A lone traveler trudges slowly but steadily through the cold white landscape of

winter. The audience learns in stages of his rejection by a fickle woman, his

despairing flight from the town where she lived, his growing weariness with the

society that has so cruelly rejected him, and his eventual grim resolution to forge

ahead to the death that will finally put an end to his journey. This is the dramatic

script for the cycle of twenty-four songs by Franz Schubert on texts by Wilhelm Müller

entitled Winterreise (Winter Journey), thought by some to be the greatest of all song

cycles, and described by Schubert himself as "a cycle of horrifying songs."1 Only two

actors perform this largely internal drama—a pianist and a vocalist, either on a

concert stage or in a recording studio. By means of Schubert’s skillful interpolation of

melody and accompaniment, the two performers bring Müller’s poetry to life and

portray the emotions and perceptions of the lone wanderer who, after being rejected

by a single woman, is relegated to the status of an outcast from society, and

determined to accept his lonely fate. The lonely journey that begins with the steady

monotonous chords of "Gute Nacht" ends with the haunting organ-grinder melody of

"Der Leiermann." Between these two pieces can be found a variety of short but

detailed character studies of the forlorn figure at the center of the story. It is the

purpose of this paper to examine the musical elements that Schubert uses to build

the dramatic structure of the Winterreise texts.

Schubert composed and published Winterreise in two halves, one in February

1827 and the other in October 1827. The first twelve poems by Müller had been

published in 1823 in a Leipzig periodical entitled Urania, ten more were published in

Breslau later that year, and Müller added "Die Post" and "Täuschung" and

republished the entire cycle of poems in 1824, under the title of "Seventy-seven

Poems from the Posthumous Papers of a Travelling Horn-player." Schubert

presumably knew only of the existence of the first twelve

1 Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991), 27.

1

poems when he wrote the first half of his cycle, and composed the second half only

after learning of the other twelve poems. 2 Indeed, the two parts of Winterreise are

very different from each other, the first part focusing primarily on the anguish of lost

love and the second progressing to the larger theme of rejection from society and

impending death.

Schubert had written an earlier song cycle based on another volume of poems

by Müller published under the "Posthumous Papers" heading, Die schöne Müllerin

(The Maid of the Mill). The two cycles bear some resemblance to each other, but

Winterreise is very different in tone from its predecessor. In the words of John Reed,

"The schöne Müllerin cycle has a real, though shadowy plot involving three principal

characters, though we see them all through the eyes of the young miller . . .

Winterreise, on the other hand, is a wholly interior drama."3 Alan Cottrell points out,

"the landscape and season [of Winterreise] reflect an inner situation contrasting

vividly with the ‘Müllerin’ cycle’."4 Many people have attempted to explain the darker

mood of Winterreise as an example of Schubert’s despair as a composer nearing the

end of his life (the composer died 19 November 1828). Although this theory is

impossible to prove (who can truly know Schubert’s state of mind as he composed

these songs?), it is illuminating to set Winterreise against the backdrop of Schubert’s

life. Certainly, the cycle has a preoccupation with death that is striking.

As mentioned above, the mood of the first half of the Winterreise poems is

very different from the mood of the second half. The first part focuses primarily on

the anguish suffered by the central character upon the rejection he has suffered from

a former paramour. In the opening lines of "Gute Nacht" (Good Night) come the

following words: "The maiden spoke of love, her mother even of marriage. Now is the

2 John Reed, The Schubert song companion (New York: Universe Books, 1985), 441.

3 Ibid., 442.4 Alan Cottrell, Wilhelm Müller’s Lyrical Song Cycles (Chapel Hill: University of

North Carolina Press, 1970), 35.

2

world so troubled, the way covered in snow."5 The wanderer has embarked on his

journey as the song cycle begins, and references to the betrayal he has suffered at

the hands of his former love continue throughout the next several songs. Lost love is

not the only image to permeate the texts of Winterreise, however. In the third verse

of "Gute Nacht," a reference is made to dogs howling "in front of her father’s house."

