The Unfinished Piano Sonatas of Franz Schubert Javier ... - Ethesis

1816
Whatever might have been their final intended placement in other works, the
Klavierstücke demonstrate Schubert’s desire to write piano works in the new virtuoso
style, and they can therefore be viewed as a consequence of his musical environment in
1816.
In contrast to these experimental piano pieces are the exactly
contemporaneous song settings of poems by Jacobi. These fine vocal pieces convey a
somewhat different image of the composer than that of the Klavierstücke. The musical
language is by and large classical, and they inhabit the world of Mozart. Most
significantly, the piano accompaniment does not hint at the adventurous writing with
which Schubert struggled for his piano sonata(s). The Jacobi songs combine a
wonderful freshness (Litanei auf das Fest aller Seelen, D343) with warmth and stillness
(In der Mitternacht, D464), and, formally, they range from simple strophic settings (An
Chloen, D462, and Die Perle, D466) to impressive dramatic scenas (Lied des Orpheus,
D474). The ‘simplicity’ and clarity of Mozart are present in most of these pieces, most
noticeably in Trauer der Liebe (D465) – which to quote John Reed is: ‘Schubert in his
“Magic Flute” mood,’ 34 – but also in the splendid, above-mentioned orchestral song,
Lied des Orpheus, one of the greatest of 1816, and a work where we may also find
something relevant to the coming piano sonata year of 1817.
Schubert wrote two versions of Lied des Orpheus and, in each case, the starting
and ending tonal centres do not match. The first version is in G-flat major (not a
common key at that time) but ends in D major (!). The second, probably revised to suit
the baritone range, is also in G-flat major, but this time ends in B-flat major. Whatever
the reason for the revision, it is significant that Schubert did not want either version of
the song to end in the same tonal area as it began. This will be discussed more
extensively in relation to the A-flat major Sonata (D557) in the next chapter, which will
present 1817: a year in which Schubert’s tonal radicalism can be said to have reached its
peak.
What is important to consider now is that, as we have seen, Schubert’s
development was not equal in every musical form. Throughout his career, different
genres evolved in differing ways and he achieved mastery in them at varying speeds. In
1816, although he could write masterpieces like the Fourth and Fifth Symphonies, and
forty-five minute cantatas which astounded everyone, his relationship to the piano
sonata was ongoing and problematic. As we shall confirm in the next two chapters,
most of these difficulties were with the outer movements: the opening movements and
finales. Significantly, there is not a single unfinished slow movement in any of
Schubert’s piano sonatas. In explanation, I would propose (at least) two reasons: Firstly,
the lyrical quality of traditional, classical slow movements approached much more
closely the nature of the Lied, a form over which Schubert had a significant command
from an early age. Secondly, apart from the fact that he was not a professional pianist,
Schubert’s innate lyrical nature did not easily fit into the virtuoso piano style of that
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