Schubert: Sonata in E-flat major Op post 122/D568 (G Henle Verlag HN 1557)
Murray McLachlan
Sunday, October 2, 2022
Henle’s layout is beautiful and clear, with discreet but helpful fingerings from Martin Helmchen
Schubert’s posthumous Sonata in E-flat major had a complicated journey towards publication. The intriguing phases of its development – including manuscript leaves disappearing, a rediscovery of material from Brahms, and the composer’s own transposition of a D-flat Sonata into the more accessible key of E-flat – are comprehensively outlined by Andrea Lindmayr-Brandl in her impressive preface.
Although this large-scale, four-movement sonata remains one of Schubert’s most neglected, its symphonic resonances are extremely persuasive, whether in the stately poise of the first movement, the sliding chromaticism of the second, the intimate grace of the Menuetto or the dancelike intimacy of the extended finale.
Henle’s layout is beautiful and clear, with discreet but helpful fingerings from Martin Helmchen.