The Schwarzenberg Schubertiade can look back on more than forty years of music-making history, making it one of the oldest Lieder festivals. In the true spirit of its co-founders Hermann Prey and Gerd Nachbauer, the music of Franz Schubert is the central focus of interest, and this is reflected in the frequent airing of works by composers who followed Schubert and continued his Lieder legacy. One of the foremost composers of Lieder after Schubert was undoubtedly Robert Schumann, whom Elisabeth Kulman, possibly todayʼs best mezzo-soprano, placed at the heart of her Schubertiade Lieder recital on August 26, 2017. Together with her outstanding accompanist Eduard Kutrowatz she performed a very personal selection of Schumann Lieder which included both the well-known standard songs as well as rarities in the repertoire.

In the second half of her recital, Kulman contrasted some of the best known Schubert Lieder with songs by Herwig Reiter, who is currently deemed one of the leading composers of Lieder, thereby impressively illustrating how the tradition of the art song has developed from Schubertʼs time to the present day to produce some really brilliant repertoire for listeners to enjoy.