Classical Music | Piano Music

Recorded on 06/28/2005, uploaded on 01/27/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

Drei Klavierstücke, D. 946          Franz  Schubert

No. 1 in e-flat minor; No. 2 in E-flat Major; No. 3 in C Major

In comparison with many of Schubert's late piano works, performances of these three pieces are infrequent.   The first two were written in May of 1828 shortly before Schubert's death, the third may have been written earlier.  The set was published posthumously, in 1868, by Johannes Brahms.  Schubert never revised the works in preparation for publication; it has even been suggested that the works are merely sketches awaiting a more definitive form.

All three pieces are in rondo-like dance forms; the first is a three-part ABA with an agitated A section in E-flat minor/major and a tranquil B section in B major.   Early editions of the piece (including Brahms's) included a C section in A-flat major, a section which appeared in Schubert's manuscript but was vigorously crossed out by the composer.  While the music in the section is certainly charming, the movement works best structurally as a simple ABA.  One of the most remarkable moments in this first piece is the transition from the B section back to A; the triplet figures in pianississimo dynamic give the impression of a ghostly remembrance (or anticipation) of the opening A material.

The second piece is intended to be a five-part form (ABACA).  The great pianist Myra Hess eliminated the C section in her performances, claiming that this movement also worked best with only one contrasting episode, but the music contained in the section is beautiful enough to merit inclusion.  The A section is a simple, demure melody in E-flat major, 6/8 time.  The first episode (B) is a stark contrast; violent, stormy and agitated, in C minor.  The C episode is a plaintive tune in A-flat minor in 4/4 time.

The third piece is in C major, the form is again a simple ABA, displaying perhaps the greatest contrast of character between sections.  The A material is jubilant in character and rhythmically bursting with energy, the B section is almost religious in character.  The coda to the piece builds up a tremendous amount of excitement.   

Courtesy of International Music Foundation.