Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer who lived from 1797 to 1828. Though he died young, Schubert was extremely prolific, composing hundreds of lieder (German art songs), symphonies, masses, operas and other works. One of his earliest and most famous lieder was "Gretchen am Spinnrade" from 1814, setting a text from Goethe's Faust that depicts Gretchen absorbed in spinning and thinking of her love for Faust. The piano accompaniment imitates the spinning wheel's motion. The song follows an ABACADA rondo form as Gretchen expresses her obsession, despair, and longing for Faust through the constantly repeating music and text.