Schubert's Late Lieder: Beyond the Song-Cycles.(Book Review)

Susan Youens. Cambridge University Press (40 W. 20th St., New York, NY 10011-4211), 2002. 436 pp., $75.

Thoughts of the late lieder of Franz Schubert bring to mind the settings of Wilhelm Muller's Die schone Mullerin and Die Winterreise or the collection of Schwanengesang with the poetry of Rellstab and Heine. But who were the poets Collin, Pyrker, Leitner, Seidl, Reil and Franz Xaver Freiherr yon Schlechta-Wssehrd? In her seventh book on the lieder of Hugo Wolf and Franz Schubert, Susan Youens introduces us to these six contemporaries of Schubert, whose poetry is derived primarily from their musical settings.

Although the work of these otherwise unknown poets can no longer stand on its own, "They have interesting cultural tales to tell, and they made wonderful music." Herein lies the beauty of Youens's writing on lieder. Following the successful format of the previous books, she brings together a wealth of knowledge of political and social history, literary imagery, art and drama with the authoritative musical analysis One would expect from a highly respected musicologist. The book offers no direct suggestions for the performers' interpretation but does provide an ...