The realization that one may take on the old works personally and extremely subjectively, precisely because this freedom expresses love and admiration, has opened up a new world for me: That of the playful arrangement. I also see my own compositions as an expression of my engagement with the music of the European Baroque, Viennese Classicism, German Romanticism, because this music is the well to which I go every day.

I am glad that these works are published by Schott Music, because like no other the Schott publishing house stands in its history for the greatest possible distribution in the sense of accessibility and making the great works playable. My Piano Songbook, for example, is dedicated to the idea of experiencing the wonderful music of the past as hurdle-free as possible even at the piano, and is intended as an invitation to continue thinking about it subjectively.

Martin Stadtfeld