General Overview

This sonata's autograph manuscript by Schubert is lost, and it has been transmitted through a reliable copy (Witteczek-Spaun). This copy is marked "September 1818," suggesting it was composed during Schubert's stay in Zseliz, where he was employed as a music teacher for the Hungarian nobleman Count Esterházy.

Although the copy of this sonata does not include a slow movement, a handwritten catalog of Schubert's works, reportedly passed from the composer's brother Ferdinand to the publisher Diabelli, identifies the Adagio in D-flat major, D 505, as the slow movement for this sonata. Regarding the order of the two middle movements, Paul Badura-Skoda, who edited the Henle edition, suggests placing the Adagio as the third movement. This is because if the Adagio were the second movement, two slow movements and two fast movements would be juxtaposed.

It should be noted that the New Schubert Edition (Bärenreiter edition) considers the two movements other than the Scherzo to be in a draft stage and includes this sonata in an unnumbered appendix.

Movement-by-Movement Analysis

First Movement: Allegro, F minor, 4/4 time

In the first movement of his Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor, D 571, Schubert attempted to begin the opening movement with a lyrical theme, and it is believed that this movement was composed with a similar concept.

This movement is in sonata form. The first theme group begins with a section serving as an introduction, presenting the theme in unison. Subsequently, supported by an arpeggiated accompaniment in eighth notes, the F minor theme presented at the beginning is played lyrically as the main melody (m. 15). From measure 22, the relative major, A-flat major, begins to appear, and in measure 30, the theme presented in measure 15 is played in A-flat major. In measure 38, the left hand takes over the melody, while the right hand plays a new accompaniment figure in triplets. After an interlude in E major (m. 54), new themes are presented in A-flat major from measures 64 and 68, concluding the exposition. Thus, in terms of tonal structure, the exposition largely consists of an F minor section and an A-flat major section, but the new theme in A-flat major only appears at the very end of the exposition.

The development section begins in D-flat major and develops the second theme from the exposition starting from measure 83. Against this theme, the opening theme is combined in measure 90. Here, one can observe Schubert's new attempt to construct the development section by combining both themes. The manuscript then breaks off at the beginning of the recapitulation in the tonic key.

Middle Movement: Scherzo: Allegretto, E major, 3/4 time

It takes the compound ternary form typical of a dance movement: Main section (ABA') – Trio section (CDC') – Da capo of the main section.

The A section of the main part begins in E major, with an 8-measure phrase forming a unit, and the same rhythmic figure is repeated two more times, concluding in B major. These initial 24 measures are played once more in a varied form, with the left hand taking over the melody and the right hand providing a new scale-based accompaniment figure.

The B section begins on C, a semitone away from B, and proceeds in F major, treating C as the dominant. In measure 61, a new theme appears in the right hand, supported by the left hand's accompaniment of arpeggiated eighth notes. As the hands alternate, enharmonic modulations accumulate, and in measure 87, the opening theme returns in the tonic key. In this theme recapitulation (A' section), the initial 24 measures return: the first 8 measures without variation, the next 8 measures in a variation where the right hand plays scales, and the final 8 measures in a harmonically adjusted variation to remain in the tonic key, thus closing the main section.

In contrast to the main section with its dynamic eighth notes, the trio section primarily features half notes and quarter notes. The C section begins in A major and modulates to E major. The D section, the middle part of the trio, begins in G major, a major third above E major, and modulates to F-sharp major, a minor second below, within 6 measures. These 6 measures (G major – F-sharp major) are repeated as a sequence a major third higher (B major – A-sharp major), followed by a general pause in E-flat major, reinterpreted from D-sharp major, which is another major third higher. Following this, the tonic key of the C section returns, concluding the trio section.

Final Movement: Allegro, F minor, 2/4 time

It is written in sonata form with three themes.

The opening begins with a tense sixteenth-note motive in F minor, reminiscent of Sturm und Drang. This motive is presented in unison and then taken over by the left hand as accompaniment from measure 13. Against this background, a syncopated melody appears in the right hand. After this melody continues for about 8 measures, it returns to unison, and then a new theme is presented in F major, the parallel major (m. 27). This second theme contrasts with the first theme by the cessation of the sixteenth-note motion. The second theme is presented again with a new triplet accompaniment (m. 43) and moves towards A-flat major (m. 55). Initially, the tonality is unstable due to a succession of second-inversion chords and the insertion of A-flat minor, but in measure 73, a theme based on motivic material from the second theme appears in A-flat major. This section, in terms of its length, is suitable to be called a codetta, but in terms of presenting a theme in the relative major, it can also be interpreted as a third theme in sonata form.

The development section, beginning in measure 97, consists of two parts; the first part is developed through the manipulation of material from the first theme. From measure 129, the second part begins, and a new theme is presented in B-flat major. Modulations rapidly accumulate through B-flat minor, G-flat major, F-sharp minor, and A major, leading to the recapitulation from measure 175.

In the recapitulation, the first theme group shows ingenuity beyond mere restatement, such as the addition of counter-melodies and melodic variations. Since such writing is often employed in the forms of middle movements or the rondo form of final movements rather than the sonata form of opening movements, it is evident that this movement, while utilizing the framework of sonata form, is differentiated from the opening movement. From measure 201, the second theme returns in A-flat major. From this point, the copy only notates the right hand, with the exception of a few measures. However, since both hands are written again from the coda at measure 271, it can be observed that Schubert's habit of omitting the left hand for the second and third themes in the recapitulation, as it is the same as in the exposition, is at play here. The third theme returns in F major (m. 247), and after a modulation to A-flat major (m. 255), the opening sixteenth-note unison returns in F minor (m. 271). Following a crescendo, the piece quietly concludes in F major.