A highly informative book on Schubert's famous song cycle (the greatest piece of classical music ever, as far as I'm concerned) by the eminent British singer Ian Bostridge. I admit I'd have preferred if he'd delved a bit deeper into the musicological side of things, but he makes up for that by putting his historical education to excellent use and presenting the reader with a wealth of information on not only Schubert's life and times but also on the broader context of early 19th century Austria.

Bostridge proceeds song by song and has something interesting to say about each of them, on a very wide range of subjects - whether he interprets Wilhelm Müller's poetry, takes a look at a song's structure, places it in a biographical context, considers possible political implications or elucidates it from his extensive experience of performing the cycle. This is no deep analysis and is not meant to be; rather it is someone who loves Schubert's songs and knows them intimately chatting about them in an almost conversational tone. I assume that there probably is not very much new here for the Schubert expert but for the layman it is a treasure trove of both information and insight. The author is not afraid to go off on a tangent, either, and his frequent digressions are just as rewarding as when he is staying on subject. The book contains many illustrations, too, although that part did not come across too well in my Kindle edition. As, judging by other reviews, the book is quite beautifully designed, too, I'm regretting a bit that I did not invest in a hardcover version, but the book was well worth it for the written content alone and is recommended to everyone who wants to explore the background of Schubert's Winterreise in more depth than the liner notes of a CD generally provide.

A great series of eclectic essays, one for each song of the Wintereisse cycle. Bestride has great and intimate knowledge of the subject, as he has performed the cycle more than 100 times in his career. While reading this, my temporary obsession with the music has waned, so I tailed off and didn't finish every essay. Will return to it when I go through my next Schubert phase. ( )

Schuberts Winterreise zu hören ist an sich ja schon ein Ereignis, wenn man über die Hintergründe Bescheid weiß, hört man nochmal ganz anders hin.

Ian Bostridge gelingt es, biographische Elemente Schuberts mit historischen Fakten und den jeweiligem Lied aus dem 24 Lieder umfassenden Zyklus zu verknüpfen, immer mit Anmerkungen zum Zusammenspiel von Sänger und Pianist und Diskussion zur Aufführungspraxis, hin und wieder angereichert durch persönliche Anekdoten.

Das Buch ist mit seinen 490 Textseiten (an die sich 10 Seiten Text- und 2 Seiten Bildquellenbelege anschließen) und vom Inhalt her keines, das sich mal eben so weg ließt - aber man sollte sich zwischen den Liedern auch die Zeit gönnen, das gelesene mit der Musik zu verbinden. Ich habe durchaus bemerkt, dass mich manche Passagen noch länger beschäftigt haben.

Obwohl ich mittlerweile sehr viel auf Englisch lese, bin ich hier doch auf die eine oder andere Vokabel gestoßen, die ich nicht ohne weiteres übersetzen könnte - aber auch ohne Lexikon blieb der Sinn der jeweiligen Sätze verständlich. Und im Zusammenspiel der deutschen Zitate mit dem englischen Text wurden die Stellen, in dem es um Übersetzungen (und damit um Bedeutungsvarianten ging) mir sehr deutlich - ich stelle mir eine Übersetzung von Passagen, in denen dem deutschen Wort die verschiedenen englischen Synonyme gegenübergestellt werden, sehr schwierig vor.

Klare Leseempfehlung für alle, die an Musikgeschichte im Allgemeinen und Schubertliedern im Besonderen interessiert sind. ( )

Ian Bostridge, one of greatest Lieder interpreters of our age, writes movingly of the subjects, themes, and historical context of Franz Schubert’s last great song cycle, Winterreise. Offering a chapter for each of the twenty-four songs of the cycle, Bostridge’s discourse ranges from performance issues (his own and other great performances in the history of the cycle) to subtle decisions that each singer and accompanist must make. He discusses Wilhelm Müller’s romantic poems against other romantic efforts of the era. He explores the repression of artistic and political aspirations in the fractured post-Napoleonic Germanic states. He teases out intriguing moments in Schubert’s life that might have led him to this last burst of song. And although he affects at times the jaundiced, superficial style of writers like David Shields or Adam Mars-Jones, he can’t help his natural enthusiasm for the songs, native optimism, and erudition (Bostridge holds a D.Phil. in history from the University of Oxford) from coming through. And we are all the better for it.

This is a beautiful book. Printed on heavy gloss paper with full colour reprints of paintings and historical documents, it presents itself as a labour of love. And perhaps reading it must be that as well. Despite Bostridge’s expressed hope that the book might bring newcomers to Schubert’s winter cycle, I think no one would pick up the book who was not already intimately familiar with Schubert’s work whether through Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s definitive recordings or through Bostridge’s own. But even those familiar with the work will find it difficult to recall each individual song as they read the chapter that relates to it. I found I wanted to put each song on repeat on the stereo as I read Bostridge’s musings or shared his careful research. As that might have been intolerable for others in the household, I made due with simply playing the cycle through numerous times.

If you already own one or more renditions of Winterreise, you are the perfect reader for this fascinating work. I recommend it heartily. ( )

Suffice it to say that even when I found myself quibbling or feeling left out by some point Bostridge makes, it was always in light of a full acceptance that he is more than entitled to his opinion. There is not a phrase of pontification or dogmatic preaching in this very long book! Possibly the most enthralling aspect was the author's generosity of spirit, which helped me feel like a participant, although silent and unseen, in the holding of ideas and interpretations to the light as he twists and turns them, then arrives at some fresh, startling notion. Coincidentally, a friend who knew I was reading it, gave me a DVD of a painfully theatrical "staged performance" by Bostridge and Julius Drake (plus "cast"). Had his book not already introduced me to the singer's deep entanglement with Winterreise, I would have found much of it bizarre for the sake of being so, but despite the frequently incongruous and incoherent staging, he never loses sight of his gut-level understanding and interpretation of the songs, making it a terrifying and restorative experience. (An additional feature gives a particularly unpleasant glimpse into the director's insistence on making the song cycle something palpably wrong, which, to my mind, exonerates Bostridge and Drake.) ( )