To mark the great composer’s birthday, we are delighted to share a new four-part video series exploring the life of Franz Schubert, presented by Graham Johnson (commissioned by John Gilhooly).

Having engaged with Schubert’s music for over five decades as an internationally celebrated performer, scholar and author, Johnson offers unique insights into Schubert’s story, building a vivid and detailed picture of this incomparable composer.

For the third part of Graham Johnson’s journey through Schubert’s life, he explores the years 1821-1824. These years are shaped by Schubert’s friendship with Franz von Schober, and in 1823 Schubert composed the first of his epoch-making song cycles Die schöne Müllerin. However, the period of 1823-24 was one of great pain, panic, depression and tragedy for the composer.