Schubert and Mayrhofer

"Schubert wrote approximately 650 songs, based on poems by some 110 authors. Goethe led this formidable list, but after Goethe, came Johann Mayrhofer, now a totally forgotten poet. Schubert set 47 songs and two operas to Mayrhofer's writings. Most of those Lieder are masterly, a few increasingly performed, but many are still known only to a few musicians and scholars. An intimate friend of Schubert, Mayrhofer had considerable influence over the young composer's development. Their complex relationship also figures in this commentary. Here, each song and (briefly) the two operas are discussed within musical and literary perspectives. Background information and technical vocabulary have been kept at a minimum but new translations of the Lieder are included. References to recordings are made to bring the world of Schubert and Mayrhofer to life."--BOOK JACKET.