Schubert + Beethoven [CD]

For the fifth instalment of the critically acclaimedSchubert+ series, Can Cakmur juxtaposes the Viennesecomposer with his illustrious elder Ludwig vanBeethoven, for the first time in this series.After establishing his mastery of the lied genre, Schubertstill had to show his full potential in the realm of pianosonatas, a quintessentially Beethovenian form. In hisSonata in A major, D 664, he abandons the traditionallyoppositional nature of the sonata in favour of a melody-based narrative in which landscapes appear to changegradually, as if seen from a traveller's perspective, thusoffering a conception that is as new as it is personal.Beethoven is represented here by a series of variations,a genre in which he also excelled. The 32 Variations in Cminor range from tender yearning to an emotionalturmoil reminiscent of the 'Appassionata' Sonata.In the Sonata in C minor, D 958, composed in 1828, thefirst of his towering final trilogy, Schubert staked hisclaim to be seen as Beethoven's successor as a writer ofpiano sonatas. In a work that Can Cakmur sees as atribute to Beethoven, Schubert achieves a synthesis ofthe master's influence and the lyricism of his own earlysonatas. Just weeks before his death, the youngercomposer finally sits beside the older master andconverses with him on equal terms.