Chapter 2 – Purpose of the Thesis

The musicologist Lorenzo Bianconi has written: “the word repertory carries with it, indelibly, the mark of its own etymological root, reperire. This etymology implies the act of seeking in order to find.” The purpose of this thesis is precisely to encourage the attentive search for works capable of expanding the customary repertory by exploring a broader range of musical literature: there exists a considerable body of little‑known music whose quality is unjustly underestimated, and within which one may discover unexpected masterpieces—beauty previously unknown.

During my course of study, I had the opportunity to approach early keyboard instruments and thus learned of the existence of a vast repertory scarcely explored within the pianistic field. Although much attention is now devoted to historically informed performance practice, I believe it is equally important to broaden repertorial choices by rediscovering and giving proper visibility to works and composers who are seldom performed. This applies to early music as much as to Romantic or contemporary repertoire.

In this thesis, I have chosen to present, analyse, and reconstruct the history of several works which, though in different ways, may be considered neglected: Beethoven’s Andante favori, WoO 57, and the 32 Variations, WoO 80; and Schubert’s Adagio, D 178, and the Sonata, D 571, both unfinished. The two works by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1826) clearly illustrate how compositions may undergo very different destinies. The Andante favori belongs to a category of pieces that, despite enjoying immediate success, were gradually set aside and overshadowed by the growing fame of works that later became more celebrated. The 32 Variations, on the contrary, were initially judged quite negatively by the composer himself, yet over the centuries they have been re‑evaluated and have entered the permanent repertory of major performers.

The two fragmentary compositions by Franz Schubert (1797–1828) represent, instead, the obscurity to which most incomplete works are consigned—silent and unnoticed over time, often mute masterpieces.