Schubert's Late Lieder: Beyond the Song-Cycles.

Schubert's Late Lieder: Beyond the Song-Cycles. Susan Youens. Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). (40 W. 20th St., New York New York, state, United StatesNew York,Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of ,NY 10011-4211), 2002. 436 pp., $75. Thoughts of the late lieder of Franz Schubert bring to mind thesettings of Wilhelm Muller's Die schone Mullerin and DieWinterreise or the collection of Schwanengesang with the poetry ofRellstab and Heine. But who were the poets Collin, Pyrker, Leitner,Seidl, Reil and Franz Xaver Franz Xaver is a name shared by several different people throughout history. Franz Xaver, Baron Von Zach (1754 - 1832), a German/Hungarian astronomer. Franz Xaver Gabelsberger (1780–1849), a German stenographer. Freiherr yon Schlechta-Wssehrd? In herseventh book on the lieder of Hugo Wolf and Franz Schubert, Susan Youensintroduces us to these six contemporaries of Schubert, whose poetry isderived primarily from their musical settings. Although the work of these otherwise unknown poets can no longerstand on its own, "They have interesting cultural tales to tell,and they made wonderful music." Herein lies the beauty ofYouens's writing on lieder. Following the successful format of theprevious books, she brings together a wealth of knowledge of politicaland social history, literary imagery, art and drama with theauthoritative musical analysis One would expect from a highly respectedmusicologist mu��si��col��o��gy?n.The historical and scientific study of music.musi��co��log . The book offers no direct suggestions for theperformers' interpretation but does provide an abundance ofbackground material on which to base an emotional understanding of theworks. The selection of poetry for his late lieder, written between 1822and his death in 1828, reflects the influence of both Beethoven andSchubert's pending death from syphilis syphilis(sĭf`əlĭs), contagious sexually transmitted disease caused by the spirochete Treponema pallidum (described by Fritz Schaudinn and Erich Hoffmann in 1905). . The lieder often are darkand brooding, echoing his declining health. The songs, however, are byno means unfamiliar to us; Nacht und Traume and Die Allmacht are here aswell as one of my favorites My Favorite is an independent synthpop band from Long Island, New York. They released two CDs: Love at Absolute Zero and Happiest Days of Our Lives. My Favorite broke up on September 14, 2005, when singer Andrea Vaughn left the band. , the powerful ballad, Der Zwerg Der Zwerg (The Dwarf) is an opera in one act by Austrian composer Alexander Zemlinsky. Its libretto was written by George Klaren, based loosely on the story The Birthday of the Infanta by Oscar Wilde. . The book is divided into four large chapters with single chaptersdevoted to Collin, Pyrker and Leitner and a final chapter onSchubert's Viennese contemporaries. Youens's style isscholarly, with footnotes at times wing for page dominance. One has thefeeling she has almost too much to tell. She pours forth so muchunderstanding of her subject matter that we at times lose track ofSchubert's music. Schubert's Late Lieder is a welcome addition to the seriousmusician's library. It provides needed information aboutSchubert's lesser poets and sheds light on the life and literaryinfluences of early nineteenth-century Vienna. Reviewed by BardSuverkrop, Winchester, Virginia.