Schubert’s three piano sonatas, D 958, 959 and 960, were written in the last years of the composer’s life and are today considered some of the most important works in the piano repertoire.
Their individual, unmistakably original style is manifested in their cyclical construction and in a tonal universe reminiscent of the compactness of chamber music. The musical contents construct and exist in their own world, testifying both to their own origins and purpose and to the unique structural constellation of the cognitive-conscious world. This music comes from the very depths of the human soul.
Schubert completed the Sonata in D 960 on 26 September 1828, premiered it himself in Vienna a few days later, and died less than two months afterwards, on November 19th. The three sonatas were published by Anton Diabelli ten years later.
Here is pianist Maria Pires to play this music for you:
