Daniel Lebhardt - Franz Schubert: L�ndler, Minuets, �cossaises

Social and musical life in Biedermeier Vienna during the first decade of the 19th century created a great demand for dances which took place in the residences of wealthy citizens. With their echoes of the Austrian countryside Schubert�s folk-type L�ndler are dances in 3/4 time, precursors of the waltz. Composed towards the end of his life when Schubert wrote his greatest music, the sets of 16 and 17 L�ndler are notable for their melodic inventiveness. The 16 are dedicated to the ladies of Vienna and known as the Wiener Damen-L�ndler; while the �cossaises were intended for facing lines of dancers rather than couples. Daniel Lebhardt relishes the joy and �irresistible and sometimes quite delirious� ingenuity of these jewel-like dances.