Wanderer Fantasy
Encyclopedia
The Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 (D.
760), popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert
in November 1822. It is considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for the piano. Schubert himself said "the devil may play it", in reference to his own inability to do so properly.
. It was written for, and dedicated to Carl Emanuel Liebenberg von Zsittin, who had studied piano with Johann Nepomuk Hummel
. Schubert wrote it in the hope of earning some money from the dedication.
are developed. This motive is distilled from the theme of the second movement, which is set in C-sharp minor and is a sequence of variations
on a melody taken from the lied
Der Wanderer
, which Schubert wrote in 1816. It is this set of variations from which the work's popular name is derived.
The four movements are played without a break. After the first movement Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo in C major and the second movement Adagio, follow a scherzo
presto in A flat major and the finale, which returns to the key of C major. This finale starts out as a fugue
but later breaks into a virtuoso
piece.
. It is a tumultuous and dramatic chart which is varied in its tone, pace, and dynamics. The piece opens with the elemental thematic statement, which is more or less a direct quotation of Der Wanderer. A relative major quasi-variation turns minor and develops into a diminished climax before the movement commences with the variations proper. The four variations alternate between Db Major and C# minor, and gain momentum through successive rhythmic subdivision as their drama develops. The final variation escalates into a violent diminished chord passage, a flashy unison run, and a chordal explosion. This cues the outro in which rumbling bass figurations belie an otherwise affirming melody which gives final closure and cadence to the principal theme. The approximate performance time is 6:35.
in this regard). The movement follows the same repeating-motive form of the first, and closely imitates melodic contour, rhythm, and dynamics, albeit in triple meter. It is punctuated by several diminished chord departures and exuberant major passages, and concludes with an exceedingly dramatic improvisational coda which powers through to the audacious fortissimo chords that summon the finale. The approximate performance time is 4:50.
. C Major is maintained throughout the movement with the exception of modulatory passages which invariably return to the original tonic. The closing passages make extensive use of the German augmented sixth chord, utilized throughout the fantasy as a principal source of harmonic tension. An exuberant coda, in its emphasis and positivity, anchors the work harmonically and emotionally. The approximate performance time is 3:45.
Franz Liszt
, who was fascinated by the Wanderer Fantasy, transcribed it for piano and orchestra (S.366) and two pianos (S.653). He additionally edited the original score and added some various interpretations in ossia
, and made a complete rearrangement of the final movement (S.565a).
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...
760), popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed 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 November 1822. It is considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for the piano. Schubert himself said "the devil may play it", in reference to his own inability to do so properly.
Historical background
Schubert composed this work in 1822, the same year he started the Unfinished SymphonySymphony No. 8 (Schubert)
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor , commonly known as the "Unfinished Symphony" , D.759, was started in 1822 but left with only two movements known to be complete, even though Schubert would live for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano score but with only two pages...
. It was written for, and dedicated to Carl Emanuel Liebenberg von Zsittin, who had studied piano with Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel
Johann Nepomuk Hummel or Jan Nepomuk Hummel was an Austrian composer and virtuoso pianist. His music reflects the transition from the Classical to the Romantic musical era.- Life :...
. Schubert wrote it in the hope of earning some money from the dedication.
Structure
The whole work is based on one single basic motive, from which all themesTheme (music)
In music, a theme is the material, usually a recognizable melody, upon which part or all of a composition is based.-Characteristics:A theme may be perceivable as a complete musical expression in itself, separate from the work in which it is found . In contrast to an idea or motif, a theme is...
are developed. This motive is distilled from the theme of the second movement, which is set in C-sharp minor and is a sequence of variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
on a melody taken from the lied
Lied
is a German word literally meaning "song", usually used to describe romantic songs setting German poems of reasonably high literary aspirations, especially during the nineteenth century, beginning with Carl Loewe, Heinrich Marschner, and Franz Schubert and culminating with Hugo Wolf...
Der Wanderer
Der Wanderer
Der Wanderer is the name of a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in October 1816 for voice and piano. A revised version was published near the end of May 1821 as opus 4, number 1. The words are taken from a German poem by Georg Philipp Schmidt...
