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Cyclicism and Narrative in Schubert's Wanderer-Fantasy: A Pianist's Journey from Analysis to Performance

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Cyclicism and Narrative in Schubert's Wanderer-Fantasy: A Pianist's Journey from Analysis to Performance

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This portfolio presents the progress of my research paper that focusing on Schubert’s Wanderer Fantasy (D. 760). At the core of my work is an exploration of the piece’s distinctive cyclical structure and its rich narrative qualities. I aim to bridge theoretical analysis with practical piano performance, seeking a deeper understanding of how these elements inform and enhance one another. Through this portfolio, I hope to receive constructive feedback that will help refine my work in preparation for the final submission.

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Susan Wollenberg (Schubert’s Fingerprints: Studies in the Instrumental Works, 2005)

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Susan Wollenberg (Schubert’s Fingerprints: Studies in the Instrumental Works, 2005)

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This book offers a foundational framework for analyzing cyclical unity in Schubert’s instrumental music. Her work emphasizes how thematic transformation and tonal relationships contribute to an internal coherence across movements. This analytical approach has been particularly valuable in guiding my research paper of how the "Wanderer" theme evolves throughout the four movements of the Wanderer Fantasy, while retaining its core identity.

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Richard Kramer (Distant Cycles: Schubert and the Conceiving of Song, 1994)

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Richard Kramer (Distant Cycles: Schubert and the Conceiving of Song, 1994)

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This book explores how Schubert brought song-like elements into his instrumental music. This idea is especially helpful in understanding the Wanderer Fantasy, which is based on his earlier song “Der Wanderer.” Kramer’s insights have shaped the way I approach the piece in performance, encouraging me to bring out its storytelling nature and lyrical qualities. His work helped me think about how to connect vocal expression and piano playing in a more meaningful way.

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Lorraine Byrne Bodley (Ed.) (Schubert’s Late Music: History, Theory, Style, 2008)

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Lorraine Byrne Bodley (Ed.) (Schubert’s Late Music: History, Theory, Style, 2008)

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This book offers important historical and aesthetic context for understanding Schubert’s music. The book places his work at the crossroads of Classicism and Romanticism. This perspective has been very helpful in thinking about the Wanderer Fantasy as a bold and innovative piece that breaks away from traditional forms. It also guided me in shaping my performance to reflect the shift in style and musical thinking that Schubert represents.

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Alfred Brendel ｜ Schubert‘s Wanderer-Fantasy

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Brendel's thoughtful commentary aligns with my analytical focus—he emphasizes the piece’s structural cycles and narrative flow. Watching his performance can deepen my understanding of how theoretical ideas translate into dynamic, expressive piano playing.

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Alfred Brendel plays Schubert 1 - "Wanderer" Fantasy, Piano Sonatas D784 & D840

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Evgeny Kissin｜Schubert: Wander Fantasy in C major, D 760

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Evgeny Kissin’s performance offers a vivid, emotionally charged interpretation of the Wanderer Fantasy, highlighting its dramatic contrasts and lyrical depth. His emphasis on tonal color, pacing, and seamless transitions deepens my understanding of how the work’s formal innovation and cyclical structure can be shaped in performance. This supports my research by showing how expressive choices can bring out the music’s underlying unity and narrative.

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Evgeny Kissin - Schubert - Wander Fantasy in C major, D 760

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Seong Jin Cho｜ Schubert : Wanderer Fantasy in C major

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Seong-Jin Cho’s performance focuses on refined tone control and clear motivic presentation, balancing technical precision with elegant flow. Unlike more structurally or emotionally driven interpretations, his approach emphasizes stylistic clarity and subtle expression. This supports my research by showing how Schubert’s cyclical structure and aesthetic can be conveyed through a more modern and nuanced performance style.

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Seong-jin Cho - Schubert : Wanderer Fantasy in C major

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These three performances offer distinct insights for my research: Brendel highlights structural logic, Kissin emphasizes emotional narrative, and Cho focuses on clarity and stylistic balance. Together, they show how different interpretive choices can express Schubert’s cyclical form and musical storytelling in varied yet meaningful ways.

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Original Song: Der Wandere, D. 489 [formaly D.493] (1816)

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Original Song: Der Wandere, D. 489 [formaly D.493] (1816)

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Schubert uses the first eight bars of Der Wanderer as the central theme around which the Wanderer Fantasy is constructed.