The image of torment by animals recurs throughout the cycle, as the wanderer is

pelted by hailstones dropped on him by crows in the text of "Rückblick" (Looking

Backward), another crow flies around his head in "Die Krähe" (The Crow) watchdogs

bark in, and still more dogs nip at the heels of the old organ-grinder in "Der

Leiermann" (The Organ-Grinder). The wanderer is not only an outcast from human

society, but he is also a vagabond scorned by wild beasts. However, living creatures

are not the only antagonists on the central character’s journeys.

Throughout the Winterreise cycle are found references to the forces of nature.

Bodies of water, brooks and streams are often linked in the text with the tears of the

main character. In "Wasserflut" (Water Flood), the text describes tears flowing from

his eyes as the snow absorbs his anguish, contrasted to the song "Gefrorne Tränen"

(Frozen Tears) in which frozen teardrops fall from the wanderer’s eyes like ice. Snow

and ice recur as themes as well, particularly in the first half of the cycle. Often the

snowy landscape that surrounds the wanderer on his winter journey is contrasted to

the green landscape that represents the happiness of his past. For example, in "Gute

Nacht" a reference is made to May welcoming him with "many flowery bouquets,"

and in "Rückblick" the wanderer, lamenting on his more joyous past, cries, "The

round lime trees blossomed, the clear brooks murmured, and ah, two girlish eyes

glowed! Then it all happened to you, friend!" In "Die Wetterfahne" the effect of the

wind on the weather is compared to its effect inside the wanderer's heart as he cries,

"The wind plays inside hearts as it does on the roof, but not so loudly." Even the path

5 All of the German translations in this paper are my own interpretations of the line-by-line translations found in Marie-Therese Paquin’s Ten Cycles of Lieder (Montreal University Press: Montreal, 1977).

3

that the wanderer follows is seen as a symbol of the path of his life's journey. As he

progresses along his literal path, his internal path takes him away from the matters

of the heart that concern him most in the first half to the darker regions he enters in

the second half of the cycle.

In the second half of Winterreise, the theme moves away from rejection by a

single woman to the theme of overall rejection from society. As the wanderer fails to

find acceptance by his fellow humans or by animals, he begins to long for the peace

and rest from travel that will only be found in death. The text of "Die Post" (The

Post), which begins the second part, is the last to refer to the lost love. The wanderer

anxiously contemplates the sound of a post horn from the road, but realizes "the post

comes from the town, where once I had a fond sweetheart . . ." From here on, the

tone of the piece becomes quite a bit more contemplative. "Der greise Kopf" (The

Grey Head) shows the wanderer contemplating his youth, and how the frost on his

head has made him look older than he actually is. Snow has become a symbol of the

illusory nature of age. In one of the most calmly contemplative texts of the cycle,

"Letzte Hoffnung" (Last Hope), the central character watches a single leaf on a tree

and utters the following statement: "if the leaf fall to the ground my hopes are

dashed with it; I myself fall to the ground and weep, weep on the grave of my hopes."

Nature is seen as a mirror that reflects the soul of the central character, a theme

prominent in the second half of the cycle.

The second half of Winterreise also contains some of the darkest, most

haunting images in the cycle. In "Der Wegweiser" (The Sign-post), the wanderer sees

"one guidepost . . . standing motionless before my eyes; one street must I follow,

from whence no one has ever returned," and in "Das Wirtshaus" (The Inn) the

wanderer describes a cemetery he passes by as if it were an inn where he may finally

rest from his travels. As the cycle progresses, death becomes a goal he wishes for,

but which constantly eludes him. He laments in "Das Wirtshaus," "Oh unmerciful inn!

Do you refuse me entrance?" However, rest is something that the wanderer is

4

unable to attain within the span of the song cycle. The final song of the cycle, "Der

Leiermann" is an appropriate, if unresolved, end to the drama, as the wanderer

watches an old organ-grinder player who is as much an outcast from society as the

wanderer himself. Alan Cottrell describes the text thus: "The themes of isolation and

monotony here reach their climax."6 Indeed, the wanderer identifies his own plight

with that of the organ-grinder when he says, "Strange old man, shall I go with you?

