Schubert's Last Sonatas - Historical Background

Historical Background

The last year of Schubert's life was marked by growing public acclaim for the composer's works, but also by the gradual deterioration of his health. On March 26, 1828, together with other musicians in Vienna, Schubert gave a public concert of his own works, which was a great success and earned him a considerable profit. In addition, two new German publishers took an interest in his works, leading to a short period of financial well-being. However, by the time the summer months arrived, Schubert was again short of money and had to cancel some journeys he had previously planned.

Schubert had been struggling with syphilis since 1822–23, and suffered from weakness, headaches and dizziness. However, he seems to have led a relatively normal life until September 1828, when new symptoms such as effusions of blood appeared. At this stage he moved from the Vienna home of his friend Franz von Schober to his brother Ferdinand's house in the suburbs, following the advice of his doctor; unfortunately, this may have actually worsened his condition. However, up until the last weeks of his life in November 1828, he continued to compose an extraordinary amount of music, including such masterpieces as the three last sonatas.

Schubert probably began sketching the sonatas sometime around the spring months of 1828; the final versions were written in September. These months also saw the appearance of the Three Piano Pieces, D. 946, the Mass in E-flat major, D. 950, the String Quintet, D. 956, and the songs published posthumously as the Schwanengesang collection, among others. The final sonata was completed on September 26, and two days later, Schubert played from the sonata trilogy at an evening gathering in Vienna. In a letter to Probst (one of his publishers), dated October 2, 1828, Schubert mentioned the sonatas amongst other works he had recently completed and wished to publish. However, Probst was not interested in the sonatas, and by November 19, Schubert was dead.

In the following year Schubert's brother Ferdinand sold the sonatas' autographs to another publisher, Anton Diabelli, who would only publish them about ten years later, in 1838 or 1839. Schubert had intended the sonatas to be dedicated to Johann Nepomuk Hummel, whom he greatly admired. Hummel was a leading pianist, a pupil of Mozart, and a pioneering composer of the Romantic style (like Schubert himself). However, by the time the sonatas were published in 1839, Hummel was dead, and Diabelli, the new publisher, decided to dedicate them instead to composer Robert Schumann, who had praised many of Schubert's works in his critical writings.