Franz Schubert’s sonata #13 is the most direct and economical of the Schubert sonatas; it surely is one of the most endearing.
The first movement’s main theme, although tailor-made for the keyboard, is another of those countless Schubert melodies that could be set to words. Schubert ends the movement with a six-measure coda that reflects on the main theme with simple, sighing poignance.
The slow movement is a model of concentrated expressiveness. Built on but a single melodic idea appearing at times in uneven phrase lengths, the music unfolds with the miraculous variety of the changes of harmony, rhythm, and accompaniment.
The last movement is a charming whirlwind. There’s a lot of dance here, especially in the second theme’s rhythmic style. There is also plenty of finely tuned bravura that is neither unmotivated nor excessive. The Sonata’s balances are, in fact, so wonderfully gauged and the materials so appealing, one is tempted to label this Sonata “The Perfect one”
Here is Sviatoslav Richter:
