Piano Sonata in A-flat major, D 557 (Schubert)

Franz Schubert's Piano Sonata in A-flat major D 557 was composed in May 1817.

Movements
The work is relatively short and a performance takes somewhat between 10 and 15 minutes. The sonata is cheerful and uncomplicated, and carries remembrances of Mozart and the Baroque era.


 * I. Allegro moderato : A-flat major
 * The beginning resembles the opening of the menuetto, D. 380, Nr. 3.


 * II. Andante : E-flat major
 * III. Allegro : E-flat major
 * This movement has a dance-like character.

The fact that the last movement is in the key of E-flat major rather than the tonic key of A-flat major is evidence in favor of Schubert possibly intending to add a fourth movement, although the extant third movement has much of the character of a finale. At the time this was written it was quite unusual to end a composition in another key than its tonic, however Schubert did do this in some of his early works, e.g. D. 553 ("Auf der Donau", beginning in E-flat major and ending in F-sharp minor).

Score
The sonata was first published in 1888, in the Breitkopf & Härtel complete edition.

The autograph of the sonata, dated May 1817, is incomplete — it stops at the 28th measure of the third movement, but there is a contemporary complete manuscript.
 * Manuscripts

D. 557 was first published in 1888 as No. 3 of the Piano Sonatas volume (Series X) of the Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe.
 * First publication — Alte Gesammtausgabe (AGA)

Both Paul Badura-Skoda (Henle) and Martino Tirimo (Wiener Urtext) published an Urtext edition in 1997.
 * Urtext Editions

In the New Schubert Edition D. 557 is given in VII/2/1.
 * Neue Schubert-Ausgabe (NSA)