Three Marches Militaires (Schubert)

The Three Marches Militaires, Op. 51, D. 733, are pieces in march form written for piano four-hands by Franz Schubert.

The first of the three is far more famous than the others. It is one of Schubert's most famous compositions, and it is often simply referred to as "Schubert's Marche militaire".

Background

It is not certain when the Marches militaires were written: many scholars favour 1818^[1]^[2] but some prefer alternative dates such as 1822 or 1824.^[3] It is known that they were written during Schubert's stay at Count Johann Karl Esterházy's summer home in Zseliz in Hungary (this is now Želiezovce in Slovakia). He had accepted a job there as music teacher to the Count's daughters, and these and similar works were written for instructional purposes.

The Marches militaires were published in Vienna on 7 August 1826, as Op. 51, by Anton Diabelli.^[4]

They are all in ternary form, with a central trio leading to a reprise of the main march.

March No. 1 in D major

Allegro vivace. The trio is in G major.
This march is one of Schubert's most famous melodies, and it has been arranged for full orchestra, military bands, and many different combinations of instruments.
It has been quoted in various other works, including Igor Stravinsky's Circus Polka, and even in Walt Disney's animated short Santa's Workshop.
Franz Liszt paraphrased March No. 1 for solo piano as Grand paraphrase de concert, S.426a.
Carl Tausig also wrote a version for solo piano, in D-flat major, which has been recorded by pianists such as Vladimir Horowitz, Evgeny Kissin, Josef Hofmann, Georges Cziffra, Alicia de Larrocha and Leopold Godowsky.^[5]
This march was used as theme music by the Autolite company to promote its products, notably in a 1940 promotional film produced by the Jam Handy organization, famous for its closing sequence, which featured stop motion animation of the products marching past Autolite factories. An abbreviated version of this sequence was later used in television ads for Autolite, especially those on the 1950s CBS program Suspense, which Autolite sponsored.
An arrangement for accordion was played as theme music for BBC Radio 4's 1982 dramatization of A Small Town in Germany by John le Carre.

March No. 2 in G major

Allegro molto moderato

March No. 3 in E-flat major

Allegro moderato

Recordings

Recordings of the original piano 4-hand version include those by Christoph Eschenbach and Justus Frantz, Radu Lupu and Daniel Barenboim, Robert Levin and Malcolm Bilson, Evgeny Kissin and James Levine and Artur Schnabel and Karl Ulrich Schnabel.^[6]

References

External links

3 Marches militaires: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

Piano compositions and sonatas by Franz Schubert

Two hands

Sonatas	E major–B major, D 157 C major–A minor, D 279 E major, D 459 E minor, D 769A A minor, D 537 (Op. posth. 164) A-flat major–E-flat major, D 557 E minor–A-flat major, D 566 D-flat major, D 567/568 E-flat major, D 568 (Op. posth. 122) F-sharp minor, D 571 B major, D 575 (Op. posth. 147) C major, D 613 F minor, D 625 C-sharp minor, D 655 A major, D 664 (Op. posth. 120) A minor, D 784 (Op. posth. 143) C major "Reliquie", D 840 A minor, D 845 (Op. 42) D major "Gasteiner", D 850 (Op. 53) G major "Fantasy", D 894 (Op. 78) C minor, D 958 A major, D 959 B-flat major, D 960

Fantasies	Wanderer Fantasy, D 760 "Fantasy" Sonata, D 894

Piano pieces	Allegro in E major, D 154 Minuet in A minor, D 277A Rondo in C major, D 309A Allegretto in C major, D 346 Fünf Klavierstücke (Five Piano Pieces), D 459 Drei Klavierstücke (Three Piano Pieces), D 459A Adagio in D-flat major, D 505 Rondo/Allegretto in E major, D 506 Scherzo/Allegro vivace in D major & Allegro in F-sharp minor, D 570 (Andante) in A major, D 604 Adagio in E major, D 612 Moments musicaux, D 780 (Op. 94) Impromptus, D 899 (Op. 90) & D 935 (Op. posth. 142) — Impromptus/Klavierstücke, D 946

Variations	Vaterländischer Künstlerverein II: Variation No. 38 on a waltz by Diabelli, D 718 Impromptu, D 935 (Op. posth. 142) No. 3 "Rosamunde"

Dances	Minuet in A minor, D 277A Valses Sentimentales, D 779 (Op. 50) — Valses Nobles, D 969 (Op. 77)

Four hands

Sonatas

violin and piano	Violin Sonata in A major "(Grand) Duo", D 574 (Op. posth. 162)

arpeggione and piano	Sonata in A minor for Arpeggione and Piano, D 821

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