Schubert: Fantasia in F Minor, D.940

Schubert's magnificent Fantasia in F Minor, D.940, for piano four-hands, was composed in 1828, the last year of his life. The Fantasy is divided into four interconnected movements played without pause, like his 1822 masterpiece The Wanderer Fantasy, D.760, for piano solo. Schubert's innovative change from the separated movements of a sonata to interconnected movements played without pause, can be considered a stylistic bridge from the traditional sonata form to the essentially free-form tone poem.

Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) was an Austrian composer. He wrote over six hundred lieder (songs), nine symphonies (including the famous Unfinished Symphony), liturgical music, operas, some incidental music, numerous pieces of chamber music, and a large body of solo piano music.

Renowned for his magnificent melodies, he was perhaps even more proficient at creating music of extraordinary depth and emotional power. And despite his tragically short life, Franz Schubert is widely considered to be one of the greatest of all composers.