Will you grind your organ to my songs?" Winterreise ends with a question. What will

be the fate of the lonely wanderer? That is apparently not the concern of the story

told in Müller's poems. Schubert scholar Susan Youens makes an excellent point

when she writes, “The ending of Winterreise may appear tragic, but the wanderer for

the first time seeks out the company of another person, someone whose music is the

catalyst for the wanderer’s realization that sorrow can be sublimated in music.”7

The texts of the songs are only one facet of the drama of Winterreise,

however. It is Schubert’s manipulation of these texts and his facility in setting the

texts to music that adds to their dramatic impact. Immediately at the opening of the

cycle, before the singer utters a single note, Schubert’s piano accompaniment

establishes the tone of the piece, as the steady chord pattern indicates the rhythmic

footsteps of the wanderer at the outset of his journey.

6 Cottrell, Wilhelm Müller’s Lyrical Song Cycles, 63.7 Susan Youens, “Brief Reflections on the Two Müller Cycles of Franz Schubert:

Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795 and Winterreise, D. 911” The NATS Journal 43, no.3 (January/ February 1987): 18.

5

The key of D minor indicates that this is no happy jaunt for enjoyment, though. As

the famed accompanist Gerald Moore described in his book on the Schubert song

cycles, "The pace in ‘Gute Nacht’ is more regular than in any other; there is no

stumbling, no limping, for the man is only at the beginning of his journey . . . [His]

resolution impels him to remove himself as far as he may from all that reminds him

of his lost love."8 However, in the last verse, the song takes on a more tender

quality, as the music shifts into D major. Throughout the song cycle minor keys

predominate, in keeping with the dark mood of many of the texts.9 Only eight of the

twenty-four songs are in major keys. Furthermore, moderate to slow tempi are the

rule in Winterreise. (However, not all of the fast songs are in major keys and vice

versa.)

In "Die Wetterfahne," the action of the wind playing with the weather vane is

depicted dramatically in the accompaniment. The rising and falling motion and trills

paint a vivid musical picture of a weather vane spinning in the winter wind.

The singer's melody in "Die Wetterfahne" is anguished and as unpredictable in its

movement as the wind about which he sings. The wanderer's cry of "What do they

care

8 Gerald Moore, The Schubert song cycles: with thoughts on performance (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1975), 75.

9 It is uncertain whether Schubert’s use of particular keys in Winterreise is essential to the meaning of the work. Several of the songs in the cycle, such as “Der Leiermann” and “Mut” were written in a particular key, only to be transposed to a different key in a later version. Furthermore, in performance a singer will often transpose some songs to a more comfortable key for his or her range. For the purposes of this paper, I will refer henceforth to keys only as “major” or “minor.”

6

for my pain?" is repeated three times in the song, the third time at a higher pitch,

and "Their child is a rich bride" is a climactic melisma. The song, only two pages

long, is a bitter flashback to the emotional pain that was the original impetus for his

journey. In the songs of Winterreise, however, no single mood is in evidence for very

long. After the anger and bitterness of "Die Wetterfahne," the third song "Gefrorne

Tränen" is a sad but gentle lament. One can almost hear the frozen teardrops of the

song's title as they hit the snow, represented in the piano part as a single note struck

alone, with no chords supporting it. The tempo is "nicht zu langsam" (not too slowly),

and the rising vocal line on "as if they would melt the entire winter's ice" is the

primary evidence of the wanderer's grief as he slows his steps on his journey.

