The Fair Maid of the Mill
18 October 2026, 3:30pm - 4:45pm
Helen Charlston makes a welcome return to the Festival to perform Schubert’s great song cycle of 1823, Die schöne Müllerin (‘The Fair Maid of the Mill’). For this poignant journey from optimism to despair, Schubert sets the folk-like texts of Wilhelm Müller, which were originally conceived as a kind of parlour entertainment. Schubert responds to the directness of the poems with a remarkable musical sequence, perfectly reflecting the journey of the young miller as he strides confidently into the world only to be ignored by
the woman he falls for, with his sole companion the flowing brook whose course he follows.
