The so-called F. A. E. Sonata is an extraordinary collective work with an equally unusual title and concept. In late October 1853, Robert Schumann, Albert Dietrich and Johannes Brahms presented it as a surprise to their friend, the violinist Joseph Joachim, who had come to Düsseldorf to give some concerts.

The three letters of its title refer to Joachim’s life motto “Frei, aber einsam”; “free, but lonely”, and the sequence of notes derived from it – f-a-e – infuses the whole sonata, more or l...