Schwarzenberg, Austria
The festival sticks closely to its relatively narrow musical margins, but with world-class musicians offering fresh insights into familiar works, there was plenty to intrigue and move audiences

This week marks one of the great landmarks of Igor Levit’s career – the release of a complete cycle of all Beethoven’s 32 piano sonatas. How did the 32-year-old choose to prepare? By playing in a school hall in the middle of the Austrian mountains.

The spruce-lined gym/auditorium in Schwarzenberg (pop 1,790) in west Austria is fancier than most village halls, even if surrounded by nothing but fields and mountains. It also attracts musicians and music lovers from all over the world for the Schubertiade festival, who have been descending each year on this village since the festival’s formation in 1976.