Why Schumann and why Schönberg? And most importantly: why together? I don’t exactly know why I find the music of these two composers so captivating lately. Of course, there aren't many music pieces written in recent centuries which are more inspirational, more explosive and more lively than Schumann’s best piano works. The listener (and, of course, the performer) is immediately fascinated by their spontaneous flow, flamboyant idealism, their often frantic humour – and their loveliness. With their great human features perceptible on the surface – compared to the depth of latent madness.

All this seems to be in sharp contrast to Schönberg’s musical style, with its sometimes cold-looking constructions. Feelings cheat us. His pieces Op. 11 and Op. 19, written in the transitional period of the 20^th century composer, on the boundary of late Romanticism and New Music, are filled with incredibly dense and deep expression. Cold and hot simultaneously, rooted much deeper in the tradition than the composer himself would think – just like good revolutionaries who, fortunately, do not blow up the world after all. Certain Baroque patterns are important for both authors. In the Schumann piano pieces, their fabric, their weave often contains such elements in varied and astonishing shapes. (Gábor Csalog)