Welcome to Hyperion Records, an independent British classical label devoted to presenting high-quality recordings of music of all styles and from all periods from the twelfth century to the twenty-first.

Hyperion offers both CDs, and downloads in a number of formats. The site is also available in several languages.

Please use the dropdown buttons to set your preferred options, or use the checkbox to accept the defaults.

Ludwig von Széchényi

born: 1781
died: 1855
country: Germany

Ludwig, Graf von Széchényi von Sarvari-Felsö-Videk was a prominent and important amateur poet and musician of Hungarian birth. He was high steward to the Archduchess Sophie and an important member of the Philharmonic Society. His brother Stephan was a prominent Hungarian statesman. Schubert set only two of his poems, neither of which was published. This suggests that the composer had access to a manuscript of the words, which would have been possible at any time though an intermediary. Perhaps the composer had met Széchényi through another Hungarian count, Karl Esterházy, as early as 1817. It is true that the publication of the Op 7 songs (including Der Tod und as Mädchen) with a dedication to Széchényi at the end of 1821 probably cleared the way for Schubert's election to full membership of the Philharmonic Society in March 1822. It remains open to question whether the composer wrote songs expressly for this purpose, or whether he unearthed songs he had already written some years before.

from notes by Graham Johnson © 1994

Albums

Waiting for content to load...

Complete works available for download

Alphabetical listing of all musical works

Waiting for content to load...
Waiting for content to load...