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Schubert: "Der Wanderer", D. 493  Fischer-Dieskau, Moore

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This video offers a clear, score-based analysis of the Wanderer Fantasy, focusing on motivic development, harmonic progression, and formal structure. It helps my research by visually tracing the “Wanderer” theme across all movements, illustrating how Schubert achieves thematic unity and emotional continuity through modulation and transformation. This supports both my structural analysis and emotional arc mapping.

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Schubert's 'Wanderer' Fantasy - Analysis

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This video emphasizes how Schubert integrates contrasting musical forms—such as variation, scherzo, and fugue—into a continuous structure. Its focus on formal innovation and transitions between sections helps my research by offering insight into how Schubert blurs traditional movement boundaries, which supports my analysis of the Fantasy’s hybrid form and large-scale coherence.

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Technical Challenge Analysis and Practice Strategies

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Technical Challenge Analysis and Practice Strategies

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The technical challenges that I face are rapid octaves, wide leaps, high-energy endurance and complex textures. To address these, I’ve developed focused strategies tailored to specific challenges, based on my hands-on practice experience.

For rapid octaves (particularly in the 1st and 4th movements), I rely on slow, segmented practice combined with rhythmic variation exercises. I pay attention to keep my muscles relaxed and avoid locked fingers or stiff joints to ensure fluid motion and stamina.

In the second movement’s running notes, it’s easy to lose finger control or break the line, especially near the cadenza, where the left-hand accompaniment must remain fast but light. To fix this, I practice with tempo flexibility, slow drills, and even-tone control. I reduce wrist motion and focus more on finger strength to bring out the melody cleanly.

Wide leaps in the third movement, often following arpeggiated passages, require a strong sense of spatial distance and coordination between both hands. I dedicate time to accuracy drills and muscle memory development for quick, controlled jumps.

The fourth movement demands the highest energy, with relentless octaves, arpeggios, and running figures. To manage this, I plan my energy distribution across sections carefully and work on finger stamina through endurance-based repetition, ensuring I can maintain clarity and control without exhausting tension.

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Engaging with Perusall deepened my understanding of how academic thinking enhances music performance. I used to focus solely on practice, but I now see how research and writing enrich interpretation and connect me more deeply to the music’s meaning.

Through discussions, I was introduced to concepts like practice-as-research and the importance of decolonizing the curriculum. I gained a broader view of music education and began to question the traditional separation between performance and analysis.

I also explored how rhythm affects physical performance, and how digital tools—once seen as less “authentic”—can be powerful, emotional extensions of human creativity.

Overall, Perusall became a space for discovering new ideas, reflecting critically, and seeing connections between theory, practice, and everyday thinking.

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Franz Schubert ｜Wanderer Fantasy in C major, D. 760, Op. 15

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Franz Schubert ｜Wanderer Fantasy in C major, D. 760, Op. 15

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Through personal practice, I will experiment with various interpretive approaches in Schubert’s Wanderer-Fantasie, focusing on touch, pedaling, tempo, and phrasing.

In the first movement (Allegro), during the main theme, I use a precise pedaling strategy—only applying pedal on the first and third beats of each bar. This approach preserves the rhythmic sharpness and prevents harmonic over-blending, highlighting the driving dotted rhythms and chordal clarity. I will pair this with a firm, non-legato touch to maintain energy and articulation.

In contrast, for the lyrical second theme (around bar 44), I will adopt a smoother legato touch and introduce half-pedaling to support the cantabile phrasing while controlling resonance. The shift in touch and pedal helps contrast the martial character of the opening with the more introspective secondary material.

In the second movement (Adagio), particularly around bars 10–16, I will apply flutter pedal to retain harmonic richness without clouding the bass textures.

In the third movement (Presto), clean articulation and minimal pedaling will be essential for clarity in rapid passages. I only applying pedal from first beat and leave up on third beat.

Tempo relationships between movements will also be explored—for example, testing whether a proportional transition from the Adagio into the Scherzo (dotted quarter = quarter) enhances structural cohesion, or whether a contrast in tempo creates a more dramatic effect.

These performance experiments will be recorded and self-assessed, allowing me to evaluate how technical choices shape musical meaning. This cycle of experimentation and reflection will refine my interpretation and deepen my theoretical understanding of Schubert’s expressive intentions.

to be continue..