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

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IV Of Changes and Operatic Hopes 1819-1823 Der Vogel kämpft sich aus dem Ei. Das Ei ist die Welt. Wer geboren werden will, muß eine Welt zerstören. The bird struggles out of the egg. The egg is the world. He who wants to be born must destroy a world. Hermann Hesse, Demian. In Schubert’s life, the period from 1819 until approximately 1823 is often referred to as ‘the years of crisis.’ During these years, Schubert’s production, though still impressive, decreased. The young composer did not finish any new symphonies, string quartets or chamber works of importance. He wrote fewer songs and only two new piano sonatas (in 1819 and in 1823). These are years of drafting, sketching and leaving projects unfinished, although many, even in their incomplete state, are unquestionable masterpieces. Schubert’s failure to finish these works is, as far as we can guess, for varying reasons: a lack of performance prospects (probably the case for the opera Sakuntala), extreme self-criticism (the two symphonies of 1821), or apparently very personal reasons (the opera Adrast or the oratorio Lazarus). Although this does present a picture of a period of crisis, it may lead us to a misconception of what was really happening in Schubert’s life during this time. In fact, these were years of intense work, extraordinary achievements and high professional hopes. It is however clear that, for several years, Schubert put aside some of the musical forms which he had regularly cultivated: the string quartet, chamber music in general, and the piano sonata. Why should this be so? We can only speculate, but I would propose at least two reasons… On the one hand, the older and more experienced composer faced everincreasing self-criticism. Looking back at the instrumental works of his youth, which included six symphonies, more than ten string quartets and no less than ten piano sonatas (the last of which were left unfinished), Schubert may have felt a need to take 63
IV Of Changes and Operatic Hopes stock and allow himself time to hone his skills in order to tackle something genuinely his own and integrate the tonal and formal idiosyncrasies of his musical language with the firmly-established concepts of sonata form. Most of Schubert’s works prior to 1819 had taken the Viennese classics and Beethoven as their models. The more mature Schubert may have felt a need to step aside for a while and explore some new directions before he was ready to take up those earlier challenges again. With very few exceptions, Schubert would not return to chamber music and the solo piano until 1824; but it would then be with extraordinary results. The other reason that may help to explain the lack of instrumental music during these years is Schubert’s dedication to a genre which inspired him through much of his life: the genre of opera. Over the five years from 1819 to 1823, Schubert was involved in no less than eight stage projects, ranging from melodrama and Singspiel to full-scale, through-composed opera. This might come as a surprise to many Schubertians who tend not to think of Schubert as a composer of operas. The reality is that, throughout his career, Schubert spent a great deal of time and effort on works for the stage. Between 1811 and 1828, he undertook no fewer than twenty full-scale dramatic works amounting to thousands of bars of music. A thorough analysis of Schubert’s stage works is beyond the brief of this study; but as they represent the core of his professional interest during these years and were formative for his overall career, it seems wise to include a commentary of the musical and socio-political forces that were shaping Schubert’s creative life at this time. Like every professionally ambitious composer of the period, Schubert was surely aware that opera was the medium through which he could make a name for himself in Vienna. It was still (since the theatre of Baroque times) a crucial component in the musical life of the capital, and any composer, perhaps with the exception of Beethoven, would view operatic success as a path to social recognition and financial security. This was especially the case for composers like Schubert who lacked the performance skills – and the personality – required for a solo-artist career. Stage works, and opera in particular, could be the springboard to fame. Throughout the 1820s, the Viennese operatic world was largely shaped by two factors: the strict censorship applied by the Metternich regime; and the extraordinary success of Italian operas, especially those of Gioachino Rossini (1792-1868). The state’s fierce control of any ideas that were presented on Viennese stages proved crucial for the development of theatre and opera at that time. Librettists were forced to choose between shaping their works within the political restrictions or leaving the Imperial capital to work in the humble obscurity of provincial theatres. The result in Vienna was, generally speaking, a mild and innocuous cultural life and, in the case of the theatre, poor quality libretti – a fact that significantly shaped Schubert’s operatic career. Even more important in practical terms and something that proved decisive for the evolution 64
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Javier Arrebola The Unfi nished Pia
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ISBN 978-952-5959-34-5 (Paperback)
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Contents Acknowledgements vii Prelu
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viii Caminante, no hay camino, se h
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me a greater awareness of what musi
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xii An immense amount of Schubert
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I The Beginnings own first symphoni
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I The Beginnings The Piano Sonata i
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I The Beginnings 6 The second movem
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I The Beginnings another mass (D167
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I The Beginnings 10 Schubert’s fa
Page 25 and 26: I The Beginnings 12 As in the first
Page 27 and 28: I The Beginnings The large number o
Page 29 and 30: I The Beginnings piano. The fact th
Page 31 and 32: I The Beginnings derived from the m
Page 33 and 34: I The Beginnings Ex. 14. Schubert:
Page 35 and 36: I The Beginnings Another interestin
Page 37 and 38: I The Beginnings register (left han
Page 39 and 40: I The Beginnings time. In 1816, his
Page 41 and 42: II The Sonata Year sonatas for the
Page 43 and 44: II The Sonata Year symbolic meaning
Page 45 and 46: II The Sonata Year But now let us r
Page 47 and 48: II The Sonata Year It is surprising
Page 49 and 50: II The Sonata Year 36 Ex. 3. Mozart
Page 51 and 52: II The Sonata Year I think there ar
Page 53 and 54: II The Sonata Year popularity calle
Page 55 and 56: II The Sonata Year The opening Alle
Page 57 and 58: II The Sonata Year Compared with th
Page 59 and 60: II The Sonata Year Ex. 14. Schubert
Page 61 and 62: II The Sonata Year Ex. 16. Schubert
Page 64 and 65: III New Paths 1818 The only way out
Page 66 and 67: 1818 presents us with a composer of
Page 68 and 69: 1818 The Finale is an Allegretto th
Page 70 and 71: physical and intellectual, of resid
Page 72 and 73: the end of the summer. A surviving
Page 74 and 75: # & # # # ? # # # # # & # # # 33 Ex
Page 78 and 79: 1819-1823 of Schubert’s music in
Page 80 and 81: 1819-1823 spiritual pantheism of Fr
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Page 84 and 85: 1819-1823 Catholic Church concernin
Page 86 and 87: 1819-1823 All of these exceptional
Page 88 and 89: 1819-1823 The year 1823 would conti
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Page 92: 1819-1823 companion throughout. The
Page 95 and 96: V Auf dem Weg zur großen Sinfonie
Page 108 and 109: Postlude As we have seen, to a grea
Page 110: Chronological Tables of Schubert’
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Page 120 and 121: Notes: I The Beginnings: 1815-1816
Page 122 and 123: 26 Newbould, Schubert: The Music an
Page 124 and 125: V Auf dem Weg zur großen Sinfonie:
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The Unfinished Piano Sonatas of Franz Schubert Javier ... - Ethesis

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