Fantasia in F minor (Schubert)

The Fantasia in F minor by Franz Schubert, D.940 (Op. posth. 103), for piano four-hands (two players at one piano), is one of Schubert's most important works for more than one pianist and one of his most important piano works altogether. He composed it in 1828, the last year of his life, and dedicated it to his pupil Caroline Esterházy.

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

Musicologist Christopher Gibbs has described the work as "among not only his greatest but his most original" compositions for piano duet.[1]

History

Franz Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna.[2] The work was completed in March of that year, and first performed in May. Schubert's friend Eduard von Bauernfeld recorded in his diary on May 9 that a memorable duet was played, by Schubert and Franz Lachner.[3] The work was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love.[4]

Schubert died in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertook to have a number of his works published. This work is one of those pieces; it was published by Anton Diabelli in March 1829. The original manuscript resides at the Austrian National Library.[2]

Structure

The Fantasia is divided into four movements, that are interconnected and played without pause. A typical performance lasts 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.[3] The basic structure of the two fantasies is essentially the same: allegro, slow movement, scherzo, allegro with fugue.[5] 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,[6] who arranged the Wanderer Fantasy as a piano concerto, among other transcriptions he made of Schubert's music.[7]

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

First movement

The piece opens with a lyrical melody with dotted rhythms that is reminiscent of the Hungarian style.[8] 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 F♯ minor for the start of the second movement.[9]

Second movement

The second movement opens with an angry, somewhat turbulent fortissimo theme in F♯ 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 C♯ major dominant.[9] Schubert had recently heard Paganini's second violin concerto, whose second movement inspired the themes here.[8]

Third movement

Following the F♯ 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 F♯ minor. The repeat of the scherzo shifts between A major and F♯ minor, ultimately ending on C♯ octaves that drive into a transition back toward F minor for the finale.[9]

Finale

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.[9] 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.[10]

Recordings

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

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

References
  • Schubert, Franz (1986). Kahl, Willi (ed.). Werke für Klavier zu Vier Händen, Band III. Munich: G. Henle Verlag. OCLC 3681881. Musical score.
  • Einstein, Alfred (1951). Schubert: A Musical Portrait. New York: Oxford University Press. OCLC 602553.
  • Weekly, Dallas A; Arganbright, Nancy (1990). Schubert's Music for Piano Four-Hands. White Plains: Pro/Am Music Resources Inc. ISBN 978-0-912483-55-9.
  • Frisch, Walter (ed) (1986). Schubert: Critical and Analytical Studies. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6892-0.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  • Gibbs, Christopher Howard (2000). The Life of Schubert. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-59512-4.
  • Todd, R. Larry (2004). Nineteenth-century piano music. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 978-0-415-96890-4.
  • Newbould, Brian (1998). Schubert studies. Ashgate. ISBN 978-1-85928-253-3.
  • Norman McKay, Elizabeth, Schubert's string and piano duos in context. in Newbould, Brian (1998). Schubert studies, Ashgate, 1998, p. 62-111.
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