Description

Schubert's 22 piano sonatas offer an illuminating glimpse into the life and compositional journey of the composer, who died prematurely. From the initial attempts of the gifted 16- to 19-year-old musician, a continuous development can be traced, culminating in the five great sonatas he wrote in 1823 and 1826. These masterworks, along with the three he composed shortly before his death, place Schubert on par with Beethoven as a composer of the piano sonata.

The intensity with which Schubert approached this genre is reflected in the large number of incomplete piano sonatas he left behind. Volume III of the Henle Urtext edition includes not only the early sonatas from 1815-1818, but also fragments completed by Paul Badura-Skoda, who has clearly identified his contributions with cue notes. The Critical Report in the Appendix provides detailed information on the genesis of these individual works.