Week 1: Choose your Schubert Piece!
Week 1 Assignment: Choose Your Schubert Piece
Welcome to Week 1 of the Schubert Challenge!
This week is all about intention and inspiration. Your goal is to choose the piece you'll focus on for the challenge and start immersing yourself in it.
Your Assignment:
Pick Your Piece
Choose one Schubert work to study for the challenge. You can pick a complete piece or select movements/excerpts if it’s longer.Share Your Choice
Post in the forum:What piece you chose
Why you chose it
What you hope to get out of this challenge
Listen and Read
Spend time listening to 2–3 professional recordings of your chosen piece. Note differences in interpretation.
If available, read any tonebase lessons on your piece or related Schubert topics.
Suggested Repertoire by Level:
Easy (Late Beginner / Early Intermediate):
Moment Musical No. 3 in F minor, D.780
German Dance in G Major, D.365 No. 2
Ecossaise in G Major, D.529 No. 5
Intermediate:
Impromptu in A-flat Major, Op. 90 No. 4 (D.899)
Waltz in A minor, D. 365 No. 2
Moment Musical No. 2 in A-flat Major, D.780
Advanced:
Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 90 No. 3 (D.899)
Sonata in A major, D. 959
Impromptu in F minor, Op. 142 No. 1 (D.935)
So many more options!
Let's get started!
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I would like to join this Challenge:)
What piece you chose: I would like to try and learn Moment Musical no. 3 in F minor, D. 780
Why you chose it: I am currently working on Moment Musical no 6. It would be a fun challenge to see how much of the piece I can learn with a time-limit.
What you hope to get out of this challenge: As an adult learner I havn't really tried learning a piece under time-pressure. Could be a fun challenge to try out.
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I will go with one of the three pieces from D946.
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I will learn the Impromptu in A flat major Op. 142 (D 935) No. 2. I was overwhelmed by the many possible choices and therefore had my teacher pick for me, but I actually think it's perfect. I'll be very busy working on other repertoire during the next four weeks so I needed a piece that wasn't too technically challenging. Also, once the Schubert challenge was announced and I started to look at options, I really became enamored with the idea of learning all four of the Impromptus Op. 142, but that can't be done in a month, so this little gem is a perfect start. (If I do end up having some extra time, I might look at Op. 142 No. 1 as well.) Finally, it is just a glorious composition - purest Schubert, and justly famous. My father, who passed away a couple of months ago, probably loved Schubert most of all classical composers, mainly for his beautiful melodies, and this piece is a prime example of the music I know was most dear to him, so I'll learn and play it in his memory. I hope to get out of this challenge some understanding of "how to make the magic happen" when playing Schubert - the sense of floating in suspended time, the impression of smiling through tears, the shaping of a melody so that it is simple and moving rather than sentimental or kitschy, the comprehension of his harmonic progressions to set accents and create structure, the judicious use of right and left pedal instead of pouring them over the music like gravy, and the multi-layered differentiation, highlighting and balancing of voices that made the late Alfred Brendel's Schubert interpretations so wondrously unique and compelling.
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Alexander Weymann What a beautiful choice, Alexander, especially with your personal tribute to your father!
Without a doubt, it's one of my favorite Schubert pieces. I played it about two years ago, and it truly feels like an emotional, vital journey (always "Der Wanderer"). The recurrent melody (which almost sounds like a lied for two singers, a lied without words) is full of melancholy, yet carries that unique Schubertian blend of gentle sadness and quiet joy.
It's a journey through different emotional landscapes, from tragic rebellion to the consolation of beauty. I love your words: "the sense of floating in suspended time, the impression of smiling through tears". Perfectly said.
I still remember an unforgettable concert by Sokolov in Zaragoza, where he played this piece. Here's a video of Sokolov performing it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cKhM9gZ9Cc&list=RD0cKhM9gZ9Cc&start_radio=1
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Juan Carlos Olite that recording by Sokolov is amazing! But although I had initially wanted to pick the second Klavierstück, I am now playing the second IMPROMPTU from Op. 142. Here it is:
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Alexander Weymann Yes, yes... I know this video too! And, my apologies for the big mistake, Alexander. I was convinced that your words were about the Klavierstück Nº 2 (which is also a "Nº 2"
). But in fact, I now see that your description fits perfectly with the Impromptu as well, or rather, with the very essence of Schubert's music. In a way, your words could describe either pieces beautifully.In any case, it's still true that it's a beautiful choice and that I played this same Impromptu two years ago
. Well, it's just my love for all Schubert pieces, even the transcriptions...I can't wait to hear your performance of the Impromptu op142 n2, Alexander.
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Alexander Weymann Love Sokolov’s Schubert! No rushing, so expansive and emotional. Looking forward to yours- hope we can hear the whole Op 142 sometime.
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I’m in with Sonata in A major, first movement only. Unfortunately, I have no time now to revisit the other two.
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My plan is to review all the Schubert lessons on Tonebase, something I have been meaning to do for a very long time.
I also plan to have a much more comprehensive understanding of chromatic mediants, which we discussed briefly in a recent Schubert live stream.
