Schubert Impromptu Op 90 No 2 Harmonic Analysis __full__ May 2026

Introduction

Schubert establishes the tonic not with a solid chord, but through a flowing accompaniment that hints at the minor mode immediately.

• Enharmonic parallel of F-flat major, which is the Neapolitan of E-flat (bII).
• More importantly, E major is a chromatic mediant of E-flat major (a third away, same mode). This creates a sudden brightening: from 3 flats to 4 sharps.
• Schubert uses the same rhythmic profile (triplets in LH, now chords in RH) to unify the contrast.

tritone

How do we get from E-flat major to B minor? The distance is a (E-flat to A) followed by a diminished fifth to B. In classical theory, this is a brutal, Neapolitan-like leap. But Schubert bridges it with a single, magical chord: the E-flat diminished seventh at the end of bar 54, which resolves enharmonically to the dominant of B minor (F-sharp major) in bar 55. schubert impromptu op 90 no 2 harmonic analysis