Soulmates: Schubert, Janacek

Description

"The idea of finding relationships between the music of Franz Schubert and Leos Janacek emerged in my head for the first time in a kind of dreamworld between sleep and waking. I had laid down to take a rest, and my thoughts started to revolve around these two composers. Thus, the point of departure for this album was not something intellectual: it was more like a hunch. I then obviously needed to inspect my idea by daylight to see if it made musical sense – also in terms of interpretation and dramaturgy."…. "

Each one of them is a composer who discovers and creates his own world of sound step by step, by groping or wandering. Schubert embarks on his journey with a certain degree of open-mindedness: I get the impression that he is not so certain about where his destination lies or which path he will take to reach it. This feeling of departure, of improvisation, of setting one foot after the other, is something I also sense quite intensely in Janacek.

In these two composers, there is a special relationship between the outer world and inner world: their music is clearly connected with nature, but nature is only a mirror of their inner emotions. I find it exciting to juxtapose these two artists – these two human beings, I would say – and see what happens if we let them share a portion of their journey in each other's company." (Excerpt from an interview with Michael Kube)

"The virtuosity Schuch displays in the second and fourth Impromptus [Schubert] is intoxicating […]." – BBC Music Magazine (Performance 3 STARS; Recording 4 STARS)

"[Schuch] unquestionably imparts a personal stamp upon this repertoire. A fine-sounding album, with annotations that include a perceptive interview with Schuch." – Gramophone