I googled 'chromatic mediant'. The AI response was very basic compared to the wiki response, which is really interesting in terms of the fears amongst creative artists about the threat of AI for human creativity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromatic_mediant
I think the wiki version explains why the chromatic mediant doesn't always appear to be chromatic. This I want to explore.
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Roy James-Pike Thank you so much, Roy! This answers my question.
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I will play Schubert-Liszt's Gretchen am Spinnrade, a piece I've always wanted to learn. It is full of musical and literary symbolism, capturing the haunting duality of a first love encounter: inevitable attraction and mysterious fear in equal measure.
There are many extraordinary interpretations, but I particularly admire a live performance by Sergei Babayan that I found on YouTube (see at 5:39); how he makes the piano sing is simply outstanding!:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVfERbo0hzY&t=556s
If time allows, I may also play another transcription (that's the privilege of our instrument!). This time the second movement (Andante with variations) from the String Quartet in D minor, D810 "Der Tod und das Mädchen". A transcription by Salomon Jadassohn, which I found on IMSLP:
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I have a poor history of completing challenges...
So I am going to keep it simple.
Waltz op 50 #13 - I'll start with this, a one pager, and hope to learn it.
For interpretations - Dominic's excellent CD, which I ordered from Amazon!
What do I hope to get out of this challenge? The satisfaction of actually completing one!
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Sam Smith I KNOW you'll finish this time, Sam! Maybe play it at Utako's next gathering. I'm so sorry that I missed last week. An unexpected meeting ruined my schedule, so I couldn't play live since my husband's office is next to my piano. LOL!
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I'd love to join! I was thinking maybe some of his impromptus, maybe 90-3/4 or 142-3/4.
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Waltz in b minor op. 18 no.2 because I enjoy minor pieces. With coming off of a studio recital in May and then getting into summer and spending time w my kids it’s been a hot minute since I’ve learned a piece for me and not just for church so I want to do something for me that I enjoy
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I've chosen the Kupelwieser Waltz, which I find particularly beautiful and perhaps not too difficult for my level. The main challenge will be attaining the correct right hand voicing as well as the very gentle musicality of the piece.
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I'll be working on the D946 no. 2. It's a piece I've wanted to learn for awhile.
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Thurmond R Great choice, Thurmond. I have just referred to this piece by mistake in a reply to Alexander above, with a fabulous Sokolov interpretation on YouTube. Can't wait to hear your performance.
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Here is my initial progress video of my work on the D946 no. 2. I've been learning it for about a week and am really enjoying it! (I'm about halfway through.)
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Thurmond R Sounds great! What a wonderful piece!
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Thurmond R just gorgeous!!! Fantastic progress!
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I would like to learn Impromptu in G-flat Major, Op. 90 No. 3. I'm sure I can learn the notes in 4 weeks but doubt that it could be performance ready. But I guess I'll try.
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Paul Miller Always try, Paul! Can't wait to hear you no matter what.
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I will see how far I can come with waltz in b minor D.145 Op 18.6
It's grade 5 Abrsm but I think the notes alone are a bit easier. So this might give me more time to look for an interpretation and work on my touch.
I found so many different recordings, some more like a dance, vivid and waltzy. But the ones I lost my heart to are the delicate ones. The gentle, introvert ones without extreme rubato and stuff, still full of emotion. The ones that don't want too much, but are very modest instead.
I know there is a very long way for me to get to this delicate touch, and my Roland piano is no Fazioli grand.... but if I can get a little closer to this delicacyand lose some "beer tent waltzyness" I'd be very happy.
This is the recording I find most beautiful, by Roberto Plano.
Question:
He's not strictly obeying the dynamics markings... I wonder if that is "allowed"? When are we allowed to change them? Are we more free in the repetition? Or is he doing it "wrong" officially? (His "wrong" is beautiful, so I don't care haha)
Question 2:
I can't see his pedalling: would I use left pedal? When?
My right pedal choice so far after having watched some videos on tonebase: pedal at least twice per bar, sometimes even 3x.
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What I did this first week:
- get familiar with the chord structure, the notes and the fingerings
- already memorization happened automatically. It is fully memorized, but some parts need thinking. Plus the different memorization aspects are at different stages. So if you give me time and a pencil I could write everything down, but I need time... so analytical memory is there but not instant. The melody is well memorized, but my playing by ear is not so good, so if I rely on aural memorization I make mistakes, because my physical memory is not ready yet. So I know this will be the next thing to work on: 2 bar sections and train muscle memory along with analytical memory. As soon as both of these get better my visual memory will be activated as well because I can look down more and concentraite on the visual shapes as well.
I might then already next week start to practice in random 2-bar groupings, jumping randomly around in the piece. (interleaved practice)
- started to work on tone, dynamics and both foot pedalling, but still mess up a lot. Either forget where I want to lift the una corda or forget the dynamics, or do random dynamics by feel rather that what's written. That's also my bucket list for next week.
- worked a lot on hand relaxation already: pinky is down now, as long as I keep thinks about relaxation!
To do for next week:
- most important: 2-bar interleaved practice for physical memory and get fingering solid and troublespots physically solved.
- get pedalling structured
- work on melody tone
- remember relaxation
- start feeling rubato better and make clear decisions there
- start working on clear dynamic decisions and ingrain them.
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