For the fifth instalment of the critically acclaimed

Schubert+ series, Can Cakmur juxtaposes the Viennese

composer with his illustrious elder Ludwig van

Beethoven, for the first time in this series.

After establishing his mastery of the lied genre, Schubert

still had to show his full potential in the realm of piano

sonatas, a quintessentially Beethovenian form. In his

Sonata in A major, D 664, he abandons the traditionally

oppositional nature of the sonata in favour of a melody-

based narrative in which landscapes appear to change

gradually, as if seen from a traveller's perspective, thus

offering 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 C

minor range from tender yearning to an emotional

turmoil reminiscent of the 'Appassionata' Sonata.

In the Sonata in C minor, D 958, composed in 1828, the

first of his towering final trilogy, Schubert staked his

claim to be seen as Beethoven's successor as a writer of

piano sonatas. In a work that Can Cakmur sees as a

tribute to Beethoven, Schubert achieves a synthesis of

the master's influence and the lyricism of his own early

sonatas. Just weeks before his death, the younger

composer finally sits beside the older master and

converses with him on equal terms.