SCHUBERT'S PIANOFORTE SONATAS
Played by JAMES CHING
Grosse (Great) Sonata in B Flat (First Movement)
THE complete list of Schubert's works include no fewer than twenty-one Sonatas for pianoforte, of which some eighteen are well known to pianists, though not to music-lovers as a whole.
The first movement of the big Sonata in B Flat is of itself a long piece. In a calm, serene, mood, throughout, it offers no contrast between its two subjects. The first begins at the outset, a long, flowing melody, grave in character, and thoughtful. It is set forth at considerable length before the second main tune is heard, and when it appears it grows so naturally out of the first as to seem almost a continuation of it.