Retracing a Winter's Journey: Franz Schubert's "Winterreise"

Susan Youens follows her excellent analyses of Schubert's lieder -- among the highlights of her work are books on "Die schoene Muellerin" in the Cambridge Music series and "Schubert's Poets and the Making of Lieder" -- with a complete analysis of *the* major song cycle, Winterreise. In this book, which is aimed at the knowledgeable layperson but which will not disappoint specialists in either poetry or musicology, Youens first deconstructs the cycle as a whole, looking at the poet, Wilhelm Mueller, and the sources of his texts; as well as giving a "macro" look at Schubert's setting of it. This first section would have been excellent enough. But then Youens analyzes each song, in both music and poetry. She finds links between the songs, helps guide the narrative, and, on nearly every page, points out features that can't help but inform anyone's understanding of this touchstone of Western culture.Youens includes the first page of the score of every song, as well as the German text -- with the occasional changes by Schubert carefully noted and explained -- and the translation into English. Even if you don't speak German, I'd highly recommend reading Mueller's text while you recall the melody of the song. It really gives an appreciation of the art not just of Schubert but of Mueller as well, who Youens argues is unjustly viewed as a minor German poet these days. Her appreciation of Mueller made a believer out of me.Five stars for this educational, well-written book that gave me a completely new view of a cycle I've listened to hundreds of times.

I came to this excellent book by Jouens via a similar one by Bostridge. I am fond of both. It is rare that a theme attracts two writers at about the same time, leading to a competition for the title of definitive work on a subject. I can presently not give a clear preference.Both books deal in their independent ways with Schubert’s Winterreise, a compendium of 24 songs amongst his last, arguably the world finest. They are bleak and austere passages of a wanderer, theatrical and melodious, speaking of lost love. Schubert, the composer who died with 31 in Vienna, considered Winterreise his best work. Susan Jouens' is the more poetical one, Bostridge’s the one more speaking of his experience as a singer. Jouens positively re-evaluates the poet Mueller, as of considerable depth, hiding under a veneer of folk simplicity. She is interpreting Mueller's various images with a skill born of wide knowledge of the poet's other works.I recommend to luxuriate in both books and savor their differences. Rarely does one have opportunity to let oneself be pampered by such a fine competition.

Even lovers of "Winterreise" who are quite obsessed by this cycle of 24 poems set to music by Schubert may find this guide heavy going. The author does an admirable job of describing the poems and explaining the background of how the song cycle came to be written. She then goes bar by bar almost through each of the 24 songs, examining how specific words are set to music, the many key changes, the amendments that the composer made and every other detail you may wish to know.A score of the piece is definitely required to follow the argument.This book really doesn't work well on the Kindle. It's awkward to page back to reread things that are relevant from previous chapters and the score extracts don't show up well.This book is recommended for professional musicians, music majors and specialists in German poetry - in the paper version. It's not for the general reader or amateur lover of Schubert.

For serious classical vocal music lovers. NOT an "intro to" type of book. Ask yourself "How well do I know Winterreise?" If the answer is fairly well, then go and purchase this book.

A wonderful book!

An excellent book, really for those interested in advanced musicalogical analyses of texts and music. I did not agree with all her conclusions, but responses to these songs are certain to be subjective. The author is more enlightening with regard to texts, piano part, and structures of the songs than she is with the vocal line and the singer's response to performance and interpretation, but that is presumably because she has not approached the subject from a singer's point of view. Recommended for serious singers, pianists and musicians as well as students of Schubert's works.

Susan Youens is a wonderful scholar: her knowledge is encyclopaedic and her enthusiasm for the subject shines through.The prose is fluent: easy to read and easy to understand. The three introductory chapters which give an overview of the Genesis, Texts and Music of Winterreise are followed by twenty-four discrete chapters devoted to the individual songs. These chapters are a very useful 'go to' resource for useful information about each song. I would recommend this book and point out that there is a much less costly alternative paperback edition.

Wonderful book, very insightful, well written

Very helpful guide