Facing the prospect of performing Schubert's "big" B-flat Sonata, Op. post., I am struck primarily by two things: its finality, so overwhelmingly present at the opening, and its repetitiveness.
Having observed that the first accidental is E-natural (I maintain it was his favorite note), I have asked many pianists to identify the first accidental of the piece; invariably they say G-flat. This raises an essential issue about what to listen for. If the E-natural is so incidental that one can play the piece without noticing it, what is it doing there?
That one note has shaped my concept of the entire work. That single fundamental change alters the entire composition:purpose, tempi, dynamics--everything.
I will be performing it twice in a private setting in NYC: Saturday Jan. 12 and Sunday Jan. 20. E-mail for more information.
