A traveller without a destination or home in the midst of a mysterious, abysmal natural world. There are only a few works that have exerted such an unbroken fascination and simultaneously oppressive effect over the centuries as Franz Schubert's song cycle ‘Winterreise’.
‘Schubert was in a dark mood for some time and seemed to be under strain. One day he said to me, ‘Come to Schober today, I will sing you a cycle of gruesome songs. They affected me more than other songs did.' He sang us through the entire Winterreise in a moving voice. We were completely taken aback by the gloomy mood of these songs. ‘Josef von Spaun, a friend of Franz Schubert
This is how a friend of the composer Franz Schubert experienced the first performance of ‘Winterreise’ in a small circle. Today, the expressive, gloomy songs have become an integral part of the repertoire of classical song interpreters and reach audiences worldwide.
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