Arpeggione Sonata in A Minor

Imagine an instrument shaped and tuned like a six-string guitar, with a fretted neck like a bass viol, played between the knees and bowed like a cello. Such hybrids rarely live for long, and this instrument, invented in 1823 and known as the arpeggione, is now remembered by the only major work composed for it: Schubert’s Arpeggione Sonata of November 1824. A handful of arpeggiones survive but the sonata is now almost invariably played in adaptations for cello or viola. Its three movements last in total around 25 minutes and achieve a depth of emotional resonance that is perhaps startling for a work of such intimacy and ephemerality. The opening movement exploits the contrast between a plaintive theme and more optimistic, energetic music; the central “Adagio” unfurls a rapturous melody reminiscent of the slow movement of Beethoven’s Second Symphony; and the cheerful rondo finale offers the player every opportunity to show off the technical opportunities offered by this unusual instrument.