"Schubert - human, so timid he could scarcely bring himself to approach the lonely figure of Beethoven seated in a quiet corner of a coffeehouse. His music, like the man himself, is woven with song, born from it and  strangely coloured by soft sadness, which Thomas Mann called the premonition of death; pure, like  Angel’s soul and filled with audacity of Devil, when in the realm of sounds, casts his spell on me - Schubert is my love in music."

- wrote Nodar Gabunia, my piano teacher, when he was asked to say a few words about Schubert’s music.

 

Franz Schubert harboured a desire to compose a work of immense technical challenge for the piano—a piece that would evolve into a symphony, a true Mount Everest for any performer.

Thus, the Wanderer Fantasy was born. Schubert himself tried to play it for his friends, but he couldn’t make it to the end. At one point, he stopped and, with a wry smile, exclaimed, “The devil may play it.”

 

His final piano Sonata in B-flat major stands as both an ode and a farewell to life. Nearing the end of his journey, Schubert crafted a monumental work that reflects both the beauty and joy of existence, still holding hope for the future, yet aware that the end was drawing near. The slow movement, in particular, evokes the famous String Quintet, offering the most beautiful and melancholic walk through the passage of his life.

 

I first became acquainted with Schubert’s sonatas while studying in Tbilisi, under the guidance of my teacher, Nodar Gabunia. He taught me how to uncover the connections between the notes, to shape the endless flow of melody.

I learned the importance of silence between phrases, and how those moments of stillness are as crucial as the notes themselves. Above all, I discovered that what seems like simplicity at the end is actually the result of a complex, well-thought-out idea.

I deeply enjoy playing Schubert's music as it creates an invisible bubble, a shared space between the performer and the audience. In this space, we embrace a world that exists within us, leaving the everyday routine behind and experiencing something truly profound.