Fantasia in F minor (Schubert)

History#

Franz Schubert began writing the Fantasia in January 1828 in Vienna. The work was dedicated to Caroline Esterházy, with whom Schubert was in (unrequited) love. Schubert died in November 1828. After his death, his friends and family undertook to have a number of his works published. This work is one of those pieces; it was published by Anton Diabelli in March 1829. The original manuscript resides at the Austrian National Library.

Structure#

The Fantasia is divided into four movements, which are interconnected and played without pause. A typical performance lasts about 20 minutes. The basic idea of a fantasia with four connected movements also appears in Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy, and represents a stylistic bridge between the traditional sonata form and the essentially free-form tone poem. The form of this work, with its relatively tight structure (more so than the fantasias of Beethoven and Mozart), was influential on the work of Franz Liszt, who arranged the Wanderer Fantasy as a piano concerto, among other transcriptions he made of Schubert’s music.

I. Allegro molto moderato#

The piece opens with a lyrical melody with dotted rhythms that is reminiscent of the Hungarian style.

II. Largo#

The second movement opens with an angry, somewhat turbulent fortissimo theme in F minor. While marked largo, the frequently double-dotted first theme lends a great deal of tension to this movement. Eventually the first theme gives way to a quiet, lyrical second theme. The first theme is reprised, ending on the C major dominant.

III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace#

Following the F minor, agitated second movement, the third movement scherzo is a bright, lively movement in the same key, reminiscent of the scherzos of other works Schubert wrote at this time, like those of his piano trios. After a delicate D major trio, the scherzo returns, at first seemingly in F minor. The repeat of the scherzo shifts between A major and F minor, ultimately ending on C octaves that drive into a transition back toward F minor for the finale.

IV. Finale. Allegro molto moderato#

The finale begins with a restatement of the first movement’s primary theme in both F minor and F major, before transitioning into a fugue based on its second theme. The fugue builds to a climax, ending abruptly on the C major dominant, instead of resolving into either F major or minor. After a bar of silence, the first theme briefly reprises, building rapidly to concluding chords that echo the second theme before subsiding into a quiet end.

Transcriptions#

In 1961, Russian composer Dimitri Kabalevsky orchestrated the work, producing a virtuoso piece for one piano soloist playing with a symphony orchestra.

Recordings#

The fantasy has been recorded numerous times, including by the following notable performers: *Alfred Brendel with Évelyne Crochet on Vox Box *Sviatoslav Richter and Benjamin Britten on Decca Records/BBC Legends *Evgeny Kissin and James Levine on RCA Victor *Katia and Marielle Labèque on Kml Recordings *Bracha Eden and Alexander Tamir on Brilliant Classics *Justus Frantz and Christoph Eschenbach on EMI *Radu Lupu and Murray Perahia, and Duo Tal & Groethuysen on Sony Classical *Evgeni Koroliov and Ljupka Hadzigeorgieva on Tacet *Aloys and Alfons Kontarsky, Emil and Elena Gilels, Maria João Pires with Ricardo Castro, Lucas and Arthur Jussen, and Maurizio and Daniele Pollini on Deutsche Grammophon *Jörg Demus and Paul Badura-Skoda several times, including on Westminster, Auvidis Valois, and Audax *Vitya Vronsky and Victor Babin on US Decca *Robert and Gaby Casadesus on Columbia Masterworks *Pavel Kolesnikov and Samson Tsoy on Harmonia Mundi *Alexandre Tharaud and Zhu Xiao-Mei on Harmonia Mundi Fr *The Latsos Piano Duo (Giorgi Latso and Anna Fedorova- Latso) for BHNT *Emil Gilels and Orchestra Sinfonica Di Milano della RAI, conducted by Franco Caracciolo, for Archipel Records. Live recording of the Schubert-Kabalevsky orchestrated version. (“Emil Gilels in Italy”) *Michael Korstick and NDR Sinfonieorchester, conducted by Alun Francis, for Chandos Records. Studio recording of the Schubert-Kabalevsky orchestrated version *Sergio Tiempo and Martha Argerich for Avanticlassic Recordings on 19th century pianos include the followings:

References#

• Musical score.
• Norman McKay, Elizabeth, Schubert’s string and piano duos in context. in Newbould, Brian (1998). Schubert studies, Ashgate, 1998, p. 62-111.

External links#

• Schubert’s manuscript, Austrian National Library
• Recording of Fantasia from the Jerusalem Music Centre in MP3 format, performed by Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg (archived on the Wayback Machine)