To mark the great composer’s birthday, we are delighted to share a new four-part video series exploring the life of Franz Schubert, presented by Graham Johnson (commissioned by John Gilhooly).

Having engaged with Schubert’s music for over five decades as an internationally celebrated performer, scholar and author, Johnson offers unique insights into Schubert’s story, building a vivid and detailed picture of this incomparable composer.

In the second episode of a landmark series about Schubert’s life, Graham Johnson looks at the great composer’s friendship with the poet Johann Baptist Mayrhofer.

Mayrhofer was someone who instantly recognised Schubert’s musical genius, writing in his diary, “The fog of the present time will be lifted by listening to Schubert’s melodies”.