Piano Sonata f minor op. 14 (Concerto without Orchestra), Early and late version

As is the case with quite a few of his works, there are two versions of Schumann’s opus 14 – a three-movement “Concert sans Orchestre” from 1836 and a “Grande Sonate” in five movements from 1853. We do not know the reason for the revision; the publisher of the first version was, however, delighted; he considered the “idea of the concerto” to be very up-to-date. Perhaps Schumann later reacted to what the dedicatee Ignaz Moscheles had said that the piece had “less of the demands of a concerto and more the characteristics of a grand sonata”. In our revised edition, which now also contains the complete early version, the editor Ernst Herttrich provides detailed information on both versions in an extensive preface and commentary.