This is a dramatic exploration of the life and works of Franz Schubert. Featuring excerpts from many of his compositions, the central narrative occurs during Schubert' s hospitalization for syphilis, the contraction of which was both a consequence of his darker inclinations and a spur to some of his greatest work. As the doctors diagnose Schubert's symptoms, identify their cause and administer treatment, the composer conducts his own internal imaginative examination, a sometimes delirious and dreamlike evocation of the moments and music from his past life. The characters he recalls are his maverick friend and Svengali , Franz von Schober, his authoritarian father, his illustrious but conformist patron Michael Vogl and his unfulfilled love Karoline Esterhazy.

Musical extracts by Franz Schubert (1797 1828)
Piano Quintet in A major Die Forelle , D667
E flat major piano trio, D897
An die Musik, D547
Die Forelle, D550
Piano Sonata in B flat, D960
Piano Sonata in A major, D959
Länder No 5, D790
Fantasy in F minor, D940
Hungarian Melody, D818
String Quarter No 15 in G major, D887
Der Leiermann from Winterreise, D911
Symphony No 8 in B minor (unfinished), D759
The Hanover Band
Directed by Roy Goodman