And you see the grandeur of the final quartet, the G major. WH: You can see his first attempt is already amazing, even just one movement. That was way back in 1820, eight years before he died. But it was left unfinished he completed only the first movement and a little bit of a second movement and then put it aside. That was the beginning of Schubert’s ascent of the string quartet mountain. When you get to a certain age, you somehow own this repertoire such in-depth interpretation can only come with age.ĭavid Finckel: And the Quartettsatz, also on the Grand Statements program, is incredibly important as well. Gil is among the most senior artists on our roster. I remember I was in tears sitting in the back of the hall. The last time I heard him play it-you know, I’m very picky about who should play Schubert-about eight years ago, was really one of the greatest performances I’ve ever heard. Gil has been living with this sonata his whole life, and he also has recorded it. In the selection of the B-flat Sonata, we deliberately invited the great American pianist and longtime CMS artist Gilbert Kalish to perform. So besides the last song cycle on the first program, we also have on the second program the final piano sonata as well as the last, and largest, string quartet. His three late sonatas are iconic for pianists-the C minor, the A major, and the last one in B-flat major. In the festival’s second program, Grand Statements, we are looking at Schubert’s contribution to the repertoire. So at the very end of our whole festival, there is another connection between Schubert and Beethoven the inspiration for the Octet is so incredibly poignant. Schubert actually heard a concert with the Septet when he was writing the Octet. So Schubert, in some ways, modeled the structure of the Octet and some of its stylistic elements on the Septet. JS: Yes, it was Count Ferdinand Troyer who commissioned it he was an admirer of Beethoven’s Septet and asked Schubert for something similar. And you know, if you look to the end of the festival, we will finish with the Schubert Octet. JS: I love this idea of beginning at the end, as it were. That’s why the title of the first program is Into Eternity. So combining the final Beethoven quartet with the last Schubert song cycle seemed like an appropriate way to start. He knew that everybody was looking for who would follow in Beethoven’s footsteps, and he knew that although he was dying, he was the most logical successor. He was even a torch-bearer at Beethoven’s funeral. 135, because Schubert was deeply affected by Beethoven’s death. We decided to start the festival with a Beethoven quartet, Op. And so, we moved forward with mounting this festival in 2022–23. We wanted to provide the same kind of profound impact for our CMS community. We knew that when we came back to live performances, it would be all the more important to do these Schubert programs. We spent about three months playing Schubert every day in the house, which gave us the strength to move forward. And somehow Schubert’s music touched every aspect of what we were experiencing: the depth, the beauty, the love, the devotion to music, the incredible loneliness of the pandemic. It was such a tremendously difficult time for everyone-for musicians, for audiences, for the world in general. But in case this thing is going to go longer, you should use this unplanned free time to get your Winterreise edits done.” I was so happy he said that, because when we started playing the Winterreise takes from the recording session I did with baritone Nikolay Borchev in 2019, I didn’t know if I should smile or cry. On March 16th, David looked at me and said, “This might be two weeks. Lincoln Center shut down all performances on March 15th, 2020. Of course, it all got canceled, but very early in the pandemic we became absorbed in Schubert’s music. This was decided well before the pandemic concerts like this are scheduled far in advance. Wu Han: Originally, we had The Magic of Schubert planned for the 2020–21 season. Tell us about the background of this program. John Sherer: Let’s begin with Winterreise (Winter Journey), Schubert’s monumental last song cycle, which appears on the first concert of this Schubert festival. An edited version of our conversation follows. I spoke with CMS Artistic Directors David Finckel and Wu Han about the festival’s five programs. In the coming weeks, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center presents the Winter Festival: The Magic of Schubert, a kaleidoscopic look at the German composer’s work and legacy.
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