Franz Schubert in 1827 (portrait by Anton Depauly from 1828)

The Fantasie in F minor von Franz Schubert, D.940 (Op. posth. 103), für Klavier zu vier Händen (zwei Personen spielen an einer Klaviatur), gehört zu Schuberts bedeutendsten Kompositionen für mehrere Klavierspieler und zu seinen wichtigsten Klavierkompositionen überhaupt. Schubert komponierte es 1828, also in seinem letzten Lebensjahr, und widmete es seiner Schülerin, Karoline von Esterházy.

Geschichtliches Bearbeiten

Schubert beganb mit der Aufzeichnung der Fantasie im Januar 1828 in Wien.[1] Das Wek wurde im März desselben Jahres vollendet und im Mai uraufgeführt. Schuberts Freund Eduard von Bauernfeld notierte in seinem Tagebuch am 9. Mai, dass Franz Schubert und Franz Lachner ein bemerkenswertes Klavierduett aufgeführt hätten.[2] Das Werk war Karoline Esterházy gewidmet, in die Schubert heimlich verliebt war.[3]

Schubert starm im November des Jahres. Nach seinem Tod ließen seine Freunde und die Familie eine Anzahl seiner Werke publizieren, darunter auch dieses Werk. Es wurde publziert im März 1829 bei Anton Diabelli. Das Originalmanuskript ist in Österreichischen Staatsbibliothek archiviert.[1]

Structure Bearbeiten

The Fantasia is divided into four movements, that are interconnected and played without pause. A typical performance takes about 20 minutes.

  1. Allegro molto moderato
  2. Largo
  3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace
  4. Finale. Allegro molto moderato

The basic idea of a fantasia with four connected movements also appears in Schubert's Wanderer Fantasy, and represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the essentially free-form tone poem.[2] The basic structure of the two fantasies is essentially the same: allegro, slow movement, scherzo, allegro with fugue.[4] The form of this work, with its relatively tight structure (more so than the fantasias of Beethoven and Mozart), was influential on the work of Franz Liszt,[5] who arranged the Wanderer Fantasy as a piano concerto, among other transcriptions he made of Schubert's music.[6]

 
A page from the autograph manuscript, showing a portion of the second (left-side) part from the fourth movement.

First movement Bearbeiten

The piece opens with a lyrical melody with dotted rhythms that is reminiscent of the Hungarian style.[7] The theme is eventually repeated in F major, before briefly repeating in F minor, and transitioning into a somber, almost funereal, second theme. After developing the two themes, he eventually returns to a version of the second theme in F major, which modulates into FVorlage:Music minor for the start of the second movement.[8]

Second movement Bearbeiten

The second movement opens with an angry, somewhat turbulent fortissimo theme in FVorlage:Music minor. While marked largo, the frequently double-dotted first theme lends a great deal of tension to this movement. Eventually the first theme gives way to a quiet, lyrical second theme. The first theme is reprised, ending on the CVorlage:Music major dominant.[8] Schubert had recently heard Paganini's second violin concerto, whose second movement inspired the themes here.[7]

Third movement Bearbeiten

Following the FVorlage:Music minor, agitated second movement, the third movement scherzo is a bright, lively movement in the same key, reminiscent of the scherzos of other works Schubert wrote at this time, like those of his piano trios. After a delicate D major trio, the scherzo returns, at first seemingly in FVorlage:Music minor. The repeat of the scherzo shifts between A major and FVorlage:Music minor, ultimately ending on CVorlage:Music octaves that drive into a transition back toward F minor for the finale.[8]

Finale Bearbeiten

The finale begins with a restatement of the first movement's primary theme in both F minor and F major, before transitioning into a fugue based on its second theme. The fugue builds to a climax, ending abruptly on the C major dominant, instead of resolving into either F major or minor. After a bar of silence, the first theme briefly reprises, building rapidly to concluding chords that echo the second theme before subsiding into a quiet end.[8] It has been called "the most remarkable cadence in the whole of Schubert's work," as he manages to condense the dichotomies of the two themes into the final eight bars of the work.[9]

Recordings Bearbeiten

The fantasy has been recorded numerous times, including by the following notable performers:

Notes Bearbeiten

Vorlage:Reflist

References Bearbeiten

Audio Bearbeiten

Audio-Aufnahme des 1. und 4. Satzes der Fantasie (7 M. 40 S./?

Einzelnachweise Bearbeiten

  1. a b Weekly, p. 71
  2. a b Weekly, p. 72
  3. Gibbs, pp. 150-151
  4. Frisch, p. 75
  5. Gibbs, pp. 161–162
  6. Todd, p. 138
  7. a b Einstein, p. 281
  8. a b c d Henle score
  9. Frisch, pp. 78-79.

Weblinks Bearbeiten

Vorlage:Schubert piano compositions

Category:Piano music by Franz Schubert Category:Compositions for piano four-hands Category:1828 compositions Schubert Category:Compositions in F minor Schubert