Franz Schubert's Sonata for piano in E major (D. 459) is so unusual in form that any assessment of the work must begin by addressing what music is actually under discussion. When the work finally appeared in its first printed edition in 1843 (after the composer's death), it bore the title "Five Piano Pieces," referring to the work's five independent movements; and although such repackaging might be attributed to shifting keyboard music tastes in the middle of the nineteenth century—away from the classicist structure and toward character pieces, narratives, and miniatures—since that time the D. 459 sonata has continued to be musicologically problematic. Although originally cataloged by Otto Deutsch as a single work, subsequent scholars have been divided on the work's authentic form; some have retained Deutsch's (and, it is argued, Schubert's) original five cyclical movements, while others have preferred to separate the movements into two separate works, a two-movement sonata (identified as such in the surviving manuscripts) and a set of three pieces (numbered D. 459 and D. 459a, respectively). Certain thematic and textural connections between the movements, as well as an overall unifying key scheme, provide rather compelling evidence for considering the work as a five-movement sonata. Of course, despite the importance of knowing exactly what music is under discussion, it would be unfortunate indeed if such disputes were to distract attention from the music itself. The sonata unfolds with an elegant balance of romantic lyricism and classic symmetry, with two outer movements framing a curious pair of scherzo movements, which themselves serve to set in relief the moving Adagio that forms the work's structural and expressive core. The same balance is apparent within individual movements as well. The first movement, marked Allegro moderato, betrays the lingering influence of song (the years immediately previous to the composition of the D. 459 sonata had produced an astonishing body of Lieder) even as its flowing melodies curve their way through standard sonata procedures. The second-movement Scherzo is less playful than one might expect; the "trick" here is the way in which Schubert plays off of the harmonic expectations set up by the movement's sonata-allegro form. The second Scherzo (with Trio) is more lively, especially coming off of the pensive, lyrical middle movement, while the finale's odd indication of Allegro patetico suggests a vibrant mix of mirth and mystery.

© All Music Guide