
with a gentle counterpoint in the recapitulation of
the opening theme, where it gradually fades away.
The whole of the last entry of the theme leads to
yet another surprise: this theme in E Major suddenly
is answered twice by a response in C major,
certainly the echo of the release of tension provided
by C major in the central episode, but also
perhaps of the C major in the first movement. This
kind of response in the “wrong” key is found again
in Schubert at the end of his penultimate Sonata
(D 959). it has a metaphyiscal quality. in the coda
the 3/4 measure is expanded by sequences of four
crotchets, while the semi-quaver motif encountered
earlier subsides peacefully in the bass.
Because of the lack of space, we will only comment
briefly on the last two movements. Both of
them begin, like the first, with a unison anacrusis
motif, followed immediately by full chords. The
gentle Scherzo is entirely built on the opening
motif, with some extremely delicate contrapuntal
writing, rather like a string quartet. The trio has a
popular aspect, increased by the charm of the con-