In his setting of Leitner's 'Der Winterabend' (The Winter Evening), Schubert uses the piano and voice to create a sense of profound solitude and silence, blurring traditional song structure.
Performer Biography
Matthias Goerne, the baritone on this recording, studied singing with renowned artists Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
Cultural Impact
The opening chords of Schubert's 'Fahrt zum Hades' (Journey to Hades), set to a Mayrhofer poem, are believed to have inspired Arnold Böcklin's painting 'Isle of the Dead'.
Composer Biography
Johann Mayrhofer, a poet whose texts are featured on this album, shared a modest room with Franz Schubert from 1815 to 1822.
Performer Biography
Elisabeth Leonskaja, the pianist on this recording, was a student at the Moscow Conservatory and received guidance from Sviatoslav Richter, with whom she also performed.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Schubert's settings of Mayrhofer's poems, which often depict tormented landscapes and unfulfilled desire, are considered among his most enigmatic songs.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Schubert's settings of Karl Gottfried von Leitner's poems, particularly in his later years, explore themes of Biedermeier, including summer evenings and winter nights, often with an unsettling undercurrent.
