Franz Schubert (1797-1828) – Fantasie in F Minor, Op. 103/D. 940 (1828)

Whether presented at impromptu post-dinner programs, as entertainment for evenings in a summer home, or in more formal salons (Schubertiades) before invited guests,  Schubert's voluminous output for piano duet represents an essential element of the social milieu in Biedermeier Vienna.  Schubert's frequent duet partner Joseph von Gahy (1793-1864) related the following to Kreissle von Hellborn, one of Schubert's first biographers, in 1860:

The hours I spent making music together with Schubert are among the richest enjoyments of my life and I cannot think of those days without being most deeply moved . . . .  On such occasions . . . the clear, fluent playing, the individual conception, the manner of performance, sometimes delicate and sometimes full of fire and energy, of my small, plump partner afforded me great pleasure; . . . Schubert's genial nature was displayed in its full radiance and he used to characterize the various compositions by humorous interpolations, which sometimes included sarcastic, though always pertinent, remarks.

The Fantasie in F Minor, D.940 is one of the sublime piano works Schubert composed in his final year, along with the four-hand Duo in A Minor, D.947 and the solo sonatas in A minor, C minor, and B-flat major.  Completed in April 1828, the work is cast in four large sections.  The wistful theme of the opening shifts easily between F minor and the parallel major, accompanied constantly by gentle broken chords in the secondo part.  The second section, an intense Largo which retains the dotted rhythm motif of the opening theme, is followed by a boisterous Scherzo and a powerful fugal finale.  The overall thematic unity of the work is emphasized with a return to the opening theme on the closing page.

Notes by Dana Muller & Gary Steigerwalt