What is an arpeggione Sonata?
The arpeggione was invented in 1823 by instrument maker Johann Georg Stauffer in Vienna. It is fretted, has six strings and is tuned like a guitar, but played with a bow like a cello or gamba. Today Schubert’s sonata has become part of the traditional cello and viola repertoire, with a few octave adjustments.
What does the word arpeggione mean?
: a cellolike bowed instrument of the early 19th century having frets and drone strings.
What does an arpeggione look like?
The arpeggione is a six-stringed musical instrument fretted and tuned like a guitar, but with a curved bridge so it can be bowed like a cello, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba. The body shape of the arpeggione is, however, more similar to a medieval fiddle than either the guitar or the bass viol.
Did Schubert play guitar?
Firstly, some words on the Viennese composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) himself. The myth of Schubert’s being a guitarist at its most persistent, most colourful and ultimately, silliest, is that he was inclined to play the instrument in bed in the morning to help him write his songs.
Why is piano called pianoforte?
Etymology and usage. “Fortepiano” is Italian for “loud-soft”, just as the formal name for the modern piano, “pianoforte”, is “soft-loud”. Both are abbreviations of Cristofori’s original name for his invention: gravicembalo col piano e forte, “harpsichord with soft and loud”.
Why are there 88 keys on a piano?
So, why do pianos have 88 keys? Pianos have 88 keys because composers wanted to expand the range of their music. Adding more piano keys removed the limits on what kind of music could be performed on the instrument. 88 keys have been the standard since Steinway built theirs in the 1880s.
When did Franz Schubert write the Arpeggione Sonata?
Arpeggione Sonata. The Sonata in A minor for Arpeggione and Piano, D. 821, was written by Franz Schubert in Vienna in November 1824.
Are there any transcriptions of the Arpeggione Sonata?
The instructional manual on playing the arpeggione, written by Schuster, was also published at that time. Transcriptions of the sonata exist for many instruments (by the time of the sonata’s publication the instrument was already in decline and transcriptions ensured the work’s survival), including the cello, flute and string bass.
Who was the inventor of the arpeggione guitar?
The Arpeggione (also known as the “Guitarre d’amour”) was a bowed instrument with six strings somewhat between a guitar and a cello invented by the Viennese guitar-maker Johann Georg Stauffer (1778-1853) in either 1821 or 1823. It became obsolete after about 10 years, long before Schubert’s sonata was even published.
When did Franz Schubert write the String Quartet in a minor?
In early 1824 he wrote the String Quartet No. 13 in A minor, D 804 (also subtitled Rosamunde ). The sonata exhibits many similarities with both the D 784 and D 804 works, including the exploration of A-minor/A-major chromatic mediant relationships as well as treatment of thematic development.