Jonathan O'Neill’s Reviews > Schubert's Winter Journey: Anatomy of an Obsession > Status Update
Jonathan O'Neill
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... Lieder is a niche product, even within the niche that is classical music; but 'Winter's Journey' is incontestably a great work of art which should be as much a part of our common experience as the poetry of Shakespeare and Dante, the paintings of Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, the novels of the Brontë sisters or Marcel Proust.
— Jan 18, 2026 03:28AM
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Jonathan O'Neill
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While noting that the mystery created by narrative loose ends is part of what offers this song cycle its power, Bostridge suggests, with plausible reasoning, that we could imagine, for 1.Gute Nacht, a scenario like the one in Rousseau's La Nouvelle Héloïse in which emotional complications ensue due to a young house tutor, of lower economic status, becoming entangled with a virtuous young woman of status
— Jan 19, 2026 01:56AM
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DivaDiane
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Jan 18, 2026 06:55AM
Who says that? The author? Well, I suppose in the grand scheme of things Lieder are a niche product. Same as sonatas, really. For a classical singer, though, Lieder are a VERY important part of
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Looks like I only got part of your comment, DD :( Yeah, that's the author. Being a tenor himself, I believe he meant it in terms of modern day public interest, not in terms of its importance within the broader realm of Classical music, and I think in that sense he's on the money. I don't personally know anyone else in real life that listens to Classical music and I'd be confident that the first 100 people I asked about Franz Schubert's 'Winterreise' would likely not know who he is let alone anything about the lieder. A sad state of affairs.I got tickets for this, mid-Feb, and am letting life dictate my reading choices this year which is why I picked this up. When I purchased the ticket online I got a $130 ticket for $49 simply because I'm 'Under 40', I think that's pretty telling about the current interest in Classical Music, at least in Australia 🥴
