Schubert- Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A Minor, D821
Schubert’s Arpeggione sonata was written in 1824 probably for his friend Johann Staufer, a guitar maker who invented an instrument he called the arpeggione. Built like a guitar with frets on the fingerboard and six strings, it was played with a bow in the manner of a cello. The arpeggione fell off the radar soon after it was introduced, and the sonata is the only composition of significance written for the instrument. Thankfully, we are still able to hear it today almost exclusively on the cello (whose range allows for relatively easy transcription) or the viola.
Composed during a time in which Schubert was suffering from depression and social estrangement for his bout of syphilis, the sonata contains many dramatic and sudden mood shifts from the bright and beautiful to dark and frantic.
I. Allegro moderato
Sonata Allegro form
The first movement begins with a slow, simple, almost mournful melody in the piano (theme one). The cello repeats, entering at 0:29- its ability to sustain reveals the lyrical nature of this theme and is extremely similar to the opening theme of Dvorak’s Cello Concerto (well actually the Cello Concerto is suspiciously similar to the Arpeggione Sonata, as it was written well after). Unlike more traditional Sonata form movements in which the second theme is slow and lyrical, Schubert presents the slow theme at the very beginning of the piece without introduction. This is perhaps a reflection on his growing depression at the time he composed the sonata. The first phrase of theme one ends t 0:53, and is followed by the relatively lengthy modulating bridge in which the cello figures get faster, but not as fast as they are in theme two. the 4 sixteenths/2 eights motive along with the livelier piano accompaniment signals a change.
A pause at 1:25 is followed by a sonorous descent by the cello (in major) and then by an inversion of the same figure. A brief interlude follows, preceding theme two in a major key. The cello and piano alternate lively sixteenth note figures followed by another lyric phrase. The opening phrase of theme two is then repeated with variation, leading to the cadence after a long cello ascent at 2:51. Short tremolos and flourishes in the cello followed by 5 cadential chords on the piano and pizzicato cello bring the exposition to its close (3:25).
[Since the exposition is repeated, I will skip to the development.]
The development begins at 6:49 with theme one in the piano in a major key accompanied by the pizzicato cello. The 3-note cadence motive appears at 7:06 before a rendition of theme two in minor key which builds to a fanfare-like piano rhythm at 7:47 and again followed by the cadence motive. More development of theme two in the cello and then piano follow, steadily increasing in volume before suddenly music quiets and the cello descends in fourths (8:42), bottoming out and then repeating theme one (9:07) as the beginning of the recapitulation.
The recapitulation has some key differences from the exposition. Theme one is repeated fairly obediently. During the bridge, the cello accompanies the piano with pizzicato notes as if for emphasis (10:04). The grand cello descent and inversion that occured at 1:25 in the exposition is repeated this time in a minor key, giving it somewhat of a sarcastic air about it. At 10:35 theme two returns and is repeated faithfully to its conclusion at 12:00.
The coda is a slowed-down version of the bridge material between themes one and two, as if all sense of urgency has left both players. The piano plays a few paltry notes of theme one (12:38). A loud chord at 12:57 followed by a low note in the cello ascends skyward as the piano descends into a brooding bass line. The movement ends on two convincing chords.
II. Adagio
The second movement Adagio begins with a short piano introduction that sounds very much like a lullaby. The peaceful mood is reinforced by the entrance of the cello with a four-note rising motive followed by a descent- nearly a carbon copy of Beethoven’s 2nd Symphony, 2nd movement. This serene, lyric melody against repeated chords in the piano, which seems to lead the cello through its harmonic path. Theme one is repeated at 1:14. Long sustains in the cello followed by the simplest rhythms begin to characterize the music. At 2:13 the cello begins a passage low in its range (theme two) that soon ascends against soft piano chords. A variation of theme two follows (2:45). More long sustains precede a triadic descent (3:35), after which the cello ascends briefly before descending again and sustaining on a low note that would seem to end the movement. However, the second movement’s ending is marked “attaca” (play through), and the cello plays a short solo before movement three begins.
III. Allegretto
Rondo form
The final movement of the sonata opens with the rondo theme (theme one) based on a dotted motive accompanied by eigth notes in the piano. It is memorable and simple, and it serves as a bridge between the slow, lyrical passages of the second movement and the Hungarian dance that begins at 1:38.
The first phrase of the dance is in sixteenth notes which are immediately repeated with a slight variation at the end of the phrase. The second phrase, also of sixteenth notes, is repeated twice as well. The music suddenly starts to flow again at 2:00 as if it wants to return to the rondo, but is soon interrupted by dainty sixteenth notes in the piano followed by more sixteenth note figures in the cello. At 2:13 a motive based on theme one makes an appearance with sixteenth/eigth note flourishes at the end of each phrase. An ascent from the cello brings back the dance theme at 2:25. More theme one-like motives follow until the cadence begins at 2:57.
Ascending eigth notes bring us back to the rondo theme at 3:23 with the same warmth of expression as at the beginning of the movement. There are slight flourishes in the cello, but the variation between this and the original statement are minimal.
Theme three makes its entrance at 4:31, based on a dotted eighth note followed by four sixteenths. A Bach-like figure makes an appearance at 4:47 before an eigth note pattern is sequenced downward (5:07) three times. The theme is then repeated (5:19). This has the same dotted eigth/sixteenth note motive followed by six bars of sixteenth notes (5:29). These in turn are followed by a cadence and a repeat of the entire section. The next variation (6:17) differs by just one eighth note; the main motive becomes a quarter note followed by four sixteenths and is much slower than the preceeding section. The piano finally gets its turn in the spotlight again at 6:49 while the pizzicato cello provides accompaniment. This short section is very Bach-like as well, but the melody soon returns to the cello with the return of the Hungarian dance at 7:21. The dance is followed by the dainty piano flourishes in between sixteenth note figures by the cello. A cadence based on the dotted rhythm at the beginning of the movement leads into a repetition of the dance, this time an octave lower in the cello.
At 8:53 the rondo theme returns for the third and final time. An alternating ascent in eigth notes by the cello at 10:04 leads to the two closing chords.
Schubert’s Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano manages to be familiar while maintaining its distance. The mundane, almost pedestrian nature of its harmonies, rhythms, and melodies only add to its appeal, and it is a great testament to the composer that such profound statements arise out of such simple figures.
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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Mstislav Rostropovich and Benjamin Britten’s 1968 recording on Decca. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Alternatively, you can purchase this recording from the iTunes Music Store often at a reduced price by following the link below.
This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.
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