Ian Bostridge’s study as enigmatic as Schubert’s masterpiece

I have seen a prominent cultural commentator curl his upper lip as he spat out the words “German lieder” and, on another occasion, audience members near to revolt when they realised Thomas Hampson would be singing Mahler that evening, not Stephen Foster.
Whether it is misunderstanding or prejudice that keeps people away from lieder, and particularly from the masterpiece that is Schubert’s Winter Journey, or Winterreise, here is a book to set them straight. For those of us who are already obsessed with the work, it provides an irresistible treat.