The Piano Sonata in G major D. 894, Op. 78 by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano, completed in October 1826. [1] The work is sometimes called the "Fantasie", a title which the publisher Tobias Haslinger, rather than Schubert, gave to the first movement of the work. [2] It was the last of Schubert's sonatas published during his lifetime, and was later described by Robert Schumann as the "most perfect in form and conception" of any of Schubert's sonatas. [3] A typical performance runs approximately 35 minutes.
The autograph manuscript of the sonata is preserved in the British Library.
The sonata consists of four movements:
The English pianist Imogen Cooper has described the G major sonata as "one of the rare completely serene sonatas that he wrote," adding, "Of course, as ever with him, there are contrasting passages which become stormy and a little bit dark, but the overall mood is one of peace and luminosity, in a way that the G Major string quartet, written a few months before, was most definitely not". She noted further that "the last movement has tremendous wit in it — and one or two moments of great poignancy, as if a cloud suddenly covered the sun, and then the sun comes out again". [4]
Pianist Mark Taratushkin, in his analysis of Schubert's Piano Sonata in G Major, D. 894, [5] points out that the original concept for the second movement was quite different from the version known today. Evidence of this can be seen in the score that Schubert sent to his publisher. The original manuscript, which has survived and is currently digitized in the archive of the British Library, reveals that after completing the minuet, Schubert decided to rewrite the second movement. He tore out the original version from the manuscript and replaced it with the version we know today. The first and last pages of the original movement remain, containing the end of the first movement and the beginning of the third movement, respectively.
This peculiar aspect of the manuscript offers valuable insight into how the second movement might have originally sounded. The preserved fragment reveals a theme that is rhythmically characteristic of Schubert’s music, though it was ultimately replaced by a more dynamic orchestral episode in the final version. This change allowed for a greater contrast between the first two themes, which was crucial for the movement's structure and overall impact.
The third movement's opening theme is remarkably similar to the second theme of the first movement of Schubert's second Piano Trio both in rhythm and note progression.
Peter Pesic commented on Donald Francis Tovey's observation that Schubert used a "circle of sixths" series of key signatures in the fourth movement of this sonata, in the sequence G → E♭ → B = C♭ → G = A 
. [6]
Pianists Sviatoslav Richter and Paul Lewis stated that this was their favourite Schubert sonata. [7] [8] The former is notable for his extremely slow interpretation of the first movement, [9] and solemn account of the work, making the whole sonata usually last over 45 minutes in total. For Christian Zacharias this Schubert’s sonata belongs to beloved composition.
The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major, K. 331 / 300i, by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a piano sonata in three movements.
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Hyacinthe Jadin was a French composer who came from a musical family. His uncle Georges Jadin was a composer in Versailles and Paris, along with his father Jean Jadin, who had played bassoon for the French Royal Orchestra. He was one of five musical brothers, the best known of whom was Louis-Emmanuel Jadin.
The Piano Sonata in A minor D. 845 (Op.42) by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano. Composed in May 1825 and entitled Premiere Grande Sonata, it is the first of three sonatas published during the composer's lifetime, the others being D.850 and D.894. Conceived as a set, these works were composed during what was reportedly a period of relatively good health and spirits for Schubert and are praised for their quality and ambition. This first sonata in particular marks a significant step toward the composer’s mature piano sonata style; the format and several characteristic stylistic elements continue through the last.
The Piano Sonata in E-flat major D 568 by Franz Schubert is a sonata for solo piano. It is a revision and completion of the Sonata in D-flat major D 568. The D-flat major version was composed in June 1817, while the E-flat major revision and completion, published in 1829 after Schubert's death as Op. posth. 122, dates from sometime around 1826.
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The Piano Sonata in A major, D 664, Op. posth. 120, is a sonata for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in the summer of 1819.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor, K. 421/417b is the second of his quartets dedicated to Haydn and the only one of the set in a minor key. Though undated in the autograph, it is believed to have been completed in 1783, while his wife Constanze Mozart was in labour with her first child Raimund. Constanze stated that the rising string figures in the second movement corresponded to her cries from the other room.
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The six string quartets, K. 168–173, were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in late 1773 in Vienna. These are popularly known as the Viennese Quartets. Mozart may have hoped to have them published at the time, but they were published only posthumously by Johann André in 1801 as Mozart's Op. 94.
Alexandre Levy was a Brazilian composer, pianist and conductor. Born in São Paulo, he pioneered a fusion of classical composition with Brazil's popular folk music and rhythms. Levy died prematurely at the age of 27, and is the first known musician to die at the infamous 27 Club age. His hometown grants a prestigious award in his name.
The Piano Sonata in C major, D 279, composed by Franz Schubert in September 1815, has three movements and is regarded as incomplete for lacking a fourth movement. D. 346, an unfinished Allegretto in C major, has been suggested as its final movement.
The Piano Sonata in D-flat major D 568, composed in June 1817 by Franz Schubert, is an early version of his Piano Sonata in E-flat major D 568.
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The String Quartets, Op. 50, were composed by Joseph Haydn in 1787. The set of six quartets was dedicated to King Frederick William II of Prussia. For this reason the set is commonly known as the Prussian Quartets. Haydn sold the set to the Viennese firm Artaria and, without Artaria's knowledge, to the English publisher William Forster. Forster published it as Haydn's Opus 44. Haydn's autograph manuscripts for Nos. 3 to 6 of the set were discovered in Melbourne, Australia, in 1982.
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In 1816, Franz Schubert composed his first three violin sonatas, D 384, 385 and 408. They were published after the composer's death as Sonatinas in 1836. These sonatas breathe an intimate atmosphere, requiring relatively little virtuoso bravura from their performers.
Franz Schubert composed his Fantasy in C major for violin and piano, Op. posth. 159, D 934, in December 1827. It was the last of his compositions for violin and piano, and was premiered in January 1828 by the violinist Josef Slavik and the pianist Carl Maria von Bocklet at the Landhaussaal in Vienna.
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