The performers, Johannes Held (baritone) and Daniel Beskow (pianist), developed a staged version of Winterreise, challenging the traditional rejection of physical expression in Lieder performance.
Performer Biography
Johannes Held, the baritone on this recording, received his initial musical training with the Stuttgart Hymnus Boys' Choir and is now the artistic director of the Lied festival DER ZWERG in Sindelfingen, Germany.
Compositional Technique
In Winterreise, Schubert moved beyond traditional song structure, creating more complex melodies and fewer strophic songs compared to his earlier work, Die schöne Müllerin.
Critical Reception
When Schubert's friends first heard the initial twelve songs of Winterreise, only 'Der Lindenbaum' was well-received.
Composition History
Wilhelm Müller, the poet of Winterreise, died a year before Schubert and it is unclear if he knew his poems had been set to music.
Composition History
Franz Schubert completed his Winterreise in 1828 but died at 31 before the second part was published.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Schubert's Lieder, such as 'Gretchen am Spinnrade' and 'Erlkönig,' created a new genre where music interpreted and illuminated the text with artistic self-confidence.
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Franz Schubert: Die Schone Mullerin (Siegfried Lorenz, Norman Shetler)
