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

V Auf dem Weg zur großen Sinfonie
similarities in the development of Schubert’s output in the three most important
instrumental forms of the classical period: the symphony, the string quartet and the
sonata for solo piano. During the ‘learning years’ of his youth, approximately from 1815
to 1818, Schubert cultivated these forms intensely, mostly with the Viennese classics as
his main models. But it was not until 1824, after a long learning process in which opera
played an important role, that he returned to the genre with stunning results. Apart
from the C major Piano Sonata (D840), Schubert would finish all of the instrumental
pieces in sonata form that he embarked on: seven solo and two ensemble sonatas, two
big piano trios, three monumental string quartets, a string quintet and his long-desired
‘grand symphony.’
The Piano Sonata in C major (D840) is the last of the unfinished piano
sonatas and one of the most important sketches that Schubert left us. The Sonata was
dubbed ‘Reliquie’ upon publication in 1861 because it was mistakenly assumed to be
Schubert’s final piano sonata. Schubert worked on it in the spring of 1825, almost
simultaneously with the Sonata in A minor (D845). Both pieces not only bear clear
thematic resemblances (Ex. 1. and 2.), they are also remarkable for their striking formal
structure, especially in their opening movements. It seems likely that Schubert intended
these two works to be part of a set of four, completed by the coming D major Sonata in
the summer (D850) and the G major Sonata of the following year (D894). The A minor
and the D major sonatas were published in 1826 as ‘Première Grande Sonate’ and
‘Seconde Grande Sonate’ respectively, and the autograph of the G major Sonata bears
the heading ‘IV. Sonate.’ 10 The question arises: which sonata was intended as the
missing third? It is probable that the C major was originally part of the set, but its
incomplete state (with possibly no intention of Schubert himself to finish it) may have
led to his revision of the Sonata in D-flat major of 1817 (D567) ready for future
publication. As we saw in chapter 2, the revised version (D568, in E-flat major) is not
merely a transposition, it is a thorough revision. In addition to some formal changes,
especially in the outer movements (which, as we have noticed, were problematic for the
younger composer), Schubert added a fourth movement and presented it as a ‘new’
piano sonata. In any case, the importance of the ‘Reliquie’ cannot be overestimated. We
might easily say that, in a similar way that the ‘Unfinished’ Symphony opened up a new
phase in Schubert’s symphonic work, the C major Sonata marked the beginning of a
new era in his piano sonatas. The formal innovations, the harmonic audacities (even by
Schubert’s standards!), the massive textures and the pianistic colour of this composition
are strikingly new, revealing a rather different piano composer – one more adventurous
in his ‘studies’ towards the symphonic goal.
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