Matthäus von Collin was a cousin of the same Josef von Spaun who seems to have been ubiquitous in all the fortunate aspects of Schubert's life. Collin was a poet and dramatist, a good eighteen years older than the composer, but a kindly and cultured host of considerable means (he was tutor to Napoleon's son, the Duke of Reichstadt). He was something of an intellectual heavyweight, having held the professorship of philosophy at the University of Cracow, and the professorship of history of philosophy in Vienna. Admired for his taste, kindness and ability as a critic rather more than for his writing, Collin's conversation must have bewitched Schubert on his visits (sometimes with Vogl) to his household. He was a disciple of the Schlegel brothers, and those poets' considerable influence on Schubert in the early 1820s, probably went back to conversations with Collin. His early death in his middle forties was a shock to the Schubert circle. There are five Schubert Collin settings.
from notes by Graham Johnson © 1989
