The elements of dance, song, and storytelling permeate the entire oeuvre of the early Romantic Austrian composer Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828). They are combined and uniquely represented in each of Schubert’s eight individual yet intrinsically connected works for the piano known as the Impromptus, D 899 and D 935, two sets of four pieces each written in the last year and a half of the composer’s short life. The title “impromptu” refers to a relatively short musical composition written to reflect an extemporaneous nature, however Schubert’s combinations of these shorter works convey a sophisticated sense of organization and unity, particularly with respect to formal characteristics such as tempo and key relationships. While each of the impromptus stands alone with forms derived from art song, rondo, sonata allegro and variation, each set of four represents a perfectly unified portion of a solo recital program.
The first two impromptus of the first set, D 899 No. 1 in C minor and D 899 No. 2 in E flat major, were the only ones published during the composer’s lifetime. While adhering primarily to established musical forms, Schubert felt free to innovate in his approach to tonality. Notably, No. 1 begins in a minor key and ends in major, while No. 2 begins in a major key and ends in minor, a large-scale example of the rapid juxtaposition of major and minor modes which characterize Schubert’s work, allowing him to walk dreamily through doors to tonal relationships inaccessible to his forebears. The lyrical slow movements of each set, No. 3 in G flat major, D 899 and No. 2 in A flat major, D 935, evoke the world of art song, a musical tradition to which Schubert devoted so much of his creative energy. After exploring a remarkable variety of moods and styles, the set culminates with a wild rondo in F minor, capturing the lilt and raucousness of Austrian and Hungarian folk dances. Taken together, the impromptus of Franz Schubert encapsulate the essence of the composer, perhaps more so than his other works in any genre.
— Evan Fein
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