Schubert - Fantasy for violin and piano in C Major (1827)
“A sonata by any other name...” could be a tagline for some of Schubert’s output. A few of his ‘fantasies’ are structured in a way that could resemble a multi-movement sonata, but because they aren’t in that genre they don’t have to conform to the expectations and format. It doesn’t mean, of course, that the works lack the same kind of detailed craftsmanship of the classical sonata. This fantasy, like the “Wanderer” fantasy or the “Trout” quintet, is founded on one of Schubert’s songs, “Sei mir gegrüsst“, which doesn’t have much a ring to it so the title “Fantasy” is good enough. The piece is one of Schubert’s later works, and under the veneer of Viennese Classical restraint, it is a technically demanding and difficult work for the musicians. It opens with a kind of droning hum from the piano made by soft tremolos, before the violin comes in with an uplifting melody. It is carried on by the beautiful accompaniment before more discernible shapes and trills come out of the piano. After this short glimmering introduction, we go into a charming allegretto that has a kind of military march feel to the rhythm. It is sometimes interrupted by an aggressive flow of notes that amps up a sense of Romantic storms. The ‘third movement’ is a long set of variations on the original song melody, opening on the piano like a Mozart adagio, except with unexpected and bizarre modulations that make ‘sense’ but still pique the listener’s interest. The variations have charming albeit decorative moments, and following the score it’s amazing to hear how so many notes cramped into one page can come off gracefully and with Schubert’s delicacy. As they continue, the music gets more and more displaced from the original song, breaking apart the melody and the rhythm and changing the textures of the accompaniment. After that, we get a visit from the opening hum, which acts as the introduction into the joyful ending with full handed chords and violin scratching fireworks. Apparently when the work was first premiered, Schubert had intended to write something more pleasing to audiences at the hopes of revenue, and perhaps it was ‘too pleasing’ because some critics dismissed it as being too long and flashy to justify its substance. Frankly, the more I read about the music scene in Vienna over the past couple centuries, the more clear it is that these people are never happy with anything. Oh well, I think it’s a gorgeous chamber work and is among my favorites by Schubert.
Movements:
1. Andante molto - allegro vivace
2. Andantino
3. Allegro presto