Six moments musicaux (Schubert)

Six moments musicaux, D. 780 (Op. 94) is a collection of six short pieces for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert. Along with the Impromptus, they are among the most frequently played of all Schubert's piano music, and have been recorded many times. No. 3 in F minor has been arranged by Karl Tausig, Leopold Godowsky and others.

Background

It has been said that Schubert was deeply influenced in writing these pieces by the Impromptus, Op. 7, of Jan Václav Voříšek (1822).^[1]^[2] These pieces have been described as "akin to Beethoven’s Bagatelles in their brevity and quixotic character."^[3]

They were published by Leidesdorf in Vienna in 1828, under the title "Six Momens [sic] musicals [sic]". The standard French forms are now usually used – moments (instead of momens), and musicaux (instead of musicals). Because the title is not Schubert's own, it has been argued that we "might reasonably conclude that these are not really 'moments' of music at all, as some of the six pieces last more than five or six minutes."^[4]

The sixth number was published in 1824 in a Christmas album under the title Les plaintes d'un troubadour.^[2]

Structure

I. Moderato in C major

II. Andantino in A-flat major

III. Allegro moderato in F minor

IV. Moderato in C-sharp minor

V. Allegro vivace in F minor

VI. Allegretto in A-flat major

All Performed by Bernd Krueger

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The movements are as follows:

Moderato in C major
Andantino in A♭ major
Allegro moderato in F minor (ends in F major)
Moderato in C♯ minor
Allegro vivace in F minor (ends in F major)
Allegretto in A♭ major (ends on an open octave in an A♭ minor context)

Performances

The entire D. 780 set has been recorded by Claudio Arrau, Alfred Brendel, Imogen Cooper, Emil Gilels, Paul Lewis, Radu Lupu, András Schiff, Artur Schnabel, Mitsuko Uchida, and Maria João Pires. Individual pieces from the set have been recorded by Sviatoslav Richter, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Daniel Barenboim, and Vladimir Horowitz.

References

^ Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 5th ed. 1954
^ ^a ^b Naxos Archived 2009-03-14 at the Wayback Machine
^ The Cross-Eyed Pianist, "A distinct soundworld in microcosm: Schubert’s Moments Musicaux," October 22, 2019
^ Chamber Music Society, 2021.11.02, Richard Goode, program notes

External links

Moments musicaux: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Performance of the Six moments musicaux by Charlie Albright from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in MP3 format

Piano compositions and sonatas by Franz Schubert

Piano
two hands

Sonatas	E major/B major, D 157/154 C major/A minor, D 279/277A/309A/346 E major "Klavierstücke", D 459/459A A minor, D 537, Op.164 A♭ major/E♭ major, D 557 E minor/A♭ major/E major, D 566/506 D♭ major, D 567/568 E♭ major, D 568, Op.122 F♯ minor, D 571/570/604 B major, D 575, Op.147 C major, D 613/600/610/612 F minor/D♭ major, D 625/505 C♯ minor, D 655 A major, D 664, Op.120 E minor, D 769A A minor, D 784, Op.143 C major "Reliquie", D 840 A minor, D 845, Op.42 D major "Gasteiner", D 850, Op.53 G major "Fantasy", D 894, Op.78 C minor, D 958 A major, D 959 B♭ major, D 960
Other	Variation No. 38 on a waltz by Diabelli, D 718 Wanderer Fantasy, D 760 34 Valses Sentimentales, D 779, Op.50 12 Valses Nobles, D 969, Op.77 6 Moments musicaux, D 780, Op.94 Allegretto in C minor, D 915 4 Impromptus, D 899, Op.90 4 Impromptus, D 935, Op.142 3 Impromptus "Klavierstücke", D 946

Sonatas

E major/B major, D 157/154
C major/A minor, D 279/277A/309A/346
E major "Klavierstücke", D 459/459A
A minor, D 537, Op.164
A♭ major/E♭ major, D 557
E minor/A♭ major/E major, D 566/506
D♭ major, D 567/568
E♭ major, D 568, Op.122
F♯ minor, D 571/570/604
B major, D 575, Op.147
C major, D 613/600/610/612
F minor/D♭ major, D 625/505
C♯ minor, D 655
A major, D 664, Op.120
E minor, D 769A
A minor, D 784, Op.143
C major "Reliquie", D 840
A minor, D 845, Op.42
D major "Gasteiner", D 850, Op.53
G major "Fantasy", D 894, Op.78
C minor, D 958
A major, D 959
B♭ major, D 960

Other

Variation No. 38 on a waltz by Diabelli, D 718
Wanderer Fantasy, D 760
34 Valses Sentimentales, D 779, Op.50
12 Valses Nobles, D 969, Op.77
6 Moments musicaux, D 780, Op.94
Allegretto in C minor, D 915
4 Impromptus, D 899, Op.90
4 Impromptus, D 935, Op.142
3 Impromptus "Klavierstücke", D 946

Piano
four hands

Sonata in B♭ major, D 617, Op.30
3 Marches Militaires, D 733, Op.51
Sonata in C major "Grand Duo", D 812, Op.140
Fantasia in F minor, D 940, Op.103

Other
sonatas

violin and piano	Sonat(in)as D 384, 385 and 408, Op.137 Sonata in A major "(Grand) Duo", D 574, Op.162
arpeggione and piano	Sonata in A minor "Arpeggione", D 821
piano trio	Sonatensatz in B♭ major, D 28