Poetry and Performance
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The intimate relationship between music and poetry in the German Lied requires the artist to refine his or her sensibilities in both modes of expression. The work of the FRANZ-SCHUBERT-INSTITUT is founded on the premise that insight into the poetry of the Age of Goethe and the ability to recite that poetry effectively are prerequisites for the musical interpretation and performance of the Lied.

The five-week course, conducted primarily in English, consists of a co-ordinated program of four essential disciplines:

  1. a series of master classes unrivaled in scope (138 hours of instruction by foremost artists),
  2. intensive coaching in German diction and recitation with Austrian actors and actresses,
  3. individual coaching in voice and piano with our artists-in- residence,
  4. interpretative seminars in the poetry of the Lied.

Please note that the course is a integrated whole and that students are not permitted to enroll for the individual master classes separately.

Accompanists and singers work and learn together at the FRANZ-SCHUBERT-INSTITUT. Far from being the servant of the vocalist, the professional accompanist shares equally in creating the total musical meaning of the Lied and should, therefore, for pedagogical as well as artistic reasons, master the poetry and its elocution.