The wanderer's grief and the flow of his hot tears are again the dominant

image in "Erstarrung" (Numbness). As he searches in vain for the footprints of his

lost love, the tempo of the music is extremely quick, as if his numbness to his

surroundings were causing him to rush headlong through the snow. The numbness

of the cold winter on his limbs is compared to the numb quality of his emotions. A

rapid triplet pattern repeats throughout the piano accompaniment of the song, and

the vocal line soars on "my hot tears"

and "my heart melts again," creating a forward momentum and emotional impact

that can have a heart-rending effect in the hands of skilled performers. Gerald Moore

remarks, "Schubert flung himself on these verses with fever heat. He could not write

down the notes fast enough . . ."10 Although one can hardly be certain of Schubert’s

state of mind as he worked, the mood of his music in this song is clearly one of

mindless grief. (Moore’s statement is clearly personal opinion, but he describes the

overall effect of the song perfectly.) At the text “Where can I find a blossom, where

can I find green grass?” the addition of accidentals creates a brief modulation into a

major key, as the wanderer searches for a hint of the spring in which he once

10 Ibid., 86.

7

reveled. However, as he resumes his stumbling journey through the cold snow, the

minor key returns.

As "Der Lindenbaum" (The Lime-tree) begins, a triplet pattern similar to that

found in "Erstarrung" is played briefly in the piano. However, this song is much more

serene than "Erstarrung." This song is another moment of reminiscence by the

central character, in which he reflects on an earlier, happier time when the trees

were still green. The song begins in a major key. As he passes the tree that featured

in so many happy memories, though, the result is more grief. As he sings of the cold

winds blowing his hat off, the rushing triplets return, and the key modulates to the

minor mode. The wanderer hears a rustling call: "You will find peace there;" but it is

a bittersweet cry, as he knows that he cannot find peace in the town that has

rejected him.

"Wasserflut" is a slow-tempo piece that is played very differently by different

accompanists. Throughout the piece triplets are lined up with a dotted rhythm, which

is played accurately by some pianists as a staggered rhythm and by others as even

triplets. The example below shows the controversial rhythm:

Gerald Moore preferred the staggered rhythm for a very valid dramatic reason: "the

semiquaver lagging behind . . . symbolizes the tired laboured footsteps of the

wanderer."11 Indeed, at this point in the cycle (the sixth song), it would seem valid

that the wanderer's footsteps would not be as sure and steady as they were earlier in

"Gute Nacht." Nonetheless, many accompanists play the piece with a steady,

11 Ibid., 97.

8

tripletized rhythm. The song is strophic, and both verses end with a rising, emotional

vocal line on the lines "and the soft snow melts" and "there is my beloved's house."

"Auf dem Flusse" (On the River) is another minor key song that links the

flowing of a river in spring with happier times, and the cold crust of ice with the harsh

reality of the wanderer's present condition. The song begins with a simple staccato

piano line, which gets more and more complex as the song progresses. Once again,

the vocal line rises higher and higher as the wanderer's reminiscence of his lost

happiness and love causes him more anguish. This anguish propels him headlong

into one of the more wild dramatic moments of the cycle, the song "Rückblick." In the

words of Susan Youens, "Immersed in memory once more, the wanderer relives his

frantic flight from the sweetheart's town as if it were the present moment."12 The

audience is transported back in time to the events that caused the winter journey in

the first place. The accompaniment consists of intervals in the left hand mirrored in

the right hand in a pounding and rising chromatic figure that depicts dramatically the

character's blind flight from a hostile town. As may be expected, as the wanderer

experiences the despair of a hasty departure, his emotions cause the vocal line to

soar to a higher range once again. As the crows pelt him with missiles, accents in the

vocal and piano lines depict the hailstones finding their mark, presumably

somewhere on the unfortunate wanderer's head.

The next two songs of Winterreise are slower, minor key pieces. "Irrlicht"

(Will-o'-the-Wisp) describes the wanderer picking his way along a deceptive path. As

his path leads him down false turns and down dry riverbeds, the vocal line is as

twisted as the trail he follows, with many wide intervals that carry him quickly

through a range of an octave and a sixth. In "Rast" (Rest), the wanderer finally

realizes how weary he is. He takes shelter in a coal miner's tiny hovel, and as he

reflects on the pain of his wounds (both physical and emotional), the dynamics of the

song alternate between quiet murmurs and sudden mournful cries. On the line "now

12 Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey, 188.

9

you feel in the calm the worm that stings hotly inside you," the vocal part recalls the

wide intervals and high range of "Irrlicht," while the walking rhythm in the piano is

similar to that of "Gute Nacht,” but more disjointed and stumbling than the steady

pace of the opening song.

