大象传媒

Donald Macleod explores the life and work of Franz Schubert, introducing music from across the range of his prodigious output and reflecting on the colourful but ill-fated life of a complex character.

Donald look at Schubert's circle of friends, bound together by a desire for self-improvement and a passion for poetry and music, and looks at his relationship with two important women in his life and some of the works with which they were associated.

Many of Schubert's works were first performed at musical soir茅es in the homes of the middle-classes and aristocracy. Donald Macleod introduces a selection of Schubert's songs, part-songs and chamber music, typical of the works performed at such gatherings and often with Schubert himself at the piano.

Donald also looks at the effect of mental illness including depression and the symptoms of syphilis on Schubert's output and ends with a focus on the composer's last works, written before his early death at thirty-one.