Wer kauft Liebesgötter (Who will buy these cupids) was part of a libretto written by Goethe in 1795 as a sequel to Die Zauberflöte. This particular number, a birdseller's self-promotional advertisement, was intended for Papageno. In the event, Goethe was unable to find a composer willing to set his opera or whom he was willing to let set it. In August 1815, Schubert set Goethe's four-stanza poem as a strophic song in his best neo-Mozartian style (D. 261). Light and graceful in both its vocal melody and its piano accompaniment, Wer kauft Liebesgötter is a delightful example of Schubert as the heir to Mozart.

© All Music Guide