Découvrez la vidéo Schubert - Sonata D. 571 in F sharp minor (Alwin Bär completion) de MX Chan sur Le Fil YouTube de Piano Partage.

10 years ago, back in 2012, on the 29th of November, I decided to upload my very first piano video on Youtube. It was Chopin’s posthumous Nocturne in E minor. What a melancholic little gem of a Nocturne. A brooding, pensive darkness hangs over the whole piece, with only a few moments of peaceful tranquillity.

Fast forward 10 years, with 80 piano recordings on my channel, I’ve decided to celebrate this important milestone with another melancholic gem of a piece.

This hauntingly beautiful Schubert Sonata has a very special place in my heart. Back in 2012, I was in University at the time, and suffering through a period of depression. Mental energy and motivation was at an all-time low. As a desperate attempt to create some routine for studying I would drag myself to the Uni library with my laptop and my notes. But oh, the sweet temptations of Youtube! As one can imagine, on most days I would end up not getting much studying done.

It is no exaggeration to say that the beauty of music lifted me out of the darkness. During this time, I was fortunate enough to have discovered many pieces that resonated with me. One of the most memorable was the Schubert D.571 Unfinished sonata, as it was relatively obscure. It was hauntingly beautiful and I loved it instantly. But, alas, Schubert left it unfinished! Luckily, several pianists have taken up the task of writing ‘completions’ for this sonata (Tirimo, Geoffrey Saba, Bilson, to name a few). The one I resonated with the most was by Alwin Bär, a Dutch pianist (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJcDYkAHDOw). However, I couldn’t find the sheet music for this particular version anywhere. Therefore, I decided to make my own! I would slow the recording down to a snail’s pace and listen to it one bar at a time. So there I was, in the library during one of my ‘study’ sessions, headphones on, coffee by my side, painstakingly transcribing the sonata note by note. And eventually, in November 2012, I have the whole score completed.

And now after ten years, I’ve finally decided to polish it well enough for a proper recording. So here is my interpretation of this amazing sonata, with some of my own creative touches, as always! (Sheet music coming soon)

Thank you everyone for listening. Thank you for all the wonderful and encouraging comments over the past 10 years (and also surprised by the diversity of languages that pop up in the comments!). May we all survive another ten years together! May the future gift us with more beautiful music, and more discoveries of rare gems.

Help me keep my piano in tune! Donations are greatly appreciated: https://ko-fi.com/mxchan

Piano: Estonia L210 (2018)
Sound recording: Zoom H5
Reverb: Adobe Audition: Medium Concert Hall (Crisp)