Franz Schubert’s birthday. A day to vacillate between smiles and tears. Is there any other composer whose music so perfectly reflects the delicacy and transience of feelings? It is the language of poetry and yearning.

Personally, I prefer my Schubert bittersweet. Nevertheless, this week on “Sweetness and Light,” most of the music will be of an extroverted, even buoyant character. Okay, maybe it’s impossible for me get through the hour without a touch of emotional ambiguity. I’ll sneak in one of my favorite lieder around the midpoint. Otherwise, it’s a potpourri of ballet music, transcriptions, and some high-spirited marches for piano four-hands.

It’s sherbet for Schubert on “Sweetness and Light,” this Saturday morning at 11:00 EST/8:00 PST, exclusively on KWAX Classical Oregon!

Stream it, wherever you are, at the link:

https://kwax.uoregon.edu/

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IMAGE: Always refreshing: orange Schubert