Classical Music | Violin Music

Franz Schubert

Rondo, Op. 53  Play

Albert Markov Violin
Milton Kaye Piano

Recorded on 01/01/1979, uploaded on 02/21/2009

Musician's or Publisher's Notes

 

from Piano Sonata No. 17, op. 53     Franz Schubert

In May of 1825, Franz Schubert departed Vienna on a concert tour of Upper Austria, a joint effort with his friend and famed baritone Michael Vogl who was to join him in Gmunden. During August, Schubert resided for three weeks in Gastein, a village in the Austrian Alps, where he penned with his usual alacrity a piano sonata and two songs. The piano sonata, which has come to be known as the “Gasteiner,” despite being his seventeenth sonata, was only the second to be published in his lifetime.  It is an unusual work among Schubert’s other sonatas. Schubert often restrained his tempos—first movements, though being marked Allegro, often carried the additional qualifier “ma non troppo” or “moderato.” For slow movements, his favorite marking was Andante, but here even it is tempered with the addition of “con moto,” indicating a greater forward motion.

Marked Allegro vivace, the first movement takes flight with boundless energy propelled by the reiterated chordal motif and fleeting triplets that make up its first theme. Despite beginning in a brilliant D major, the tonal landscape of the movement is consistently darkened by the presence of chromatic tones taken from the parallel minor. Quiet spontaneously, the pounding, even rhythm of the first theme changes into a jocular dotted-eighth rhythm preparing the way for the second theme, a melody which bears a striking resemblance to the contemporaneous lied Das Heimweh (“Homesickness”). The movement maintains a furious energy from beginning to end, placing considerable demands upon the performer.

Like the previous Allegro, the Andante con moto is carried forward by a fervent energy. Its principal melody, in A major, is warm and lyrical, and like that of the previous movement beautifully colored with the sounds of the minor. The introduction of syncopated rhythms, which persist through to the final measures, sends the listener on swiftly moving currents through the movement’s wondrous landscape. The Allegro vivace is a jocular Scherzo returning to the juxtaposition of dotted-eighth and triplet rhythms found in the first movement, though this time with a peculiar prominence given to the former. The Trio, however, adopts a statelier, and perhaps somewhat more serious, tone with a chordal melody in the key of the subdominant.

Beginning with a light accompaniment of staccato chords, the Allegro moderato finale begins with a graceful and aristocratic tune in D major. The quaint and proper demeanor, however, is shortly abandoned as rushing scales mark the start of the rondo’s first episode and continue through the first return of the refrain. The second episode is at first lyrical, but then takes a sudden turn towards the minor key with a vigorous motif that propels the music along to the final embellished statement of the rondo’s principal melody. This movement has been arranged for violin solo with piano accompaniment.    Joseph DuBose

Listeners' Comments        (You have to be logged in to leave comments)

Oh my goodness!  I used to play that D major piano sonata, but it took me a minute to orient myself!

What a lovely arrangement!  Some of Schubert's music sounds so innocent, so child-like; yet it is often extremely difficult to convey those qualities.  You did,  and I was delighted to discover it.  

Submitted by retronod on Sun, 03/22/2009 - 11:04. Report abuse

Yes,really, it's very nice and peaceful...Thank you

Submitted by xato_89 on Tue, 04/03/2012 - 01:30. Report abuse