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Description
Franz Schubert and the Creation of Piano Sonata No. 21 in B-Flat Major, D. 960
Franz Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in Vienna, Austria, and became one of the most prolific and naturally gifted composers of the early Romantic era. A master of song above all — he composed more than six hundred lieder over the course of his short life — he brought that same instinct for long-breathed melody and expressive harmonic color to his instrumental writing, and his late piano sonatas in particular are among the most searching and personal works in the repertoire. The Sonata in B-Flat Major, D. 960, completed in September 1828 just two months before his death at the age of thirty-one, is the last of the three great sonatas he wrote in the final weeks of his life and is widely regarded as his supreme achievement for piano.
The sonata unfolds across four movements of exceptional spaciousness and depth. The opening Molto moderato is among the longest and most expansive first movements in the entire sonata literature, its main theme unfolding with a warmth and simplicity that belies the harmonic and emotional complexity developing beneath it — most strikingly in the mysterious low trill in the bass that appears early in the movement and casts a shadow over everything that follows. The Andante sostenuto is one of Schubert's most inward and quietly devastating slow movements, its spare, hymn-like opening gradually giving way to a more turbulent central section before returning to its initial stillness. The Scherzo, marked Allegro vivace con delicatezza, provides a moment of rhythmic lightness and gentle humor, its delicate touch and fleet phrasing a deliberate contrast to the emotional weight of the surrounding movements. The finale, Allegro ma non troppo, moves with a rocking, almost dance-like momentum that carries the sonata to a close of quiet inevitability rather than dramatic resolution.
What distinguishes D. 960 from virtually everything else in the piano repertoire is its relationship with time — the way it seems to expand and breathe at its own unhurried pace, inviting the listener into a world of unusual stillness and interior depth. It is music that rewards patience, revealing new harmonic detail and emotional nuance with each encounter, and it stands as one of the most profound and fully realized works ever written for the instrument.
Track List:
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Piano Sonata No. 21 In B Flat Major, D. 960: I. Molto moderato - 17:50
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Piano Sonata No. 21 In B Flat Major, D. 960: II. Andante sostenuto - 9:13
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Piano Sonata No. 21 In B Flat Major, D. 960: III. Scherzo (Allegro vivace con delicatezza) - 4:15
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Piano Sonata No. 21 In B Flat Major, D. 960: IV. Allegro ma non troppo - 8:12
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- Total Runtime - 39:30
