Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin

Featuring

Wolfgang Holzmair
Geoffrey Parsons
Franz Schubert

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Cultural Impact

Wilhelm Müller, the poet of Die schöne Müllerin, is primarily known today through Schubert's song cycles and Der Hirt auf dem Felsen.

Composer Biography

Schubert began composing Die schöne Müllerin in 1823, possibly while receiving treatment for syphilis, which marked one of the bleakest periods of his life.

Composition History

The poems for Die schöne Müllerin by Wilhelm Müller originated from literary charades organized in Berlin in 1816/17, where guests, including Müller, assumed roles in a narrative play.

Composition History

Wilhelm Müller, the poet of Die schöne Müllerin, was in love with Luise Hensel, who played the gardener in the charades that inspired the poems, and his diary entries reflect this unrequited passion.

Performer Biography

This recording features Geoffrey Parsons, a pianist, in his last appearance at Wigmore Hall, though his mental alertness and vitality were still evident.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schubert adapted Wilhelm Müller's poems for Die schöne Müllerin, omitting the ironic Prologue and Epilogue and three longer poems, to create a work of profound emotional significance.