As a youthful composer, Schubert would sometimes imitate the works of older composers he admired. In this May 1816 setting of Friedrich von Schiller's "Die Erwartung" (Anticipation) (D. 159), Schubert follows the example of Johann Zumsteeg's setting of the same text. As in Zumsteeg's Die Erwartung, Schubert's song is a succession of recitatives and arias with brief piano interludes and introductions. But while Zumsteeg's setting is stiff and rigid, Schubert's is graceful and fluent, moving easily into and out of each section with an elegance that Zumsteeg's setting lacks. More importantly, however, Schubert's melodies are much more expressive of the longing experienced by one lover waiting for another, and his harmonies evoke the romantic atmosphere of the twilight. Zumsteeg's is an effective setting of "Die Erwartung," but Schubert's is inspired.

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