Franz Schubert: Sonatas & Impromptus

Featuring

Sir András Schiff
Franz Schubert

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Composition History

Schubert's first two piano sonatas to appear in print, D 845 and D 850, were published in Vienna in spring 1826, spurring him to offer more works to Leipzig publishers.

Composition History

The third and fourth Impromptus from Schubert's D 899 set were first published nearly thirty years after his death by Tobias Haslinger's son, Carl, who controversially transposed one piece for amateur pianists.

Composition History

Schubert's three large-scale piano sonatas D958-60, completed in September 1828, were his last purely instrumental compositions.

Composition History

The title "Impromptu" for Schubert's D 899 pieces was given by his Viennese publisher Tobias Haslinger, possibly inspired by the popular Impromptus of Bohemian composer Jan Vaclav VoHsek.

Instruments

The fortepiano used in this recording, made by Franz Brodmann around 1820, has four pedals (soft, bassoon, moderator, and sustaining), offering different sound effects than a modern piano.

Composer Biography

Franz Schubert, the composer, felt he was in the shadow of Beethoven, stating, "Secretly, I hope to be able to make something of myself, but who can do anything after Beethoven?"

Instruments

The Brodmann fortepiano, a magnificent instrument with walnut veneer, was once owned by the Austro-Hungarian imperial family and was acquired by Andras Schiff in 2010, who loaned it to the Beethoven-Haus in Bonn.