Wanderer Fantasy in C major, D. 760

This is the piece Schubert reportedly said 'let the devil himself play the stuff' about, because he found it too difficult to perform himself. It opens with a driving, syncopated theme in C major and builds through four connected sections played without pause, each one growing from the same short rhythmic cell. The central slow movement is a set of variations on a melody from Schubert's own song 'Der Wanderer', and it is from this borrowed tune that the whole work takes its name and its unifying material.

What to listen for

Notice how each of the four movements flows directly into the next without a break or full cadential stop. In the finale, the opening theme returns but is now treated as a fugue subject, with voices entering in strict imitation before the texture breaks apart into cascading block chords and octaves that drive the piece to a forceful close in C major.

Recommended rendition

Maurizio Pollini's recording for Deutsche Grammophon has been frequently cited for its clarity of architecture and unflinching precision in the most technically demanding passages.

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