Christian Gerhaher, one of the most import contemporary singers, writes vividly of his performing life and the experiences that he has had in over thirty years with the great works of the history of the Lied, from Beethoven's 'An die ferne Geliebte' via Schubert's great cycles, Schumann's varied Lieder, and art songs from Gustav Mahler to Othmar Schoeck and Wolfgang Rihm. He reflects on what these Lieder mean, what makes each of them unique and how they should be performed. An essential addition to the canon of writing on singing.