Schubert in 1824

Each year from now until 2028, the great Schubertian pianist and scholar Graham Johnson brings Schubert to life through his fascinating lecture-recitals, tracing the composer’s final years two centuries on. This seminal series is full of revelations and insights. Regarding today’s focus on 1824, Graham Johnson writes:

‘In the context of recounting the events of 1824, this lecture dwells on the back-story of the complicated friendship between Franz Schubert and the poet Johann Mayrhofer (1787-1836). It explores the fruitful influence that Mayrhofer’s knowledge and guidance had on Schubert’s development, and presents a selection of the magnificent songs that were composed as a result of their collaboration, culminating in the four great Mayrhofer song settings of 1824.’