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

1818
The Finale is an Allegretto that once again follows the Classical tradition,
especially Mozart, of rounding up the sonata with a gentle, moderately fast movement.
This piece also displays other influences. The opening motive is reminiscent of the third
movement of Mozart’s Piano Trio in C major (KV548), and the second theme sounds
more prophetic of Verdi than of Rossini. 10 Nevertheless, we also find a much more
adventurous and ambitious pianism. Being himself technically limited as a pianist, it
would appear that Schubert is determined to arrive at the best command of the
possibilities of the instrument, taking Beethoven’s achievements in his piano sonatas as
reference; something he also explores in the (supposed) slow movement. The finale
breaks off at what seems to be the return of the recapitulation. It is reasonable to think
that Schubert might have assumed the rest could be ‘filled in’ later. However, the clearly
unfinished state of the opening movement, the multiple influences displayed, and, as
earlier noticed, the composer’s difficulties with his first and last movements lead us to
view this otherwise fascinating sonata as yet another learning piece: although this time
testing his own capabilities in a much more adventurous and personal manner than
ever before. In the same way, it is worth remembering that a few weeks later Schubert
sketched two movements of a symphony in D major (D615, mentioned above).
Apparently, he wrote these symphonic sketches in a piano reduction, not directly in full
score. This deserves consideration because it had not been Schubert’s common practice
up to this point. 11 Perhaps he was no longer sure of the direction he should follow and
needed to explore the new perspectives opening up before him.
The central movement is thought to be the Adagio in E major (D612), which
was written during the same month. Some scholars have raised the possibility that the
Minuet in C-sharp minor (D600) and the Trio in E major (D610) were intended for this
sonata. 12 The Adagio was published as an independent piece, which might be due to the
fact that it was the only finished movement of the three.
This Adagio is fascinating for several reasons. Written in a very compact sonata
form, the opening bars combine the vocal quality of a Lied with the nobility of
Beethoven’s second movements. More interestingly, from a pianistic point of view, are
the virtuosic figurations which go far beyond anything we have seen in the piano
sonatas so far. The references to Beethoven, and to other virtuosos of the time like
Hummel whom Schubert admired and to whom he would dedicate his last three piano
sonatas, impregnate the whole movement: fast chromatic scales, pianistically
uncomfortable figurations and quasi-improvisational broken chords embellished with
mordents (Ex. 2.).
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