This recent instalment in Bärenreiter’s Schubert Urtext Series presents three Fantasies for solo piano: the Fantasy in C minor (D. 2e) from 1811, the ‘Graz’ Fantasy in C major (D. 605a), presumably composed in 1818, and the celebrated ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy in C major, Op. 15 (D. 760) from 1822. All were issued separately by Bärenreiter in the 1970s and 1980s, either as stand-alone performer editions (BA 19101 and BA 5640), or in cloth-bound New Schubert Edition volumes (Klavierstücke I, ser. VII/2,4, and Klavierstücke II, ser. VII/2,5), on which the current edition is based. Here the three works appear together for the first time. As the New Schubert Edition enters its sixth decade, this important offering embodies the formidable endeavour of the NSE and its parent organization, the International Schubert Society.

The ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy needs no introduction. Published in 1823, Schubert’s first major instrumental work received immediate public recognition, and it has continued to occupy a central place in his oeuvre. In contrast, the other two fantasies were not discovered until the 1960s, and they have remained somewhat obscure. Based on musical content alone, one would be hard put to ascribe either one to Schubert: the juvenile Fantasy in C minor pays homage to Mozart’s Fantasy K 475, while the florid ‘Graz’ Fantasy evokes the flamboyance of Hummel or Weber. Nevertheless, contemporaneous works by Schubert reveal similar stylistic traits, and in both works he is clearly searching for structural cohesion, notwithstanding the freedom implied in the genre (in D. 2e he uses a basic variation device, while in the ‘Graz’ Fantasy he invents a novel evolving-refrain technique).Footnote ¹ The authenticity of the two works has by now been universally accepted, and their inclusion in the volume serves to contextualize the remarkable structural achievement of the ‘Wanderer’.

Schubert’s engagement with the fantasy genre is discussed in the insightful Preface by Walther Dürr, the eminent Schubert scholar who served as the NSE’s managing editor from its inception to 1997 (he continues to serve on the editorial board and as volume editor). Dürr was intimately involved in the vetting of the ‘Graz’ Fantasy, and his preface to the first edition of the work, published in 1971, still is relevant to those who study it.Footnote ² Here he more generally outlines the structural approaches Schubert uses in his fantasies, as well as the interchangeability of fantasy and sonata ideas in the composer’s later works (pp. xi–xii). This will prove illuminating as regards not only the ‘Wanderer’, but also the Fantasy in C for violin and piano, D. 934, and the Fantasy in F minor for piano four-hands, D. 940, Schubert’s final masterworks in the genre. The substantial single-movement works paved the way towards two important 19^th century structural devices, thematic transformation and cyclical architecture. As Dürr shows, the seeds were sown early.

In and of itself, the musical material in the volume contains no surprises. The sources consulted have not changed: they include the autographs for the Fantasies D. 2e and D. 760 (for the latter there is also a composer-supervised first edition), and only a copyist’s manuscript for D. 605a. The new Bärenreiter scores appear identical to their original versions, with one small exception in the ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy, the left-hand notes of bars 124–125. While the new edition presents simple A-flat major arpeggiation against the right-hand’s descending appoggiaturas, the earlier edition contained elegantly-altered figuration in the last crotchet of each measure, avoiding a fleeting dissonance with the concurrent right-hand harmony. This is consistent with the left-hand arpeggiation in bars 126–127, and is also the version found in Henle’s and Wiener Urtext’s scores (as well as Peters’ and Dover’s, which were based on the nineteenth-century Breitkopf & Härtel edition). However, no explanation is given for this change in the Bärenreiter score, nor elsewhere in the volume.

Thanks to the generous new engraving of the ‘Graz’ Fantasy (19 pages instead of 18) and the ‘Wanderer’ (33 instead of 26), the visual appearance of the scores has greatly improved. They are less cluttered and easier on the eye, making for more page-turns, but allowing ample space for notes. Also new and welcome is the accompanying textual material by Dürr and by Mario Aschauer. It offers valuable information on editorial and performance practice conundrums, bringing home the point that there always is room for debate.

Following his Preface, in the Notes on the Edition (pp. xii–xiii) Dürr discusses NSE guidelines for interpreting Schubert’s notational practices. Schubert’s appoggiaturas, for instance, do not tell us much about their intended placement – on or before the beat – and duration – long or short. In the Andantino section of the Fantasy D. 2e (bars 17–63), he uses both demisemiquaver upbeats and semiquaver grace-notes, often in proximity. Dürr writes that ‘ … Schubert was unsure of the exact note-value of the short written-out appoggiaturas … All the appoggiaturas are evidently meant to be played as 32nds before the beat’ (Critical Commentary, p. 61).

