And then there were three …..

Schwanengesang is a collection of songs written by Schubert at the end of his life, to poems by Ludwig Rellstab, Heinrich Heine and Johann Gabriel Seidl, compiled, named and published posthumously by Tobias Haslinger.

Should we view this creation as being in the same league as Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise? The discussion has been ongoing for many years and will continue to excite and exercise the minds of musicologists, performers and the general public for a very long time to come. Regardless of one’s take on this, it is impossible to ignore the fact that more and more singers are performing and recording Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang as a magnificent triumvirate.

The sole purpose of this website is – as with those for Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin – to provide a resource which brings together all recordings, books, translations, paintings and other related artworks inspired – in this case – by Schwanengesang. Interestingly, till now not many artists have “painted” or “drawn” Schwanengesang, but a number of artists have indicated an interest in addressing this hiatus.

As always, a huge debt of gratitude is owed to that great fount of knowledge, Karsten Lehl, supervisor of the Historical Sound Archives of the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf, who this time around has provided images and detailed information about the earliest sound recordings of Schwanengesang.

From personal experience, I know that you will continue to provide material in the form of cover images, performer biographies, recording dates, etc., wherever you find such information as provided on the website to be incorrect or incomplete – or is missing altogether – for which my very grateful thanks. This, too, is an ongoing project and return visits are highly recommended!