Schubert

‘Who keeps his mind of childhood, keeps his mind.’- Antonio Porchia

The 19th century in Western music saw a decisive shift away from the light, frivolous style of the previous era; music stopped being pretty entertainment and became more intensely expressive and personal, in what would come to be known as the Romantic style. But while other Romantic composers went crazy with the techniques used to convey this new intensity of music, making their music ever-more technically difficult and intricate, Schubert chose to fuse the old and new styles, to astounding effect. To appreciate the transition, just listen to the toy-like sound of Mozart’s Sonate Facile in C major (old generation), before listening to Schubert’s piano music. The simplicity in style is retained, but suddenly a new, more mysterious dimension has been added. Schubert’s world is, thanks to this hybrid style, that of the mysteries of childhood, a kind of no-man’s land between innocence, enigma and lyricism. To listen to him is to realise how the simplest of gestures can bear a wealth of meaning (look out for that deep trill in his last sonata), and that, so often, less is more.

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Warning: Schubert has a reputation for repetitiveness, which takes a little getting used to. But I’m not complaining about hearing beautiful passages over and over again.

Ranked by accessibility

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Easy

• The F minor Fantasia for Four Hands- a beautifully lyrical and wistful saga.

• Sonata in B-flat major, D960- A jewel of a meditation, moving fleetly between moods, but anchored down by what a great YouTuber once called its ‘inner stillness’ and great mystery. I’d start with Uchida’s whisper-light recording, before moving onto Tatiana Nikolayeva’s warm, friendly but still moving record.

• Piano Trio in E-flat, 2nd movement- The shouldering of a heavy burden; a wearying march; soldiering on with only a lyrical voice for company. I have lost count of the number of times this voice has accompanied me during mind-crushingly tedious ordeals.

• Intermediate

• Winterreise (Winter Journey)- Schubert is one of the few major composers who could sing himself, and is known for his numerous Lieder (songs), including this famous, gentle collection.

• G major sonata, D894- I wasn’t sure how to class the G major sonata in terms of difficulty, and eventually plonked it down here. It’s wonderfully tranquil and prayer-like, but featuring, like the B-flat sonata, some wonderful moments of sweetness and mystery

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Difficult

Schubert’s last three sonatas are masterpieces of the 19th-century piano literature, and embody everything delightful about his style- simple, clean, playful but, as always, weighed down by very much grown-up philosophy. They are, with the exception of the D960 listed above, relatively hard listening for an absolute newcomer to classical music, but to be treasured forever once they have “clicked.”

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I am very fond of Schubert’s 8th and 9th symphonies, which are immensely satisfying epics once you get to know them, which can take a while. The 8th is easier than the massive 9th, largely due to its shorter length, but the 2nd movement of the 9th features one of my favourite moments in Schubert’s music, with the harsh, martial variation on the first theme.

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The piano trios and string quartets, in full, are harder listening than the individual movement I listed above, but good company upon further acquaintance.