Winterreise

Lore & Background

Schubert found the first twelve poems under the title Wanderlieder von Wilhelm Müller. Die Winterreise. In 12 Liedern in an almanack (Urania. His intimate friend Franz von Schober had provided this book for him.

Reader's Guide

Winterreise is a monodrama from the point of view of a wandering protagonist, in which concrete plot is somewhat ambiguous. After his beloved falls for another, the grief-stricken young man steals away from town at night and follows the river and steep ways to a charcoal burner's hut, where he rests before moving on. He comes across a village, passes a crossroads, and arrives at a cemetery. Here being denied even the death on which he has become fixated, he defiantly renounces faith before reaching a point of resignation. Finally he encounters a derelict street musician, the only instance in the cycle in which another character is present. The mysterious and ominous nature of the musician, along with the question posed in the last lines, leave the fate of the wanderer open to interpretation. In Winterreise Schubert raises the importance of the pianist to a role equal to that of the singer. The piano's rhythms constantly express the moods of the poet, like the distinctive rhythm of 'Auf dem Flusse', the restless syncopated figures in 'Rückblick', the dramatic tremolos in 'Einsamkeit', the glimmering clusters of notes in 'Irrlicht', or the sharp accents in 'Der stürmische Morgen'. The piano supplies rich effects in the nature imagery of the poems, the voices of the elements, the creatures and active objects, the rushing storm, the crying wind, the water under the ice, birds singing, ravens croaking, dogs baying, the rusty weathervane grating, the post horn calling, and the drone and repeated melody of the hurdy-gurdy.

Did You Know?

• The autograph manuscript of Winterreise is preserved in the Morgan Library & Museum.
• The cycle's final song, 'Der Leiermann', features a derelict street musician, the only other character in the cycle.