E. LEONSKAJA - PIANO

Within FRANZ SCHUBERT’s (1797–1828) vast output for piano, sonatas occupy an especially important place.  Already in 1815, at the age of eighteen, Schubert tried his hand at this musical form, and continued to compose sonatas throughout his life, almost until his death. Schubert’s attempt to reckon with the very strong influence of Beethoven is noticeable in most of his piano sonatas, as is an increasing shift towards intimate lyrical expression which, with time, overpowers the formal structure of his compositions.

The most celebrated of Schubert’s piano sonatas are those he wrote in September 1928, only two months before his death – C minor D.958, A Major D. 959 and B Major D. 960. In a letter dated 2^nd October 1828, the composer offered these works to the Viennese publisher Tobias Haslinger, asking that they be dedicated to Johann Nepomuk Hummel.  Already in December 1828 Haslinger advertised the publication of these sonatas in Wiener Zeitungen. However, in the end they did not appear in print until 1839. Furthermore, they were not published by Haslinger, but by the most famous Viennese publisher Anton Diabelli. Curiously, Diabelli did not dedicate his publication to Hummel, as was the composer’s wish, but instead to Robert Schumann (Herrn Robert Schumann in Leipzig gewidmet von den Verlegern). These three last piano sonatas are considered to be not only some of the best of Schubert’s compositions, but also key works of the nineteenth-century piano sonata repertoire.