, which Schubert wrote in 1816. It is this set of variations from which the work's popular name is derived.
The four movements are played without a break. After the first movement Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo in C major and the second movement Adagio, follow a scherzo
Scherzo
A scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
presto in A flat major and the finale, which returns to the key of C major. This finale starts out as a fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
but later breaks into a virtuoso
Virtuoso
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...
piece.
Movement 1 - Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo
Commencing with the motivic material in fanfare, the movement progresses swiftly and dramatically, firing off the motive cell in a kaleidoscope of tones and keys, but never departing from its original quarter-eighth eighth-quarter rhythmic structure. A climax of the development settles into a contrastingly lively melodic interlude which punctuates the movement. This passage introduces a theme later repeated in Db major in the scherzo. After further and increasingly more demanding iterations of the motivic cell, a stormy chordal climax deteriorates and decelerates into the segue material which ushers in the Adagio. The movement ends on a V7 chord, and as such is dovetailed with the second. This cohesion is characteristic of the work and the genre. The approximate performance time is 6:25.Movement 2 - Adagio
The Adagio, a theme and variations, is the most developed exploration of the motive among the movements, and is most faithful to the original liedDer Wanderer
Der Wanderer is the name of a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in October 1816 for voice and piano. A revised version was published near the end of May 1821 as opus 4, number 1. The words are taken from a German poem by Georg Philipp Schmidt...
. It is a tumultuous and dramatic chart which is varied in its tone, pace, and dynamics. The piece opens with the elemental thematic statement, which is more or less a direct quotation of Der Wanderer. A relative major quasi-variation turns minor and develops into a diminished climax before the movement commences with the variations proper. The four variations alternate between Db Major and C# minor, and gain momentum through successive rhythmic subdivision as their drama develops. The final variation escalates into a violent diminished chord passage, a flashy unison run, and a chordal explosion. This cues the outro in which rumbling bass figurations belie an otherwise affirming melody which gives final closure and cadence to the principal theme. The approximate performance time is 6:35.
Movement 3 - Presto
The frenetic scherzo, playful and mercurial, is in essence a mockery of the first movement (compare to the scherzo in Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29Piano Sonata No. 29 (Beethoven)
Ludwig van Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 29 in B flat major, Op. 106 is a piano sonata widely considered to be one of the most important works of the composer's third period and among one of the great piano sonatas...
in this regard). The movement follows the same repeating-motive form of the first, and closely imitates melodic contour, rhythm, and dynamics, albeit in triple meter. It is punctuated by several diminished chord departures and exuberant major passages, and concludes with an exceedingly dramatic improvisational coda which powers through to the audacious fortissimo chords that summon the finale. The approximate performance time is 4:50.
Movement 4 - Allegro
The finale begins with and, to a degree, maintains fugal elements but is largely a straightforward virtuoso piece. The drama and tension of the preceding music is released in this furious, dramatic run which finally exhausts the motive. Several figurations in this movement are arguable Beethoven quotations, especially from Op. 111Piano Sonata No. 32 (Beethoven)
The Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111, is the last of Ludwig van Beethoven's piano sonatas. Along with Beethoven's 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli, op. 120 and his two collections of bagatelles—Opus 119 and Opus 126 —this was one of Beethoven's last compositions for piano. The...
. C Major is maintained throughout the movement with the exception of modulatory passages which invariably return to the original tonic. The closing passages make extensive use of the German augmented sixth chord, utilized throughout the fantasy as a principal source of harmonic tension. An exuberant coda, in its emphasis and positivity, anchors the work harmonically and emotionally. The approximate performance time is 3:45.
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, who was fascinated by the Wanderer Fantasy, transcribed it for piano and orchestra (S.366) and two pianos (S.653). He additionally edited the original score and added some various interpretations in ossia
Ossia
Ossia is a musical term for an alternative passage which may be played instead of the original passage. The word ossia comes from the Italian for "alternatively" and was originally spelled o sia, meaning "or be it" . Ossias are very common in opera and solo piano works...
, and made a complete rearrangement of the final movement (S.565a).