Grote Pianisten: Mitsuko Uchida speelt Schubert

Mitsuko Uchida

Vermeer and Van Gogh are among her favorite painters. Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert form the core repertoire of Mitsuko Uchida, one of the greatest pianists of our time. She also set the standard in Schönberg's work. All these composers are on her program tonight. Regarding Schubert, Uchida recently said in The New York Times : 'Schubert was a solitary figure and his music is extremely solitary. His music is a dream. It contains all the sadness of his life; it is a hopeless situation. And yet there is longing. He never lost that longing, and that is the absolute beauty of Schubert.' Every day, the London-based Uchida calls a day of discoveries. In the Great Hall, she will once again make discoveries in the repertoire she excels in.

Schubert Piano Sonata No. 22

Can one speak of a 'late period' for a composer who died at the age of 31? Perhaps so, if you realize that the Viennese life expectancy in Schubert's time was 38 years... The quality of what Schubert produced in the year of his death is unimaginable. His last three piano sonatas flowed from his pen in the spring of 1828, a period when he was less troubled by his syphilis. In September, he wrote them out very carefully in the clean copy; he was keen that they would be published perfectly. Piano Sonata No. 22 was not composed by someone who had consciously begun his late period: two weeks before his death, Schubert was still taking a counterpoint lesson…