The last two songs of the first part of Winterreise are "Frühlingstraum" (Spring

Dream) and "Einsamkeit" (Loneliness). The former is, as its title indicates, another

dream of the happier days before the winter brought unhappiness to the wanderer's

life. The song is primarily a lilting dance melody in 6/8, but the unhappiness of the

wanderer's present situation keeps intruding on his consciousness in the form of

minor key interludes in a 2/4 meter. The song ends on a final minor chord as the

dream fades completely. "Einsamkeit" closes the first half of Winterreise with the

theme of loneliness that has been building for the past twelve songs. Susan Youens

writes, "The wanderer, his scant sleep broken by interrupted dreams, continues

saddened and exhausted, 'with dragging feet,' on his journey. . . . he is obsessed with

his loneliness and sense of difference from others, and he imagines analogies in

Nature both for his slow, tired motion and the marks of his separation from others."13

Indeed, the wanderer's faltering footsteps can be clearly heard in the alternating

staccato chords of the piano, so much more broken than the opening chords of "Gute

Nacht." When he cries, "Ah, that the air is so quiet! Ah, that the world is so bright!

While the storms still raged I was not so miserable," there is a tremolo in the piano

followed by pounding triplets, and the vocal line soars once more on "I was not so

miserable." This was originally the end of the cycle before Schubert discovered the

other twelve Winterreise poems, and Schubert's marking of Finis on the autograph is

"a clear indication that at the time he regarded these twelve songs as making up the

complete cycle."14 However, the first twelve songs were to be only the "first act' of

the Winterreise drama. The second half, as mentioned earlier, takes a new turn, both

textually and musically.13 Ibid., 217. 14 John Reed, The Schubert song companion, 441.

10

In his book Distant Cycles: Schubert and the conceiving of song, Richard

Kramer writes, "Whether by design or accident, the second part of Schubert's

Winterreise establishes a fresh start. . . . Die Post comes as a new beginning."15 "Die

Post" begins with staccato arpeggiated major chords in the left hand of the piano part

and a legato melody in the right hand that sounds almost like a bugle call. The song

is in a major key throughout, and for a short while it seems as if the sadness of

"Einsamkeit" has been left behind. The tempo, marked etwas geschwind (like the

wind), and the meter of 6/8 create a forward impetus that conjures up images of a

trotting horse rapidly approaching the post-station. However, even in this lilting

happy song, there is a hint of anxiety and sadness as the wanderer exclaims, "Now

yes, the post comes from the town where I had a beloved, my heart!" Each

interjection of "my heart!" in the song is in the higher part of the vocal range, a trait

consistently associated with anguish in the cycle. After this deceptively fresh

beginning, the second half of the cycle quickly becomes darker.

"Der greise Kopf" finds the wanderer contemplating the frost that covers his

head and has created an illusion of age in a man who is still youthful. Indeed, as he

comments, "How far still to the tomb!" the vocal line rises and falls, a pattern that

has previously been associated with cries of despair earlier in the song cycle. This

song represents the beginning of a trend in the second part of Winterreise, wherein

the wanderer focuses on how long his journey has become and how far the voyage to

his final resting place still is. As the second half of Winterreise continues, the

wanderer's thoughts and feelings turn dwell more and more on the journey to the

grave.

In "Die Krähe" the wanderer addresses a crow that has been following him.

Once

15 Richard Kramer, Distant Cycles: Schubert and the conceiving of song (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994), 173.

11

again, he poses a question about his own fate, "Do you think you will soon take my

body as prey?" The triplet pattern in the piano part hearkens back to the earlier

songs "Erstarrung" and "Der Lindenbaum," but the triplets have become slower and

less rushed. As he calls to the crow, "let me finally see your faithfulness to the

grave," the singer's part soars on the word "grave," and immediately drops back

down to the low range as he repeats his cry. His meditation on the connection of his

fate with the forces of nature continues on the next song "Letzte Hoffnung," where he

compares his fate to that of a single leaf on a tree, as mentioned earlier. Although

the text seems contemplative, the piano and the voice parts are both full of

disjointed staccato bursts. As the leaf falls from the tree, the voice line descends an

octave, but is immediately followed by a rising line as the wanderer cries out, "I

weep, weep on the grave of my hope!"

