Winterreise

About

Franz Schubert's songs were usually premiered as part of private concerts that took place at home, for good friends and art loving society, often with the author himself playing the piano. We will try to create this intimacy in the Estates Theatre as well by inviting the audience to sit and enjoy the concert on the stage. We invite you to be in very close distance to both protagonists.

The song cycle Winterreise (Winter Journey), written by Franz Schubert a year before his death (1827), is today considered one of the most impressive works of romantic song writing. In 24 ballad songs the poet Wilhelm Müller (1794–1827) describes a journey of an unknown wanderer through the winter landscape. He used to be full of dreams, ideals and plans until an unhappy love ruins it all. Devastated, with no meaning in life, he decides to abandon everything he had previously considered important. He passes through a winter landscape symbolizing the image of a wounded human soul, suffering, loneliness, sadness, and nostalgia. During his journey, he also remembers the happier moments of his life, which related to nature, especially in the warmer, spring months.

Even though Winterreise is a dramatic monologue of one character, focused on his inner world, it also makes a strong impression on the feelings and imagination of the audience, thus enhancing the overall experience. Its charm, which applies to Schubert's song writing in general, lies in its apparent simplicity. It was Schubert who was able to express deep emotions with the simplest means.