Piano Sonata in A-flat major, D 557 (Schubert)

Movements

The work is relatively short and a performance takes somewhat between 10 and 15 minutes. The sonata is cheerful and uncomplicated, and carries remembrances of Mozart and the Baroque era.

;I. Allegro moderato : A-flat major :The beginning resembles the opening of the menuetto, D. 380, Nr. 3. ;II. Andante : E-flat major ;III. Allegro : E-flat major :This movement has a dance-like character.

The fact that the last movement is in the key of E-flat major rather than the tonic key of A-flat major is evidence in favor of Schubert possibly intending to add a fourth movement, although the extant third movement has much of the character of a finale. At the time this was written it was quite unusual to end a composition in another key than its tonic, however Schubert did do this in some of his early works, e.g. D. 553 ("Auf der Donau", beginning in E-flat major and ending in F-sharp minor).

Score

The sonata was first published in 1888, in the Breitkopf & Härtel complete edition.

;Manuscripts The autograph of the sonata, dated May 1817, is incomplete — it stops at the 28th measure of the third movement, but there is a contemporary complete manuscript.

;First publication — Alte Gesammtausgabe (AGA) D. 557 was first published in 1888 as No. 3 of the Piano Sonatas volume (Series X) of the Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe.

;Urtext Editions Both Paul Badura-Skoda (Henle) and Martino Tirimo (Wiener Urtext) published an Urtext edition in 1997.

;Neue Schubert-Ausgabe (NSA) In the New Schubert Edition D. 557 is given in VII/2/1.

References

Sources

• Franz Schubert's Werke: Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe (AGA): Leipzig, Breitkopf & Härtel:
  • Julius Epstein (ed.) Serie 10: Sonaten für Pianoforte — No. 3 (1888).
• Urtext editions:
  • Paul Badura-Skoda (ed.) Franz Schubert: Piano Sonatas — Volume III (Early and Unfinished Sonatas). G. Henle Verlag (1997).
  • Martino Tirimo (ed.) Schubert: The Complete Piano Sonatas — Volume 1 Vienna: Wiener Urtext Edition (1997). ISMN 979-0-50057-223-7
• Franz Schubert: Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke (NSA): Kassel, Bärenreiter:
  • Otto Erich Deutsch. Series VIII: Supplement — Volume 4: Franz Schubert, thematisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke in chronologischer Folge — pp. 323-324 (1978). ISMN 9790006305148 —
  • Walburga Litschauer (ed.) Series VII: Piano Music, Part 2: Works for Piano Two Hands — Volume 1: Klaviersonaten I (2000). ISMN 9790006497119

References

1. David Doughty in album notes of Brilliant Classics Nr. 99678/4 (2001)
2. Deutsch 1978, pp 323-324
3. Badura-Skoda 1997, p VII
4. Tirimo 1997
5. Litschauer 2000