"Im Dorfe" now finds the wanderer passing through a town where the people

are still asleep in their beds. There is a calm, peaceful morning quality to the song as

he observes the stillness of the village. Not all is perfectly quiet, however. Once

again, the dogs bark and rattle their chains, which has already been a sign of the

wanderer's rejection by society in "Gute Nacht," and again he addresses the wild

beasts, "Bark me away, watchdogs, let me not rest during the slumber hour!" He

does so in a calm manner, though. The tempo remains slow and steady. As he says,

"Why should I tarry among sleepers?" the piano plays a cadence in which the

resolution is suspended, as if the wanderer were pausing one last time before

continuing on his journey. It is a brief respite before the storm breaks in "Der

stürmische Morgen" (The Stormy Morning).

The piano and vocal lines of "Der stürmische Morgen" are reminiscent of the

second song of the cycle "Die Wetterfahne." The furious pounding quality of the song

depicts vividly the winter storm that rages about the wanderer. However, this time

the lost love about whom so much was said in the first half is not mentioned at all.

The wanderer seems to be one with the storm, and indeed he state that this is "a

12

morning right to my mind." The voice and piano reflect this singleness of mood very

clearly, as the piano plays in unison with the singer throughout much of the song.

The storm clears quickly in the next piece. "Täuschung" (Illusion) is another

lilting dance melody in a major key (and in a 6/8 meter that hearkens back to

“Irrlicht” and “Die Post”), as the wanderer follows a dancing light through the night.

In this song, for the final time in the cycle, there is a brief reference to "a dear soul,"

possibly the lost love who has been so conspicuously absent in the second half. As

the title of the song implies, however, the pursuit of this elusive light is as impossible

as his earlier pursuit of love. At the very end of the vocal part is an ascending sixth

followed immediately by a descending sixth, which is extremely reminiscent of the

pattern set by earlier cries of hopelessness. As Susan Youens points out, "Even as he

follows the will-o'-the-wisp in a feigned lightheartedness more tragic than overt grief,

he knows its promises are only deception."16 The delicate quality of this song is so

sweet, it is almost like saccharine, merely a substitute for the happiness the

wanderer desires.

The next two songs of Winterreise are perhaps the darkest in the cycle. "Der

Wegweiser" (The Signpost), as mentioned earlier, finds the wanderer contemplating a

sign that points inexorably toward death. The repeated eight notes in the voice and

piano seen in the following example have a quality of inevitability that is extremely

effective and remarkably haunting.

16 Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey, 267.

13

The piece is almost immobile and paralyzed in its hushed tone. The wanderer

accepts his fate with a grim resolution borne of repeated hardship. Susan Youens

makes an excellent observation: "For this moment of revelation, Schubert creates

powerful musical symbols for something so awesome as a vision of destiny within the

mind, tonal disorientation whose rising chromatic bass line conveys a rising horror

within the mind."17 "Das Wirtshaus," in its quiet beauty is almost as horrifying in its

hymn-like setting, as the wanderer compares a cemetery to an inn. The tempo is

sehr langsam (very slowly), as if the wanderer's longing for death has separated him

completely from his emotions. Interestingly, the only hint of emotion in the music

comes when he asks, "Oh unmerciful inn! Do you refuse me entrance?" At this point,

the music lurches into a minor key for a few bars, but as he resumes his journey, the

major key and serenity return at the words, "Now further then, my faithful walking

stick."

As if to further bolster his confidence, the next song "Mut" (Courage) bursts

with energy that was lacking in "Das Wirtshaus." The song has a rousing tempo,

marked kräftig (powerful), and there is indeed power overflowing in this short song.

