Schubert in my head

I made this little collage in celebration of Franz Schubert's birthday (this past January 31st). I have been spending a great deal of time with Schubert these past several months. I started with one transcription, which showed me something about his musical thought process. But I was only a casual observer. After making my second Schubert transcription, he has taken up residence in my brain, informing my every musical thought, even when I am asleep (or trying to sleep).

Yesterday, because I could (I have a Henle edition of a volume of Schubert Sonatas that Michael gave me as a gift some ten or fifteen years ago), I took the plunge and sightread some Schubert on the piano.

I was shocked and thrilled to find that after all these years of practicing Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven on the piano I was able to actually make my way slowly through some Schubert. Ten years ago it seemed like something that I would never be able to do. Now Schubert is teaching me things that I have never before had the ability to understand. And he wrote enough piano music in his short life to continue to teach me for the rest of mine.