Having sung the songs of Schubert for many years in concert, Australian baritone David Greco was delighted when ABC Classic approached him in 2017 to ask if he was interested in recording Winterreise (Winter Journey). With its setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller, Schubert’s masterful 1828 song cycle follows the bleak journey of a lovelorn wanderer.

Erin Helyard (left) and David Greco with Virginia Read, a veteran recording producer at ABC Classic, who worked on Schwanengesang and retired in May. Photo courtesy of David Greco

Collaborating with esteemed keyboardist Erin Helyard, Greco says it was “a blessing” to record Winterreise. “The album sparked a lot of interest when it was released [in 2018], so the ABC was keen for us to go on and record Schubert’s other great song cycles as well.”

In 2020, the pair released Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill). Written in 1823, before Winterreise, and based on 20 other Müller poems, it moves from love and optimism to heartbreak and tragedy. The recording received an ARIA Award nomination for Best Classical Album and led to Greco...