Schubert's Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession
Dr Ian Bostridge, CBE (Author),Dr Ian Bostridge, CBE (Author)
Schubert’s Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession
Dr Ian Bostridge, CBE (Author),Dr Ian Bostridge, CBE (Author)
Franz Schubert’s Winterreise is at the same time one of the most powerful and one of the most enigmatic masterpieces in Western culture.
In his new book, Schubert’s Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession, Ian Bostridge - one of the work’s finest interpreters - focusses on the context, resonance and personal significance of a work which is possibly the greatest landmark in the history of Lieder. Drawing equally on his vast experience of performing this work (he has performed it more than a hundred times), on his musical knowledge and on his training as a scholar, Bostridge unpicks the enigmas and subtle meaning of each of the twenty-four songs to explore for us the world Schubert inhabited, bringing the work and its world alive for connoisseurs and new listeners alike.
Originally intended to be sung to an intimate gathering, performances of Winterreise now pack the greatest concert halls around the world. Though not strictly a biography of Schubert, Schubert’s Winter Journey succeeds in offering an unparalleled insight into the mind and work of the great composer.
Usually great singers cannot explain what they do. Ian Bostridge can.
Whether or not you know Schubert’s ‘Winter Journey’, the book is gripping because it explains, in probing, simple words, how a doomed love is transformed into art. (Richard Sennett).
Review
Alexandra Mathew
Sitting through a performance of Schubert’s Winterreise can be a harrowing experience. We follow the protagonist as he, in the darkness of night, embarks on a winter’s journey with only the light of the moon as his companion. Restlessly he dreams of his beloved, and when he wakes he finds himself cold and alone with no end to his torment in sight. Set to poetry by Wilhelm Müller, Franz Schubert composed Winterreise towards the end of his short life (he died of syphilis, aged only 31, in 1828), and many consider the cycle to be an expression of the composer’s confused and depressed psychological state.
In Schubert’s Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession, singer and scholar Ian Bostridge sets out to explore the origins of the cycle, giving it historical, social, political, and personal context. Bostridge is a renowned interpreter of the work, having performed it countless times over the course of his illustrious career, and while he concedes to be no musicologist, his insights are profoundly interesting. The book follows the structure of the cycle, and each of the 24 songs is given a chapter, starting with Bostridge’s own English translations of the original German texts. Illustrations and musical examples are provided throughout, enabling the reader to follow each chapter as though sitting through a performance of the cycle.
Although sometimes distractingly tangential, Bostridge’s writing is engaging and intelligent without seeming grandiose. Unlike most singers of Bostridge’s calibre, he has no formal music qualifications, which means he writes to be understood by a similar readership. Of interest are anecdotes from Bostridge’s own performance experience, which enliven the text and contemporise the subject matter, particularly in the final chapter, ‘Der Leiermann’. This beautiful book is a must-read for lovers of Schubert’s lieder.
This release coincides with Schubert: 3 Song Cycles (3CDs + DVD) by Ian Bostridge.
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