The piano works of Franz Schubert were not recognised for their true worth for the whole of the nineteenth century and for part of the twentieth. Time was necessary for the Austrian composer, principally known for his songs, to find admirers of his "pure" music. Centred on the "fantasia" (from "fantasieren", an untranslatable word that by itself is a resume of the Germanic soul), this recital takes us through some well-known works such as the Wanderer-Fantasia and the Sechs Moments Musicaux, but also through other, very rarely heard works such as the Grazer-Fantasie of 1817. These works show that Schubert's ability to surprise, to charm, to move, to overwhelm or console has remained what it has always been: an image of inspiration that ever listens to the soul, even in the most virtuosic pages. The American pianist Daniel Blumenthal, long settled in Belgium, shows us - if it be necessary - that his ease in the mainstream repertory is equal to that he has shown in rarer works.
