A book such as this confirms the canonical status of Winterreise. The song cycle is widely acknowledged to be a great work, as reflected in its constant presence on concert platforms and in recording catalogues, its influence on other composers, and its continuing fascination for scholars. Yet it took time before Winterreise achieved its celebrated status. Schubert’s contemporaries were initially uncertain about the merits of the “terrifying songs,” and full performances did not take place in public until the 1850s. The 1928 centennial commemoration of the composer’s death encouraged multiple live and recorded performances of the cycle, but only after World War II, with the invention of the long-playing record, did recordings by internationally celebrated advocates such as German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau establish Winterreise’s canonic status.