Josef Mazan

Yes. In his piano cycle Zwanzig Menuette, Op. 41 (1813), the Trio of Menuet No. 17 immediately caught my eye. It’s clearly a piece originally written for the guitar.  

The key of C major and the frequent pedal tones on the D, g, and b strings are proof of this. It is a traditional guitar idiom, known from the instructional works of Carulli, Carcassi, and others in Paris. Schubert further develops it with a pedal tone on the b string. Since this is a sensitive tone, it would be compositionally unsuitable in C major. That’s why the trio shifts to d minor here, where a pedal on the sixth degree is acceptable.

However, the first 18 bars of the Minuet, to which the Trio belongs, are a different matter. Here, the writing is more pianistic. While it is playable on the guitar, it is significantly more technically demanding. He transcribed it for guitar with minor adjustments:“

From this, I would conclude that although there’a a proof Schubert played the guitar and composed for it, his technical level was rather low. It is therefore likely that he only engaged with the guitar up to the cartain limits, and it can be assumed that around 1812 he replaced it with the piano. The piano is more suitable for his compositional style, which provides much more harmonic freedom.

There’s also Quartet for flute, guitar, viola, and cello, dated February 26, 1814, which was found in Schubert’s own handwriting. It was arranged by, at the time, eighteen-year-old composer from a Trio by Václav Matějka. The reason for this arrangement was likely domestic concerts held at the Schubert household. Schubert’s father was an excellent cellist, and perhaps that’s why Schubert added a cello part to the Trio. We can presume that Schubert himself played the guitar part. This assumption is further supported by the fact that he owned two guitars, which were found among his possessions. However, musicologists were hesitant to acknowledge that Schubert actually played them. It has been suggested that the guitars belonged to his brother. But now we have evidence confirming Schubert’s love for our six-stringed instrument.

It is, however, a fact that by 1812 the guitar was already getting out of favour. Paganini, who played the guitar, composed for it, and always took it with him on his travels, also kept his playing it hidden from the public. At the time, the guitar was all too often considered an instrument of musical amateurs.

In conclusion, I would like to clarify why I undertook the analysis of Schubert’s compositions. It was in order to write Five Dances in his style. As an example, I am including the fourth movement of the cycle, Minuet & Trio.