The range remains in the middle, the most firm and dependable area of most singers'

voices. In the case of tonality, the rapid changes between major and minor modes

indicate the dark undercurrent of the wanderer's attempt to bolster his courage. The

vocal line ends in the major mode as the wanderer exclaims, "If there is not a God on

earth, then we ourselves are gods!" The fatalism behind this sentiment is reinforced

as the piano finishes the song in the minor mode.

With the last bit of his energy having been spent in "Mut," the wanderer

seems to lose most of his will in the final two songs of Winterreise. The enigmatic

text of "Die Nebensonnen" (The Mock Suns) describes the wanderer's vision of three

suns in the sky. Gerald Moore writes, "The distinguished musicologist A. H. Fox-

Strangways suggested that Faith, Hope and Life are represented-- a poetic conclusion

17 Ibid., 276.

14

and in the context of the cycle an acceptable one. Most certainly the suns of Faith

and Hope exist no more for our afflicted wanderer, all that is left to him is Life and

that is a stuff he would readily do without."18 The serenity of Schubert's music for

"Die Nebensonnen" seems to be an indication that the wanderer has lost all ability to

perceive his surroundings objectively. He is lapsing into a quiet torpor, which results

in his calm observation of the poor organ-grinder in "Der Leiermann." The final song

of Winterreise is a marvelously haunting and delicate piece. The piano and voice

participate in a dialogue, wherein the piano takes the part of the organ-grinder

playing his music box melody, as the singer watches in grim fascination. At the very

end of the piece, the piano has a brief crescendo (shown below), which is like a final

sigh of resignation before the cycle fades out completely.

The curtain falls (figuratively speaking) on a poor vagabond whose future seems

inevitable, but who is nevertheless still alive.

Much like a literal journey, then, Winterreise is replete with twists and turns,

signposts, brief rest stops, and an ongoing road whose secrets are hidden by the

ever-present horizon. The audience who attends a recital or listens to a recording of

the song cycle travels arm-in-arm with the performers who portray the wanderer and

his surroundings, who tell his sad tale. It is a testament to the power of Schubert's

work that the song cycle has been recorded in this century (and indeed continues to

be recorded today) by so many tremendously talented musicians-- Gerald Moore,

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Thomas Hampson, Gerard Souzay, the list goes on and on.

Apparently, audiences continue to be adventurous enough to embark on the

lonesome trek with this tragic

18 Gerald Moore, The Schubert song cycles: with thoughts on performance, 165.

15

wanderer, despite the unanswered question at the very end of the final song. As

Susan Youens points out, "When the quest culminates in partial understanding, the

seeker wants only to reject what he finds, and the self is rent asunder all the more. . .

. Out of the denial that art transcends misery comes art and transcendence."19

Perhaps it is the very elusive nature of the question at the end of Winterreise that is

the key to the musical impact of Schubert's cycle.

19 Susan Youens, Retracing a Winter’s Journey, 312.

16

WORKS CITED

Cottrell, Alan P. Wilhelm Müller’s Lyrical Song Cycles: Interpretations and Texts. University of North Carolina Studies in the Germanic Languages and Literature, no. 66. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1970.

Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich. Schubert: a biographical study of his songs. Translated and edited by Kenneth Whitton. London: Cassell & Company Limited, 1976.

Kramer, Richard. Distant cycles: Schubert and the conceiving of song. 234 pp. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994.

Moore, Gerald. The Schubert song cycles: with thoughts on performance. 240 pp. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1975.

Reed, John. The Schubert song companion. 510 pp. New York: Universe Books, 1985.

Schubert, Franz. Neue Ausgabe sämtlicher Werke. Edited by Walther Dürr, Arnold Feil, Christa Landon. Serie IV: Lieder, Band 4a. 191 pp. London: Bärenreiter-Verlag Kassel, 1979.

Youens, Susan. Retracing a Winter’s Journey: Schubert’s Winterreise. 330 pp. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1991.

________. “Brief Reflections on the Two Müller Cycles of Franz Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795 and Winterreise, D. 911” The NATS Journal 43, no. 3 (January/ February 1987): 16-18.

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