TREVOR HOLD has dragged
from oblivion some music
you will not know.
14. Schubert's Piano Concerto in A-flat major ('The Unfinished')
As Lady Bracknell might have observed: 'To leave one work unfinished
may be regarded as a misfortune; to leave two unfinished looks like carelessness'.
We wonder what she would have made of Franz Schubert, who left dozens of
works unfinished. We have the 'Unfinished' Symphony and the unfinished String
Quartet, 'Quartettsatz', as well as several unfinished piano sonatas. Now
we have, it seems, an unfinished Piano Concerto, the Ms. sketches of which
have recently come to light. It consists of a sonata-allegro, complete in
full score except for the last 17 bars; the short score of a slow movement;
and fragments of a rondo finale. It is not clear why Schubert abandoned
the work, though from comments scribbled on the margins of the score, it
would appear to have been from boredom.
The opening allegro was written in a white heat of inspiration, during
a holiday in the mountains near Graz; he seems to have run out of manuscript
paper, for the last 50 bars are scribbled out on dinner napkins. It shows
that Schubert hadn't quite come to grips with the special requirements of
concerto sonata form. The orchestra begins impressively enough with a cornucopia
of ideas - at least three fully-fledged themes for each of the two subject
groups followed by a substantial codetta - so that by the time the piano
makes its entry, everything has already been said. Schubert, however, sticks
doggedly to the rules; thus we hear all the themes again. (Perhaps this
is what Schumann referred to as his 'heavenly lengths...') The slow movement
is the by now customary set of variations on a previously composed song,
this time 'Heidenröslein'. Particularly effective is the third variation
in which two cellos have the tune in 3rds and 6ths whilst the piano trills
high above in octaves. From what exists of the sketches, the finale was
to have been on a grand scale: a rondo, with a theme nearly ten minutes
long, and at least four substantial episodes. One's heart sinks at the thought
of how long the completed movement would have been. It is only fair to say
that the composer himself had reservations, for, where the sketch breaks
off, he has scribbled the words, 'Mein Gott, das ist so langweilig'.
Despite being in such an incomplete state, it is hoped that a performing
edition will soon be published and its belated premiere given. Already scholars
of international standing, as well as several out-of-work composers, are
vying for the rights to complete the music. Offers should be sent in a sealed
envelope to: www.mvdaily.com.
Copyright © 24 February 2000, Trevor
Hold, Peterborough, UK
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