The Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 (D. 760), popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy, is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1822. It is widely considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for the piano. Schubert himself said "the devil may play it," in reference to his own inability to do so properly.[1]
Schubert composed this work in late 1822, just after breaking off work on the Unfinished Symphony while sketching its incomplete scherzo. It was written for and dedicated to Carl Emanuel Liebenberg von Zsittin, who had studied piano with Johann Nepomuk Hummel, in the hope of some remuneration from the dedication.[2] It is not only a technically formidable challenge for the performer, but also a structurally formidable four-movement work combining theme-and-variations with sonata form. Each movement transitions into the next instead of ending with a final definitive cadence, and each starts with a variation of the opening phrase of his lied "Der Wanderer", D. 489. The second movement, marked "adagio," states the theme in virtually the same way it is presented in the song, whereas the three fast movements begin with variants in diminution (that is, shortened note values): the first movement, "allegro con fuoco ma non troppo," a monothematic sonata form in which the second theme is another variant, the third, "presto," a scherzo in triple meter, and the finale, marked simply "allegro," starting as a quasi-fugue and making increasing demands on the player's technical and interpretive powers as it storms on to its conclusion.
Structureedit
The whole work is based on one single basic motif from which all themes are developed. This motif is distilled from the theme of the C-sharp minor second movement, which is a sequence of variations on a melody taken from the lied "Der Wanderer", which Schubert wrote in 1816. It is this set of variations from which the work's popular name is derived.
The four movements are played without a break. After the first movement Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo in C major and the second movement Adagio (which begins in C-sharp minor and ends in E major), follow a scherzopresto in A-flat major and the technically transcendental finale, which starts in fugato returning to the key of C major and becomes more and more virtuosic as it moves toward its thunderous nonfugal conclusion.
Liszt's transcriptionsedit
The Hungarian composer Franz Liszt, who was fascinated by the Wanderer Fantasy, transcribed it for piano and orchestra (S.366) and two pianos (S.653). He additionally edited the original score and added some various interpretations in ossia, and made a complete rearrangement of the final movement (S.565a).
Recordingsedit
There are many recordings on modern piano of the Wanderer Fantasy. Below are listed some that are on fortepiano.
wanderer, fantasy, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, february. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Wanderer Fantasy news newspapers books scholar JSTOR February 2021 Learn how and when to remove this message The Fantasie in C major Op 15 D 760 popularly known as the Wanderer Fantasy is a four movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1822 It is widely considered Schubert s most technically demanding composition for the piano Schubert himself said the devil may play it in reference to his own inability to do so properly 1 I Allegro con fuoco source source II Adagio source source III Presto source source IV Allegro source source Performed by Daniel Blanch ca Problems playing these files See media help Contents 1 Historical background 2 Structure 3 Liszt s transcriptions 4 Recordings 5 References 6 External linksHistorical background editSchubert composed this work in late 1822 just after breaking off work on the Unfinished Symphony while sketching its incomplete scherzo It was written for and dedicated to Carl Emanuel Liebenberg von Zsittin who had studied piano with Johann Nepomuk Hummel in the hope of some remuneration from the dedication 2 It is not only a technically formidable challenge for the performer but also a structurally formidable four movement work combining theme and variations with sonata form Each movement transitions into the next instead of ending with a final definitive cadence and each starts with a variation of the opening phrase of his lied Der Wanderer D 489 The second movement marked adagio states the theme in virtually the same way it is presented in the song whereas the three fast movements begin with variants in diminution that is shortened note values the first movement allegro con fuoco ma non troppo a monothematic sonata form in which the second theme is another variant the third presto a scherzo in triple meter and the finale marked simply allegro starting as a quasi fugue and making increasing demands on the player s technical and interpretive powers as it storms on to its conclusion Structure editThe whole work is based on one single basic motif from which all themes are developed This motif is distilled from the theme of the C sharp minor second movement which is a sequence of variations on a melody taken from the lied Der Wanderer which Schubert wrote in 1816 It is this set of variations from which the work s popular name is derived The four movements are played without a break After the first movement Allegro con fuoco ma non troppo in C major and the second movement Adagio which begins in C sharp minor and ends in E major follow a scherzo presto in A flat major and the technically transcendental finale which starts in fugato returning to the key of C major and becomes more and more virtuosic as it moves toward its thunderous nonfugal conclusion Liszt s transcriptions editThe Hungarian composer Franz Liszt who was fascinated by the Wanderer Fantasy transcribed it for piano and orchestra S 366 and two pianos S 653 He additionally edited the original score and added some various interpretations in ossia and made a complete rearrangement of the final movement S 565a Recordings editThere are many recordings on modern piano of the Wanderer Fantasy Below are listed some that are on fortepiano Naruhiko Kawaguchi fortepiano by Chris Maene after Conrad Graf 1817 Viviana Sofronitsky fortepiano by Paul McNulty after Conard Graf 1819 Paul Badura Skoda fortepiano by Conrad Graf ca 1824 Daniel Paul Horn fortepiano by Conrad Graf ca 1829 Alexander Melnikov fortepiano by Alois Graff ca 1828 1935 Jan Vermeulen fortepiano by Nannette Streicher 1826 John Khouri fortepiano by Joseph Bohm ca 1828 References edit Duncan Edmondstoune 1905 Schubert J M Dent amp Co p 165 Einstein Alfred 1951 Schubert A Musical Portrait Oxford University Press p 204 External links editWanderer Fantasy Scores at the International Music Score Library Project Portal nbsp Classical music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wanderer Fantasy amp oldid 1195530467, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