Mario Aschauer acknowledges a different opinion, suggesting these are to be played ‘on the beat’ according to the practice of the period (see pp. xvi–xvii and Aschauer’s fn 23). Aschauer writes that ‘this manner of executing appoggiatura notes is also implied by Schubert’s precise distinction between appoggiaturas and written-out upbeats’. The truth may lie somewhere in the middle: the melodic line does not always allow ‘room’ for a demisemiquaver upbeat, and Schubert simply had to resort to differing notations. Therefore some ‘on-beat’ appoggiaturae may indeed be de rigueur in the right context.

Another trait Dürr brings up is Schubert’s apparent distinction between ritardando (become slower), decrescendo (become softer), and diminuendo (become both slower and softer). Whereas diminuendo is normally assumed to refer only to volume reduction, this re-interpretation of the term allows for a more elastic execution of complex transitions, especially in D. 605a (see the diminuendos in bars 26–27, 34–35, 52–53, 101, 158, etc.). In D. 760 there are fewer instances of this instruction (see bars 200, 214, 483), though many transitions still require flexibility in order to satisfy musically. One could argue that the transitions in D. 760 are more organic and self-evident, obviating the need for an explicit rubato. And, as Dürr notes, Schubert’s notation was evolving at the time.

Schubert’s most puzzling notation is his accent mark, described by Dürr as being often ‘so long as to be almost indistinguishable from decrescendo hairpins’ (p. xiii). Dürr writes that ‘Accent marks and decrescendo hairpins apparently meant much the same thing to Schubert: an accent followed by a sudden or gradual decrescendo’. He goes on to say that Schubert writes de-cre-scen-do explicitly when he wants to ‘prevent a decrescendo from being equated with an accent’ (p. xiii). In other words, Schubert’s accent marks denote the locus of the event, not the length of its execution. Indeed, Dürr writes, ‘ … The length of the accent mark depends on its duration: it is longer when related to a half-note than to a quarter-note, and can even emphasize several notes in succession’ (p. xiii).

When it comes to dynamic swells, the notation adopted by the NSE, initially appears counterintuitive. In earlier editions such as Henle’s,Footnote ³ one usually sees a decrescendo in the second half of bars 190 and 191 of the ‘Wanderer’s Adagio, for instance. The symmetrical may seem more descriptively ‘correct’ than Dürr’s lopsided notation, but bearing in mind his remarks, the Bärenreiter edition’s notation is logical. It differentiates more poignantly between sforzandi and accent marks, while recognizing the acoustical inevitability of sound decay (naturally, this decay was much faster for the fortepiano). From experience, I can say that this notation encourages the performer to play a more active role in determining the shape of each phrase.

Along with the absence of fingerings (welcomed by me) and the editor’s assumed prerogative to correct minor inconsistencies, a distinct look has been created by the NSE and Bärenreiter. This is a tastefully streamlined Urtext, advantageous for students and for those who prefer a more consistent appearance. For the inquisitive pianist much is still left open to interpretation, as it should be.

In the edition’s final essay, ‘Notes on Performance Practice’, Aschauer offers comments on Schubert’s own playing style and on additional interpretive topics such as pedalling, articulation, embellishments and tempo. Schubert, not surprisingly, valued a singing pianism over the choppy, aggressive style that was then becoming increasingly popular. Though he left no specific pedal markings in the fantasies, contemporary sources show that the pedal was commonly used on long passages, rather than on isolated notes. This fact may justify the judicious use of the pedal in left-hand accompaniment passages, where staccato bass-notes are separated by florid arpeggiation (relevant for many phrases in the ‘Wanderer’). As Aschauer writes, ‘In such cases, even articulation marks do not preclude the use of the pedal’ (p. xv), though such pedalling should never interfere with harmonic and linear clarity. Aschauer’s final tempo suggestion for D. 605a (based on a contemporary Polonaise’s metronome mark) is very useful.

A close reading of Aschauer’s essay surely will have an effect on the decision-making process of the performer. So will Dürr’s Critical Commentary, located in the end matter, where brief notes are provided for specific controversial instances. A comprehensive discussion can be found in the separately published Critical Commentaries (in German only, not consulted for this review). For those wishing to dig even further, two other Urtext scores are still available for the ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy, by Henle and by Wiener Urtext (also dating back to 1970s). Both offer alternatives in a number of cases, though in actual performance the differences may be discernible only to musicians deeply familiar with the works.

Alongside the volume under review, Bärenreiter has issued the ‘Wanderer’ Fantasy as a separate volume (BA 10870), with adjusted versions of front and back essays. The new single version offers much by way of background material, although I find the new compilation to be well worth the investment, for the intrinsic value of the two earlier works, and for the light they shed on Schubert’s creative process leading up to the ‘Wanderer’. Dürr and Goldberger present as faithful a rendition of Schubert’s intention as can be hoped for; it is now up to us, performers and scholars, to bring the elusive beauty of his art to life.