Franz Schubert

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer who lived from 1797 to 1828. He created a huge amount of music in his short life, including over 1,000 pieces such as songs, symphonies, sacred music, operas, and chamber music. Some of his most famous works are "Erlkönig," the "Unfinished" Symphony, and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise.

Schubert was born in Vienna and showed talent for music from a young age. He studied with famous composers like Antonio Salieri and was influenced by the works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Though he didn't become widely famous during his lifetime, many great composers after him, like Felix Mendelssohn and Johannes Brahms, helped make his music popular.

Today, Schubert is remembered as one of the greatest composers of Western classical music. His beautiful melodies and harmonies are still enjoyed by people all over the world.

Life and career

Early life and education

Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria, on January 31, 1797. He was the twelfth child in his family, though many of his siblings did not survive infancy. His father was a schoolmaster, and his mother had worked as a housemaid before marriage. Schubert began music lessons at a young age, showing great talent early on. He studied under Antonio Salieri and was exposed to works by Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven, which helped shape his musical style.

Teacher at his father's school

As a young adult, Schubert worked as a teacher at his father’s school. During this time, he continued to compose music and took private lessons from Salieri. In 1814, he met Therese Grob, a young soprano for whom he wrote several pieces of music. Despite his dedication to teaching, Schubert felt unhappy and sought other opportunities to focus on his compositions.

Support from friends

In 1816, Schubert moved in with a friend’s family, which allowed him more time to compose. He began to gain recognition in musical circles, especially through his friendship with baritone Johann Michael Vogl, who performed many of Schubert’s songs. Schubert’s works started to be performed publicly, and he became more involved in Vienna’s musical community.

Musical maturity

Schubert’s compositions from the late 1810s and early 1820s show his growing skill and confidence. He wrote symphonies, operas, and chamber music, though many of his stage works were not successful. Despite these setbacks, his reputation grew, and his music was performed more often. In 1821, he was accepted into the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, which helped increase the performance of his works.

Last years and masterworks

In his later years, Schubert continued to create some of his most famous works, including the “Unfinished” Symphony and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. He remained active in Vienna’s musical life and composed prolifically until his health began to fail. In 1828, Schubert gave a public concert of his own works, which was well-received.

Final illness and death

Schubert’s health declined in the late 1820s. He passed away in Vienna on November 19, 1828, at the age of 31. The official cause of death was diagnosed as typhoid fever, though other theories exist. He was buried near Beethoven, whom he greatly admired, and a memorial to Schubert was later erected in Vienna.

Music

See also: List of compositions by Franz Schubert by genre and List of compositions by Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert wrote over 1,500 pieces of music during his short life. He was very good at creating songs for voice and piano, with about 630 of his works being in this style. Schubert also made music for groups of voices, like choirs, and wrote eight overtures and seven full symphonies, along with some smaller pieces for orchestras. He did not write concertos but did create three special pieces for violin and orchestra. Schubert also wrote many works for piano alone, including eleven finished sonatas and several other pieces. He made more than fifty pieces for groups of instruments, like string quartets and piano trios. His religious music includes seven masses and other church songs. Schubert finished only eleven of his twenty stage works, which were plays with music.

Style

In 1947, composer Ernst Krenek changed his mind about Schubert after studying his music more closely. At first, Krenek thought Schubert only made simple, pretty tunes. But after looking deeper, he saw that Schubert’s piano sonatas showed great skill and creativity. Each sonata had many clever musical ideas and showed Schubert’s love for trying new things in music.

Instrumental music, stage works and church music

See also: Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert; List of solo piano compositions by Franz Schubert; and Stage works by Franz Schubert

Schubert liked to try new ways in his music, like using unusual musical keys or instruments. For example, in one piece for strings, he suddenly changed the musical key in a surprising way. He also wrote a special piece for a unique instrument called the arpeggione, and another piece called the “Trout Quintet” that used an unusual group of instruments. Schubert’s music often mixed classical styles with longer, more emotional melodies.

Lieder and art songs

See also: List of songs by Franz Schubert and Schubert's song cycles

Schubert was most famous for his songs, called lieder. He wrote more than 600 of them, exploring new ways to tell stories through music. Before Schubert, songs were usually simple and followed the words closely. Schubert made them more musical and dramatic. He set poems by famous writers like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe to music, creating powerful and emotional songs. Two of his most famous song cycles are “Die schöne Müllerin” and “Winterreise,” which tell full stories through music. His last collection, “Schwanengesang,” also showed his skill in combining different poets’ words with beautiful music.

Antonín Dvořák said Schubert was one of the greatest composers and greatly influenced shorter musical pieces, especially songs and piano works. Schubert helped create new ways to write short pieces that many composers later used.

Publication – catalogue

When Schubert died, about 100 of his works had been published, mostly songs and small piano pieces. Many of his larger works were still unknown and hidden away. It wasn’t until later that people discovered his symphonies and other big pieces. In 1838, Robert Schumann found one of Schubert’s symphonies and had it played, which helped people learn about more of Schubert’s music. In 1867, two music lovers found many more of Schubert’s hidden works, which led to more people hearing his music.

Complete editions

See also: Franz Schubert's Works and Neue Schubert-Ausgabe

From 1884 to 1897, a company called Breitkopf & Härtel published a complete collection of Schubert’s works. Later, in the 20th century, another company called Bärenreiter started a new complete edition called the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe.

Deutsch catalogue

See also: Schubert Thematic Catalogue, Schubert opus/Deutsch number concordance, and List of compositions by Franz Schubert

Because few of Schubert’s works were published during his lifetime, most did not have official numbers. Musicologist Otto Erich Deutsch created the first full list of Schubert’s works, which was published in English in 1951 and later updated in German.

Numbering issues

See also: Schubert's symphonies § Numbering issues; and Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert § Numbering of the Piano Sonatas

There was some confusion about the numbers of Schubert’s later symphonies and piano sonatas, with different sources giving them different numbers.

Instruments

Schubert played pianos made by Benignus Seidner and Anton Walter & Sohn, as well as instruments by Conrad Graf. He liked these early 19th-century pianos because they could play both quiet, intimate music and more showy, exciting pieces.

Recognition

Many people feel sad that Franz Schubert died young at 31, missing out on more beautiful music he could have created. Some musicians agree, like pianist Radu Lupu, who wishes Schubert had lived longer. Others, like Robert Schumann and pianist András Schiff, think Schubert did enough amazing work in his short life.

Schubert’s chamber music remains very popular today. In a 2008 survey by ABC Classic FM radio, his Trout Quintet was ranked first, with other pieces like the String Quintet in C major also highly valued.

Tributes by other musicians

From the 1830s to the 1870s, Franz Liszt helped share Schubert’s music with the world. Other famous composers like Antonín Dvořák, Hector Berlioz, and Anton Bruckner were inspired by Schubert’s work. In the 20th century, composers such as Richard Strauss, Anton Webern, Benjamin Britten, and George Crumb also honored Schubert in their own music.

Commemorations

In 1897, the 100th anniversary of Schubert’s birth was celebrated with special concerts and events. In 1928, “Schubert Week” was held in Europe and the United States to remember the 100th anniversary of his death, with many performances of his music.

In film and television

Schubert’s life and music have appeared in many films and TV shows. His music was featured in famous movies like Walt Disney’s Fantasia and Stanley Kubrick’s Barry Lyndon. Documentaries such as Franz Peter Schubert: The Greatest Love and the Greatest Sorrow and Schubert – The Wanderer explore his life and legacy.