Johann Schobert (1720? 1735? – to 1767): Sonata in d minor

1) Allegro assai 00:00 2) Andante: 7:56 3) Presto: 14:25 We know precious little about the life of this excellent composer; not even the year of his birth is certain. Some place it as early as 1720, others, at 1735.. However, it is thought that it was in the late 1750s or early 1760s that he made his way from his native Germany to Paris, where he eventually was given a job at the court of King Louis XV as a harpsichordist and pianist. He soon become known as a master of composition. He married a French woman, and they had several children: life seemed rosy indeed for Johann! But alas, their happiness was not to last long. One fine day, he, his wife and one of their children went out to find and pick some mushrooms. They gathered a nice bunch, which looked delicious enough. But just to be sure, they took them to a chef and asked him whether they were safe to eat. The chef told them no: they were indeed poisonous. What a pity! So much work for nothing. But then, they invited a friend of theirs over, who happened to be a doctor. That learned physician saw the mushrooms, and assured them that the chef had been wrong: they were indeed safe to eat. Great! Madame Schobert went about making a nice soup with the mushrooms, and a few other ingredients. Then she, her husband, their friend the doctor and one of their children sat down to enjoy a fine meal. But… yes, you guessed it. As so often happens even today, you can’t trust what doctors say (Remember a couple of months ago, when they told us masks didn’t protect you at all from coronavirus?). In short: all four of them were poisoned, and died a most miserable death. Thus ended the short life of a composer whose talents were so great that even Mozart was inspired by his music when writing his own piano concertos. It is stories like that of the Schobert family that make me like mushrooms even less than I did before reading about their fate. Yet let us not be sad, but rather, let us marvel at the passionate intensity of this sonata in d minor, that shows clearly why Schobert’s talents were so highly praised at the French court! Huh? Are you kidding? You mean you still haven’t seen my books? Hurry on over to Amazon right now... 1) How to Memorize Music – A Practical Approach for Non-Geniuses https://amzn.to/2ElbmKp 2) How to overcome Stage Fright − The ultimate Guide for performing Musicians https://amzn.to/2ScII1J 3) Play it with Feeling! - Expressing Emotion in Musical Performance https://amzn.to/2Sf61bc All available at Amazon.com Please subscribe to my channel! P.S. You might want to join my Facebook Group: "The Digital Harpsichordist":   / 338047326812441