In 1824 Schubert wrote the Variations in E minor for flute and piano Trockne Blumen , a song from the cycle Die schöne Müllerin (composed by the composer in  1823), based on poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the earliest extended song cycle to be widely performed. Considered one of Schubert's most important works, it is the first of his two seminal cycles (the other being his later Winterreise), and a pinnacle of Lied. It is widely performed and recorded.