Schubert: Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major

Featuring

Gustav Piekut
Franz Schubert

Did you know?

1/6

Recording & Production

This album was recorded on October 26 and 30, 2024, at Koncertsalen, Royal Danish Academy of Music (RDAM) in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Composition History

Schubert intended to dedicate these sonatas to Hummel, a pupil of Mozart and a leading pianist, but they were posthumously dedicated by the publisher to Robert Schumann.

Composition History

Schubert's three piano sonatas of 1828, including this one, were completed six weeks before his death, possibly inspired by the ambition to succeed Beethoven, who died in 1827.

Composer Biography

Franz Schubert, born in Vienna in 1797, initially trained as a school teacher and practiced this profession intermittently, but devoted most of his life to music.

Compositional Technique

The Sonata in B flat major, D. 960, is noted for its 'heavenly length,' a quality often cited by writers on Schubert, and its rondo finale suggests the influence of Beethoven's Opus 130 string quartet.

Performer Biography

Gustav Piekut, the Danish pianist on this recording, has received numerous awards, including the Artist Prize of the Danish Music Critics' Association and the Léonie Sonning Talent Prize.