Piano Sonatas, Volume 2: The Middle Sonatas - Piano

Schubert’s piano sonatas written between 1818 and 1825 comprise four completed and five unfinished works. His breakthrough came with the Sonata in C major D 840, known as the “Reliquie”, the Sonata in A minor D 845, printed in 1826 entitled “Première Grande Sonate” – and as such the first sonata of Schubert that was published – and the Sonata in D major D 850. H. G. Nägeli wrote enthusiastically to Czerny a short time later: “I definitely count the piano composer Schubert among the good, even excellent ones”.

With the publication of the Middle Sonatas, the three-volume Bärenreiter Urtext edition of Schubert’s piano sonatas is now complete. A detailed Foreword on the genesis and source situation as well as in-depth notes on piano playing in Schubert’s time (including articulation, the use of pedal, ornamentation) with a special focus on Schubert’s characteristic accent notation introduce the sonatas.

In particular the Critical Commentary lists relevant readings concerning interpretation. Schubert’s sketches and sonata fragments are accessible via the Bärenreiter website.