Schubert: Songs On the Theme of Water

Featuring

Peter Kooij
Leo van Doeselaar
Franz Schubert

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Composer's Artistic Vision

Schubert's approach to song composition around 1815 radically changed, moving beyond Goethe's preferred folk-song form to a more expansive musical and literary genius.

Performer Biography

Baritone Peter Kooij began his musical career as a choir boy and later studied violin before pursuing vocal training at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam.

Compositional Technique

Schubert's setting of "Gretchen am Spinnrade" (Gretchen at the spinning-wheel, 1814) was revolutionary for abandoning the strophic model and being through-composed, a departure that Goethe disapproved of.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Schubert's setting of Mayrhofer's poem "Auf der Donau" (On the Danube) gives it an apocalyptic dimension through rich musical detail, dramatic repetitions, and doom-laden motifs.

Composition History

Schubert's settings of Schiller's ballads "Der Taucher" (The Diver) and "Die Bürgschaft" (The Surety) were inspired by a ballad competition between Goethe and Schiller in 1797.

Performer Biography

Leo van Doeselaar, who plays fortepiano on this album, is a versatile musician specializing in Baroque organ repertoire and also performs as a pianist and chamber musician.