Can akmur – Schubert + Schumann

The ongoing Schubert + series produced by pianist Can akmur has revealed an exceptional Schubertian. Now in it’s sixth instalment, the series juxtaposes Schubert’s works with those of composers he inspired. This latest program shines a spotlight on Robert Schumann. Schumann held Schubert in the highest esteem and was one of the first to recognise him as one of the most visionary composers to have ever lived and this alone would have justified this coupling. However, akmur delves deeper, using the program as a springboard for a philosophical discussion about naturalism within German Romanticism.The program features Schubert’s brilliant Sonata in D major, D 850, composed in 1825 in the spa town of Bad Gastein. It’s composition amidst the Alpine scenery likely sparked his imagination, echoing the themes of millers, hunters, forests, and mountains prevalent in his songs. Robert Schumann’s Waldszenen (Forest Scenes) continues this thread of inspiration. In