Schubert Impromptu Op 90 No 2 Harmonic Analysis File

The A section is a flowing stream of triplets in the right hand over a steady bass. Harmonically, it establishes the home key but immediately begins to destabilize it.

The Opening (Measures 1–8):

The First Large-Scale Shift (Measures 8–20):

The Return:

Before diving into specific chords, we must understand the layout. The piece is structured as a Rounded Binary Form (A-B-A’) , though it also carries the DNA of a miniature sonata form without a development section. schubert impromptu op 90 no 2 harmonic analysis

The harmonic genius lies not in the return to the tonic, but in the way Schubert leaves it and the path he takes to return.

| Feature | Example in the Piece | Effect | |---------|----------------------|--------| | Third-related modulations | Eb → Cm → Ab → Fm | Smooth but unexpected key changes | | Enharmonic respelling | Eb major to B minor (Eb = D#) | Sudden, dramatic contrast | | Neapolitan sixth chord | Fb major (spelled Fb-Ab-Cb) in bars 55 & 185 | Chromatic color, expressive tension | | Augmented sixth chords | German (bar 14) and French (bar 105) | Intense dominant preparation | | Chromatic mediants | Eb to G major (bar 33) | Romantic, lush sound | | Abrupt juxtaposition | End of B section (F# major) to A’ section (Eb major) | Disorienting, magical return |

The piece begins innocently enough in E-flat major. The left hand establishes a simple I-V-I pattern (E-flat major – B-flat major – E-flat major). The right hand’s theme (a rising arpeggio from G to C) is pure diatonic comfort.

Bar 9 – The First Wrinkle: Just as we settle, Schubert introduces a German Augmented 6th chord (often spelled Fr+6 in German theory, but functionally an Augmented 6th resolving to V). In bar 9, beat 3, we get an A-flat, C, E-flat, F-sharp. This chord yearns desperately for the dominant (B-flat). It resolves beautifully in bar 10, but the damage is done: we now know this piece will not be harmonically static. The A section is a flowing stream of

The Transition (Bars 15-20): Schubert modulates from E-flat major to its dominant, B-flat major, via a standard pivot chord (E-flat acting as IV in B-flat). This is classical procedure. But the second theme (bar 21) is where things get strange.

The False Major (Bar 21): The new theme arrives in B-flat major – except it isn’t happy. The melody uses the flattened 7th (A-flat), hinting at the mixolydian mode. Harmonically, Schubert immediately tonicizes G minor (the relative minor of B-flat) via a G minor harmony in bar 23. We are drifting.

The Chromatic Descent (Bars 36-44): This is the most astonishing moment in Section A. The right hand plays a descending chromatic scale, but Schubert harmonizes it with a chain of diminished seventh chords. He cycles through:

This is pure harmonic color for its own sake. The listener feels unmoored. Finally, a F minor 7 chord (bar 42) pivots us back to the dominant of E-flat (B-flat major) for the return of the opening idea. The effect is like waking from a dream within a dream. The First Large-Scale Shift (Measures 8–20):

The opening melody is famous for its harmonic ambiguity. While the key signature is E-flat Major (3 flats), the music vacillates constantly between major and minor.

Our harmonic analysis would be incomplete without mentioning Schubert’s favorite structural device: the suspension or appoggiatura. Almost every downbeat in Section A features a non-chord tone that resolves down by a half step (e.g., F against an E-flat chord, resolving to E-flat; or A-flat against a G minor chord, resolving to G). This creates a constant “sighing” or “yearning” quality.

In Section B, these appoggiaturas become frozen into the harmony itself. The B minor chord is often played with an added C-natural (the flattened ninth), turning it into a half-diminished quality, which is essentially a structural appoggiatura on a massive scale.