This course will examine the last flowering of Schubert’s remarkable music in the final few years of his short life. It will look closely at such works as the song-cycle Die Winterreise, the ‘Great’ C major symphony, the last string quartet, the String Quintet in C and the final piano sonatas. The course will also compare Schubert’s development with that of his contemporaries including the last works of Beethoven and those of Spohr, Weber and many others. It will examine how far Schubert is an exception to the compositional norm, or how far just one of its most remarkable contributors. It will examine musical life in Vienna in the post-Napoleonic Vienna of the day. All-comers welcome. This course also includes a ticket for the Sunday afternoon concert with the Sacconi Quartet.