Four Hands Through Schubert’s Inner World

On May 1, 2026, the piano duo Yaara Tal and Andreas Groethuysen appeared at the Schubertiade Hohenems in the Markus Sittikus Hall. The concert formed part of the festival’s 50th anniversary programme, in which historical programmes from the early years of the Schubertiade were reconstructed. The programme featured works for piano four hands by Franz Schubert, including the Sonata in B-flat major D 617 and the Fantasy in F minor D 940.

In the Vorarlberger Nachrichten on May 4, 2026, it was written:

"Rhythmic precision was combined with a cultivated touch that never hardened the tone, even in the more forceful passages. It was precisely in this mixture of joy in playing, nobility, and intelligent restraint that a particular charm emerged."

"Tal and Groethuysen unfolded the large-scale musical line with impressive unity, with a clear architectural sense and at the same time with that inner involvement which elevates this music beyond mere beauty."

On Scherzo on May 3, 2026, César Rus wrote

"The rapport between the two performers is complete; Groethuysen always takes the left seat, colouring balanced harmonies and providing a metric point of reference upon which the imagination of Tal’s right hand shines through its pearly sonority."

"Yaara Tal and Andreas Groethuysen offered a reference performance that achieved the perfect balance between expression, elegance, and fantasy. In particular, Yaara Tal succeeded in finding the ideal colour for each reappearance of the principal theme, filling the Markus Sittikus Hall in Hohenems — a jewel of chamber music — with melancholy."