Schubert called Winterreise a cycle of “truly terrible songs,” not only for its immersive and dark subject matter but also for the compositional process itself. It is the Mount Everest of song cycles, a form that Schubert himself perfected. Written on poems by Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827), the songs describe a timeless tale of heartbreak: boy meets girl, girl rejects boy, boy is overcome by existential feelings and sets out on a solitary winter’s journey that may result in his demise. But Schubert’s genius would not allow him to be content with vapid superficialities: when Schubert set these poems to music, he was confronting his own probable fate, one of agonising pain and isolation.

Winterreise was originally composed for the tenor voice, but it has been frequently transposed to accommodate the whole gamut of vocal tessituras. Danish bass-baritone and musical scholar Jakob Bloch Jespersen has mastered a range of repertoire from Schütz to Schierbecks and well into the 21st century. His burnished resonance and restrained sensitivity well-serve this existential Schubertiade. His partner, fortepianist Sharon Prushansky brings her expertise in music of the Classical and early Romantic eras, utilising the full panoply of pianistic Affekt available to her on Robert Brown’s 2015 instrument after an original by Jakob Bertsche (ca. 1810-1815). Particularly noteworthy to this instrument are its six pedals, which serve the purpose of changing the quality and colour of the sound, including the infamous “bassoon stop!” A third, silent partner also contributes to this extraordinary production: the haunting, sepia-toned landscapes by the great Danish photographer, Tove Kurtzweil.

Together, Jakob Bloch Jespersen and Sharon Prushansky take you on an unforgettable journey through one of the most powerful musical depictions of desolation this side of Mahler!