In Schubert’s cheerful E flat major Sonata, the listener is unaware that the composer struggled for a long time to arrive at its final version. Initial sketches date back to 1817, then still in a three-movement version and in the key of D flat major; Schubert probably only completed the sonata shortly before his death. It was published posthumously in 1829. The E flat Sonata is one of Schubert’s lesser-known piano sonatas.

But it is an enchantingly lyrical work. This is achieved by many fine ...