As a pianist playing solo and working with singers,
the thing that ties it together is the melody,
just the beautiful melody, which is something
so ancient and so primal in humanity, connected
from our ancestors and from our childhood. And
especially with Schubert, there's this great
simplicity. That again is very, very primal,
I find. It's very important to us that Schubert
remains important in these times where things
go so fast. The modern world is just so full
of distractions. So for us, it's important to
work with the young generation and to make a
place for enjoying the time and the peace. That's
in Schubert. Schubert has a very different voice
to Haydn and Beethoven. A lot more fantasy, I
think. And experimental in many ways. This creativity
is for me the embodiment of Schubert. That his
music is so, as I mentioned earlier, he was criticized
a lot during his time for... almost being too
creative and not obeying the formal rules of
composition, which were of his time. And I think
that's why I love him so much, because he has
this freedom that just he follows his soul and
not his brain, not his mind. And that is for
me the essence of Schubert. It's just the love
and sharing the love. We begin 2026 with Schubert.
In our first episode of the new year, I sit down
with concert pianist and recording artist Emil
Burszkowicz for a deep conversation about his
bold Schubert 200 project, his journey toward
recording Schubert's complete piano works by
2028, and why this music continues to speak so
powerfully today. We explore intimacy over scale,
the return of Schubertiadin, and why presenting
classical music in more intimate ways may help
shape its future. Schubert Now premieres Tuesday,
January 13th. Audio available wherever you listen
to podcasts. Don't miss it.