Schubert committed

Schubert's Piano Sonata in C major D 840, the so-called "Reliquie" - the nickname gives it away - is a torso; the third and fourth movements remained unfinished. Various musicians have made additions over the course of time. The majority, such as Paul Badura-Skoda, tried to stick stylistically very close to the model. Others, such as Christoph Delz, deliberately added an alienated new version to the fragment.

Bernhard Billeter's latest version achieves something that has been missing until now. Billeter always remains committed to Schubert's model, but nevertheless dares to create a few formal and harmonic surprises, which really bring such a stylistic exercise to life. These include the "tonal timetable" in the minuet and the wonderful reminiscence of the first movement in the coda of the rondo. Billeter's comments on performance practice, which he also puts into practice on the accompanying CD, are also very revealing. A small detail in passing: in bars 489/490 at the very end of the rondo, the left hand apparently plays quavers and not crotchets according to the CD, undoubtedly the even more elegant variant.

One question remains: Why did Schubert leave this sonata unfinished? Did the thematic material of the third and fourth movements no longer appeal to him for further work? He was able to publish a sonata that was written almost simultaneously and is related in many ways, the one in A minor D 845, as the first, complete of course.