Elisabeth Leonskaja
Recital

Elisabeth Leonsjakapiano

During his lifetime, Schubert was known only to a close circle of friends, and only a small part of his work was published. These were mainly Lieder, vocal quartets and piano pieces for amateur entertainment, such as dances and pieces for four hands.

The publication of three piano sonatas in 1825 marked a turning point in the composer's career. A new set of three sonatas appeared in 1828. But it remained unpublished until Robert Schumann discovered it among the many manuscripts kept by Ferdinand Schubert after his brother's death.

A blessing, given the singular beauty of this trilogy, Schubert's musical testament. In it, he takes the opposite tack to Beethoven, whose last sonatas predate his own by a handful of years. The Sonata in B flat major was the last to be completed, a few weeks before the composer's death on November 19, 1828. Instead of dramatic confrontations and formal conquests, he prefers confidence and elegy.

The slow movement of the Sonata in B flat major even exudes a sorrowful funereal feeling, foreshadowed by the restless trills of the left hand in the first movement.

Claire Delamarche