Franz Schubert - Schubert was born near Vienna in 1797. Much of his early training was from Antonio Salieri (now sadly known best for allegedly having poisoned Mozart). This helped him little in his early career, as he was summarily rejected for mentorship of the prestigious Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and then promptly failed in his application for the post of kappelmeister. By 1817, though, Schubert’s compositions were beginning to receive praise from the press, with his lively piano duets being particularly popular. Schubert’s mature period (perhaps a misnomer as he died aged 31) saw a string of unsuccessful operas, but more importantly some of the most lyrical and creative string quartets, quintets, piano sonatas, symphonies, and, in the last f ive years of his life, song cycles. His setting of poems by Müller – Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise – are considered amongst the greatest Lieder ever written. Schubert arranged to be buried next to his musical hero, Beethoven, and the two lie beside Brahms and Johann Strauss in Zentralfriedhof. Charles and David have been working together for more than ten years and have given a series of chamber concerts in London and Norfolk covering a very broad repertoire from Schubert and Duparc to Flanders and Swann, via Verdi and Mozart and Benjamin Britten. This disc was recorded and is being distributed in aid of Study Guatemala. Every penny donated goes straight to the charity.