Arpeggione Sonata
Encyclopedia
The Sonata in A minor for Arpeggione and Piano, D.
821, was written by Franz Schubert
in Vienna
in November 1824
. The sonata
is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione
(which was essentially a bowed guitar) which remains extant today. It belongs to the same period as the Death and the Maiden Quartet
, when Schubert was suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis
and lapsing into increasingly frequent episodes of depression.
of the arpeggione, an instrument which had been invented only the previous year. By the time the sonata was published posthumously in 1871
, the enthusiasm for the novelty of the arpeggione had long since vanished, together with the instrument itself.
Today, the piece is heard almost exclusively in transcriptions
for cello
and piano
or viola
and piano that were arranged after that time, although versions that substitute other instruments, including the double bass
, the flute
, and the clarinet
, or the guitar
for the piano part are also performed. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=10889&name_role1=1&genre=70&bcorder=19&comp_id=2675 Transcribers have attempted to address the problems posed by the smaller playing range of these alternative instruments, in comparison with the arpeggione, as well as the attendant modifications in articulation
(4 versus 6 strings
).
The work has been recorded in the original version by the following musicians:
. A typical performance takes just over 20 minutes.
Otto Erich Deutsch
Otto Erich Deutsch was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of the works of Franz Schubert, first published in 1951 in English, new edition in 1978 in German...
821, was written by Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert
Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer.Although he died at an early age, Schubert was tremendously prolific. He wrote some 600 Lieder, nine symphonies , liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, and a large body of chamber and solo piano music...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
in November 1824
1824 in music
- Events :*May 7 – First performance of Beethoven 9th Symphony.*June 21 – Franz Liszt makes his London debut. Muzio Clementi is among the audience.-Classical music:*Ludwig van Beethoven – Missa Solemnis*Hector Berlioz – Messe solennelle...
. The sonata
Sonata
Sonata , in music, literally means a piece played as opposed to a cantata , a piece sung. The term, being vague, naturally evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms prior to the Classical era...
is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione
Arpeggione
The arpeggione is a six-stringed musical instrument, fretted and tuned like a guitar, but bowed like a cello, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba...
(which was essentially a bowed guitar) which remains extant today. It belongs to the same period as the Death and the Maiden Quartet
Death and the Maiden Quartet (Schubert)
The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, known as Death and the Maiden, by Franz Schubert, is one of the pillars of the chamber music repertoire. Composed in 1824, after the composer suffered through a serious illness and realized that he was dying, it is Schubert's testament to death...
, when Schubert was suffering from the advanced stages of syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
and lapsing into increasingly frequent episodes of depression.
History
The piece was probably commissioned by Schubert's friend Vincenz Schuster, who was a virtuosoVirtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
of the arpeggione, an instrument which had been invented only the previous year. By the time the sonata was published posthumously in 1871
1871 in music
- Events :* December 24 - Giuseppe Verdi's Opera Aida premieres.*Anton Bruckner gives a series of organ recitals in London.*Asger Hamerik becomes musical director of the Peabody Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.- Published popular music :...
, the enthusiasm for the novelty of the arpeggione had long since vanished, together with the instrument itself.
Today, the piece is heard almost exclusively in transcriptions
Transcription (music)
In music, transcription can mean notating a piece or a sound which was previously unnotated, as, for example, an improvised jazz solo. Further examples include ethnomusicological notation of oral traditions of folk music, such as Béla Bartók's and Ralph Vaughan Williams' collections of the national...
for cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
and piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
or viola
Viola
The viola is a bowed string instrument. It is the middle voice of the violin family, between the violin and the cello.- Form :The viola is similar in material and construction to the violin. A full-size viola's body is between and longer than the body of a full-size violin , with an average...
and piano that were arranged after that time, although versions that substitute other instruments, including the double bass
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
, the flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
, and the clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
, or the guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
for the piano part are also performed. http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/Drilldown?name_id1=10889&name_role1=1&genre=70&bcorder=19&comp_id=2675 Transcribers have attempted to address the problems posed by the smaller playing range of these alternative instruments, in comparison with the arpeggione, as well as the attendant modifications in articulation
Articulation (music)
In music, articulation refers to the musical direction performance technique which affects the transition or continuity on a single note or between multiple notes or sounds.- Types of articulations :...
