Live Performance of Franz Schubert’s “Heidenröslein” by Dorothea Fayne (Mezzo-Soprano) and Jens Holzkamp (Piano) from a concert that they gave on June, 17, 2007 – „A Summernight’s Concert in Berlin.“

In 1816 Joseph von Spaun sent sixteen of Schubert's songs with settings of Goethe's poems to the poet himself. The next month he sent Goethe another twelve songs by Schubert with Goethe's poems. Supposedly, Goethe made a short note of this in his diary, but did not react more. Some people have said that Goethe did not know much about music and that is why he acted this way. Others believe that because Schubert’s compositions may have changed or affected the poems of Goethe ever so slightly, that he was not perfectly happy with Schubert’s music...

Nevertheless, Goethe’s opinions did not influence Schubert in the least. He set more than 80 poems of Goethe to music. “Heidenröslein” is one of Schubert’s most beautiful and most beloved of all his writings. It is also, by the way, one of the most difficult songs from Franz Schubert to sing well. This is because the vocal line lies plainly exposed over a clear, subtle harmonic structure, in which the piano part has never more than three or four voices at any given moment.