SCHUBERT'S WINTER JOURNEY: ANATOMY OF AN OBSESSION

New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 2015. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 505 pages. The singer/interpreter's book-length account on subject. One of the best books on the musical art and achievement of Franz Schubert of our time. Advance Signed Copy of the First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. The First Edition is now scarce. Presents Ian Bostridge's "Schubert's Winter Journey: Anatomy of An Obsession". His exploration of the world's most famous and challenging song cycle, "Winterreise". A definitive interpreter of the work, Bostridge "teases out the themes - literary, historical, psychological - that weave through the twenty-four songs that make up this legendary masterpiece. Completed in the last months of the young Schubert's life, 'Winterreise' has come to be considered the single greatest piece of music in the history of Lieder. These twenty-four short poems set to music for voice and piano are performed uninterrupted in little more than an hour. It nonetheless has an emotional depth and power that no music of its kind has ever equalled. A young man walks out into snow and darkness. As he wanders away, he experiences a cascade of emotions: Loss, grief, anger, and loneliness, shot through with fleeting moments of hope until the landscape he inhabits becomes one of alienation and despair. Originally intended to be sung to an intimate gathering, performances now pack the greatest concert halls around the world. Drawing equally on his vast experience performing this work, on his musical knowledge, and on his training as a scholar, Bostridge explores for us the world Schubert inhabited, his biography and psychological makeup, the historical and political pressures within which he became one of the world's greatest composers, and the continuing resonances and affinities that our ears still detect today" (Publisher's blurb). An absolute "must-have" title for Franz Schubert and Ian Bostridge collectors. This Advance Signed Copy is very prominently, neatly, and beautifully signed in black ink-pen on the title page by Ian Bostridge. It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a contemporary classic. This is one of few such pre-signed copies of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing still available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Ian Bostridge signed copies of the book through the publisher only. He did NOT tour or promote the book in person. Copies available online have serious flaws (because the white DJ soils easily) or are in subsequent printings. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare signed copy thus. One of the most brilliant interpreter/scholars of our time on one of the greatest composers of all time. A fine copy. . ISBN 030796163X.