(4 versus 6 strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
).
The work has been recorded in the original version by the following musicians:
- Klaus Storck and Alfons Kontarsky (1974, LPLP recordThe LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
No 2533 174 on the Archiv ProduktionDeutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
label) (Klaus Storck played an arpeggione attributed to Anton Mitteis, a student of the instrument's inventor, Georg Stauffer; Alfons KontarskyAloys and Alfons KontarskyAloys and Alfons Kontarsky were German duo-pianist brothers who were associated with a number of important world premieres of contemporary works. They had an international reputation for performing modern music for two pianists, although they also performed the standard repertoire and they...
played a Brodmann fortepianoFortepianoFortepiano designates the early version of the piano, from its invention by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori around 1700 up to the early 19th century. It was the instrument for which Haydn, Mozart, and the early Beethoven wrote their piano music...
built in Vienna ca. 1810. - Alfred Lessing and Jozef De BeenhouwerJozef De BeenhouwerJozef De Beenhouwer is a Belgian pianist, music teacher and musicologist.-Biography:His first teacher, with whom he started at the age of five, was his paternal grandfather. Even as a child and adolescent, he became acquainted with a vast repertoire, and developed a special preference for music...
(2000-2001, Ars Produktion FCD 368 392). Played on a copy by Henning Aschauer of an early 19th-century instrument built either by J. G. Staufer or by Anton Mitteis, at present in the Musical Instrument Collection of the Prussian Cultural Heritage FoundationPrussian Cultural Heritage FoundationThe Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation , headquartered in Berlin, Germany, is one of the largest cultural institutions in the world. It was founded by a West German federal law passed on 25 July 1957, with the mission to acquire and protect the cultural legacy of the former state of Prussia...
and on the 1824 Conrad GrafConrad GrafConrad Graf was an Austrian-German piano maker. His pianos were used by Beethoven, Chopin, and Clara Schumann, among others.-Life and career:...
pianoforte from the Beethoven HouseBeethoven HouseDetailsThe Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, is a memorial site, museum and cultural institution serving various purposes. Founded in 1889 by the Beethoven-Haus association it studies the life and work of composer Ludwig van Beethoven.The centrepiece of the Beethoven-Haus is Beethoven's birthplace...
in Bonn. - Gerhart Darmstadt and Egino Klepper (2005, Cavalli Records CCD 242)
- Nicolas Deletaille and Paul Badura-SkodaPaul Badura-SkodaPaul Badura-Skoda is an Austrian pianist.He won first prize in the Austrian Music Competition in 1947. In 1949, he performed with distinguished conductors like Wilhelm Furtwängler and Herbert von Karajan...
(2006-2007, Fuga Libera FUG529). This recording was made in Firenze (Accademia Bartolomeo Cristofori) on a Benjamen La Brigue arpeggione (2001) and the fortepiano is a Conrad GrafConrad GrafConrad Graf was an Austrian-German piano maker. His pianos were used by Beethoven, Chopin, and Clara Schumann, among others.-Life and career:...
(C. 1820)
Movements
The work consists of three movementsMovement (music)
A movement is a self-contained part of a musical composition or musical form. While individual or selected movements from a composition are sometimes performed separately, a performance of the complete work requires all the movements to be performed in succession...
. A typical performance takes just over 20 minutes.
- Allegro moderato
- Adagio
- Allegretto
Noted Arrangements
- Gaspar CassadóGaspar CassadóGaspar Cassadó i Moreu was a Spanish cellist and composer of the early 20th century. He was born in Barcelona to a church musician father and began taking cello lessons at age seven. When he was nine, he played in a recital where Pablo Casals was in the audience; Casals immediately offered to...
- Cello Concerto in A Minor - Göran SöllscherGöran SöllscherGöran Söllscher is a Swedish award-winning virtuoso classical guitarist known for his broad range of musical interpretations, ranging from Bach to the Beatles...
- Arr. for Violin and Guitar