舒伯特《A大調鋼琴奏鳴曲》(D.959)之樂曲分析及演奏詮釋

Abstract

Schubert was one of the most important composers in the early 19th century. He wrote 20 piano sonatas in his short life, and among which the three piano sonatas written in his last years (D. 958, D. 959, and D. 960) were considered to be substantive in depth and emotion, able to reflect the composer’s skillful craft in musical syntax and his introspective style. This thesis contains six chapters. The first chapter is the introduction, explaining the author’s intent and motivation in analyzing the music structure and performance interpretations of Piano Sonata in A Major (D. 959), as well as the scope of this thesis and the methodology used. Chapter 2 contains four parts. The first part -- through a comparative looking glass of then and now -- patches up a profile of Schubert by examining the cultural and historical context of Vienna during his time living there, and his correspondences with his friends and family members. The second part sketches Schubert’s music style through the three dimensions of his friendship with “Schubertiad,” lieder, and literature and poetry. The third part is an overview of the classifications of piano solo pieces Schubert used in his compositions, specifically his fantasies, characteristic pieces, dances, and sonatas. The fourth part explores the composing background for this Piano Sonata in A Major (D. 959). Chapter 3 is an analysis of the sonata through music phrase structure, harmonic progression and tonality, rhythmic patterns, and melodic lines and textures. Chapter 4 describes the possible performance interpretations of the sonata; it is a collection of techniques found from music lessons, literature reviews concerning Schubert as well as performances, and the author’s personal performance experiences. Chapter 5 is a comparative analysis of the recordings rendered by Serkin, Brendel, Pollini, and Shiff. The fundamental structure of this chapter is constructed based on the different interpretations by these four important masters and the author’s personal assessment. Chapter 6, through the author’s review of the literature and actual performance of the piece, is a synthesis and summary of the performance characteristics of Schubert’s Piano Sonata in A Major (D. 959) and its place in history. Through understanding the composer’s environment in terms of culture and history, establishing a humanistic profile of Schubert, and analyzing music scores and actual performance interpretation, this thesis intends to truly present the artistic value of the composer’s creativity.