IDAGIO | The Koroliov Series, Vol. 8: Schubert – Works for Piano 4 Hands 4009850013464

Featuring

Evgeni Koroliov
Ljupka Hadzi-Georgieva
Duo Koroliov
Franz Schubert

Did you know?

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Schubert intended the Grand Duo as one of the works with which he wanted to "beat his 'path to the great symphony'", as mentioned in a letter from the time.

Critical Reception

Until recently, it was assumed that the Grand Duo was not an original composition but a piano version of a lost symphony, a theory seemingly confirmed by Joseph Joachim's impressive orchestration of it in 1856.

Composer Biography

Schubert may have been in love with Countess Caroline Esterházy, as suggested by a diary entry from his friend Eduard von Bauernfeld and a coded musical message in the Grand Duo.

Composer Biography

Franz Schubert, initially treated haughtily as a piano instructor for the Esterházy daughters in 1818, was received with much more cordiality during his second visit in 1824, having become a promising composer in Vienna.

Composition History

The Grand Duo was composed in 1824 at the Esterházy country residence in Zseliz, where Schubert served as both piano teacher and musical partner to the countesses.

Compositional Technique

The Grand Duo stands out from other works written in Zseliz due to its high musical standard, its venture into a great cyclical form, and the extraordinary span of its first and last movements.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The F minor Fantasia, composed in Schubert's final year, is interpreted as a lament or a "funeral farewell to an impossible love," reflecting his understanding of social constraints and the fate of a wanderer.