Austrian composer who straddled the Classical and Romantic periods. His music is classical in its form but romantic inhis unsurpassed melodic expressiveness, especially as a writer for the voice. His songs, or Lieder, have had a special place in the development of vocal music and in the affections of generations of singers. In his short life he wrote some 600 songs, among them the cycles Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. But his output in other areas was no less significant. There are nine symphonies including the Unfinished Symphony, and a repertoire of significant chamber music, amongst which is The Trout Quintet and the Death and the Maiden Quartet. He died of an early illness, a poor and largely neglected composer. He was buried close to Beethoven, for whom he had a special admiration.