Impromptu, D. 899 No. 3

1. 0:01
   Opening melody over broken chords

   The melody holds B♭ while broken chords turn beneath it. Lower still, the bass moves more slowly. One pianist plays melody, accompaniment and bass line together.

2. 1:38
   E♭ minor passage, bars 25–⁠28

   The music moves to E♭ minor. The B♭s in the melody now carry accents, and the bass adds rising triplets: E♭–F–G♭, then G♭–A♭–B♭.

3. 2:20
   First publication in G major, 1857

   When this Impromptu was first published in 1857, twenty-nine years after Schubert’s death, the publisher transposed it from G♭ major to G major. It is played here in the original six-flat key.

4. 3:08
   G♮ in the accompaniment

   G♮ replaces G♭ beneath the melody’s B♭, turning E♭ minor towards E♭ major. The broken chords continue.

5. 3:39
   Return of the opening theme

   After the fermata, C♭ in the melody falls to B♭ and the bass rises from F to G♭. The opening melody returns, pianissimo, over the broken chords of the opening.

6. 4:10
   Impromptus and Winterreise, 1827

   Schubert composed both sets of Impromptus in 1827, the year of Winterreise. He set the first twelve of Müller’s poems in February and the second twelve in October.

7. 4:40
   Chromatic inflection in the returning melody

   In bars 70–⁠72 the returning melody rises from C♭ through D♭ to D♮, then falls from E♭ to E double-flat. The triplets continue underneath.

8. 5:00
   Falling bass in the coda

   In bars 75–⁠77 the melody stays close to G♭ while the bass descends through E double-flat and D♭ to C♭. Beneath the sustained note the harmony is C♭ minor (C♭–E double-flat–G♭).

9. 5:43
   Final cadence, bars 85–⁠86

   The melody thickens into chords. Below it the broken-chord triplets make their last descent and stop. The final G♭ major chord is held under a fermata.

Joins

1. 1:38
   D♮ leads to E♭ minor

   Near the end of bar 24, D♭ becomes D♮ inside the broken chords, and the bass moves from G♭ to F. Bar 25 reaches E♭ minor. B♭ in the melody carries an accent, and the bass begins to climb in triplets beneath it.

2. 3:39
   Fermata on the dominant seventh before the return

   A D♭ dominant seventh is held over F in the bass under a fermata. At the return, the melody’s C♭ falls to B♭ and the bass rises from F to G♭. The opening tune and its broken chords resume pianissimo.

3. 5:00
   Descending bass into the coda

   In bars 74–⁠76 the bass descends from G♭ through F♭, E double-flat and D♭ towards C♭, while the melody above stays close to G♭. As the coda begins, the broken chords introduce C♭ minor, with E double-flat beneath.