Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in A-flat major D 557 was composed in May 1817.
The work is relatively short and a performance takes somewhat between 10 and 15 minutes. The sonata is cheerful and uncomplicated, and carries remembrances of Mozart and the Baroque era.[1]
The fact that the last movement is in the key of E-flat major rather than the tonic key of A-flat major is evidence in favor of Schubert possibly intending to add a fourth movement, although the extant third movement has much of the character of a finale. At the time this was written it was quite unusual to end a composition in another key than its tonic, however Schubert did do this in some of his early works, e.g. D. 553 ("Auf der Donau", beginning in E-flat major and ending in F-sharp minor).[3]
The sonata was first published in 1888, in the Breitkopf & Härtel complete edition.
The autograph of the sonata, dated May 1817, is incomplete — it stops at the 28th measure of the third movement, but there is a contemporary complete manuscript.[2]
D. 557 was first published in 1888 as No. 3 of the Piano Sonatas volume (Series X) of the Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe.[2]
Both Paul Badura-Skoda (Henle) and Martino Tirimo (Wiener Urtext) published an Urtext edition in 1997.[3][4]
In the New Schubert Edition D. 557 is given in VII/2/1.[5]
Piano sonatas (2 hands)byFranz Schubert | ||
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Preceded by | AGA, Series 10 (15 sonatas) No. 3 |
Succeeded by |
Preceded by | 21 Sonatas numbering system No. 5 | |
23 Sonatas numbering system No. 6 |