Piano Sonata, D.960

Sonata · in B♭ major

Franz Schubert 1797–1828
B♭ major
Key
Sonata
Form
Molto moderato
Tempo
Score
First page of Piano Sonata, D.960

Listen

Finding a recording…
Difficulty
Our estimate Virtuoso
No community ratings yet0 votes
Sign in to add your rating.
Themes & character
His last sonata·Written weeks before his death·Famous bass trill·Vast slow movement

At a glance

Key
B♭ major
Tempo / character
Molto moderato
Form
Sonata

Movements

I
Molto moderatoB♭ major

A serene, spacious theme interrupted almost at once by an ominous low trill that shadows the whole movement.

II
Andante sostenutoC♯ minor

A slow movement of extraordinary stillness and desolation, among the greatest Schubert wrote.

III
Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezzaB♭ major

Light and quicksilver, a sudden lifting of the shadows.

IV
Allegro ma non troppoB♭ major

A questioning rondo that keeps returning to an unresolved octave before its final dash to the close.

About the piece

The last of the three great sonatas Schubert completed in September 1828, weeks before his death in November at the age of thirty one. None was published in his lifetime; they appeared only in 1838, and were long dismissed as rambling before the twentieth century recognized them as summits of the repertoire. The opening movement is famous for the soft, ominous trill deep in the bass that interrupts its serene first theme, an intrusion never fully explained and never quite forgotten across the vast span that follows.

The composer

Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
1797–1828

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. He was immensely prolific despite living a short life, leaving behind a vast oeuvre of more than 1,000 compositions, including over 600 Lieder and other vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. Among these are the songs "Gretchen am Spinnrade", "Erlkönig" and "Ave Maria"; the Trout Quintet; the Symphony No. 8 in B minor (Unfinished); the Symphony No. 9 in C major ; the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ; the String Quintet in C major; the Impromptus for solo piano; the last three piano sonatas; the Fantasia in F minor for piano four hands; the incidental music to the play Rosamunde; the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise; and the song collection Schwanengesang.

Comments

Sign in to join the conversation.

Loading…

If you like this