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Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600
secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...
vocal works (mainly
lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er), seven complete
symphonies A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, most often for orchestra. Although the term has had many meanings from its origins in the ancient Greek era, by the late 18th century the word had taken on the meaning co ...
,
sacred music Religious music (also sacred music) is a type of music that is performed or composed for religious use or through religious influence. It may overlap with ritual music, which is music, sacred or not, performed or composed for or as ritual. Relig ...
,
opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...
s,
incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...
, and a large body of piano and
chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small nu ...
. His major works include "
Erlkönig "Erlkönig" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking, a king of the fairies. It was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 Singspiel, . "Erlkönig" has been ...
" (D. 328), the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (''Trout Quintet''), the Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759 (''Unfinished Symphony''), the "Great" Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, the String Quintet (D. 956), the three last piano sonatas (D. 958–960), the opera ''
Fierrabras ''Fierrabras'', 796, is a three-act German opera with spoken dialogue written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Joseph Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor (Vienna's Court Opera Theatre). Along ...
'' (D. 796), the incidental music to the play ''
Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...
'' (D. 797), and the song cycles ''
Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...
'' (D. 795) and ''
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'' (D. 911). Born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
, Schubert showed uncommon gifts for music from an early age. His father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, but Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. In 1808, at the age of eleven, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt school, where he became acquainted with the orchestral music of
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...
,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, and
Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
. He left the Stadtkonvikt at the end of 1813, and returned home to live with his father, where he began studying to become a schoolteacher. Despite this, he continued his studies in composition with
Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...
and still composed prolifically. In 1821, Schubert was admitted to the
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...
as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. He gave a concert of his own works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...
, but believed by some historians to be
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...
. Appreciation of Schubert's music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death.
Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
,
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
,
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
,
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers in the history of Western music and his work continues to be admired.


Biography


Early life and education

Franz Peter Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of
Alsergrund Alsergrund (; Central Bavarian: ''Oisagrund'') is the ninth district of Vienna, Austria (german: 9. Bezirk, Alsergrund). It is located just north of the first, central district, Innere Stadt. Alsergrund was incorporated in 1862, with seven suburb ...
), Vienna,
Archduchy of Austria The Archduchy of Austria (german: Erzherzogtum Österreich) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the nucleus of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was centered at the Empire's southeastern peripher ...
, on 31 January 1797, and baptized in the Catholic Church the following day. He was the twelfth child of Franz Theodor Florian Schubert (1763–1830) and Maria Elisabeth Katharina Vietz (1756–1812). Schubert's immediate ancestors came originally from the province of Zuckmantel in
Austrian Silesia Austrian Silesia, (historically also ''Oesterreichisch-Schlesien, Oesterreichisch Schlesien, österreichisch Schlesien''); cs, Rakouské Slezsko; pl, Śląsk Austriacki officially the Duchy of Upper and Lower Silesia, (historically ''Herzogth ...
. Kreissle (1869), p. 1 His father, the son of a Moravian peasant, was a well-known parish
schoolmaster The word schoolmaster, or simply master, refers to a male school teacher. This usage survives in British independent schools, both secondary and preparatory, and a few Indian boarding schools (such as The Doon School) that were modelled afte ...
, and his school in
Lichtental Lichtental is a part of the district of Alsergrund, Vienna. It was an independent municipality until 1850. Notable people * Hans-Adam I, Prince of Liechtenstein (1657–1712) lived here. * Caterina Cavalieri (1755–1801), opera singer, was b ...
(in Vienna's ninth district) had numerous students in attendance. Wilberforce (1866), p. 2: "the school was much frequented" He came to Vienna from Zukmantel in 1784 and was appointed schoolmaster two years later. His mother was the daughter of a Silesian master locksmith and had been a housemaid for a Viennese family before marriage. Of Franz Theodor and Elisabeth's fourteen children (one of them illegitimate, born in 1783), nine died in infancy. At the age of five, Schubert began to receive regular lessons from his father, and a year later he was enrolled at his father's school. Although it is not known exactly when he received his first musical instruction, he was given piano lessons by his brother Ignaz, but they lasted for a very short time as Schubert excelled him within a few months. McKay (1996), p. 11 Ignaz later recalled: His father gave him his first
violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
lessons when he was eight years old, training him to the point where he could play easy duets proficiently. Duncan (1905), p. 3 Soon after, Schubert was given his first lessons outside the family by Michael Holzer, organist and choirmaster of the local parish church in Lichtental. Holzer would often assure Schubert's father, with tears in his eyes, that he had never had such a pupil as Schubert, and the lessons may have largely consisted of conversations and expressions of admiration. Holzer gave the young Schubert instruction in piano and organ as well as in
figured bass Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...
. According to Holzer, however, he did not give him any real instruction as Schubert would already know anything that he tried to teach him; rather, he looked upon Schubert with "astonishment and silence". The boy seemed to gain more from an acquaintance with a friendly apprentice joiner who took him to a neighbouring pianoforte warehouse where Schubert could practise on better instruments. Wilberforce (1866), p. 3 He also played
viola ; german: Bratsche , alt=Viola shown from the front and the side , image=Bratsche.jpg , caption= , background=string , hornbostel_sachs=321.322-71 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded by a bow , range= , related= *Violin family ...
in the family string quartet, with his brothers
Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...
and Ignaz on first and second violin and his father on the
cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...
. Schubert wrote his earliest string quartets for this ensemble. Gibbs (2000), p. 26 Young Schubert first came to the attention of
Antonio Salieri Antonio Salieri (18 August 17507 May 1825) was an Italian classical composer, conductor, and teacher. He was born in Legnago, south of Verona, in the Republic of Venice, and spent his adult life and career as a subject of the Habsburg monarchy ...
, then Vienna's leading musical authority, in 1804, when his vocal talent was recognized. In November 1808, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt (Imperial Seminary) through a choir scholarship. At the Stadtkonvikt, he was introduced to the overtures and symphonies of
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, the symphonies of
Joseph Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions to musical form have le ...
and his younger brother
Michael Haydn Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 173710 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn. Life Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohrau, near the Hungarian border. ...
, and the overtures and symphonies of
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
, a composer for whom he developed admiration. McKay (1996), p. 22 Duncan (1905), pp. 5–7 His exposure to these and other works, combined with occasional visits to the opera, laid the foundation for a broader musical education. One important musical influence came from the songs by
Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg (10 January 1760 – 27 January 1802) was a German composer and conductor. Zumsteeg championed the operas of Mozart in Stuttgart, staging the first performances there of '' Die Zauberflöte,'' ''Don Giovanni,'' and '' ...
, an important composer of
lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er. The precocious young student "wanted to modernize" Zumsteeg's songs, as reported by Joseph von Spaun, Schubert's friend. Gibbs (2000), p. 29 Schubert's friendship with Spaun began at the Stadtkonvikt and lasted throughout his short life. In those early days, the financially well-off Spaun furnished the impoverished Schubert with much of his manuscript paper. Duncan (1905), p. 7 In the meantime, Schubert's talent began to show in his compositions; Salieri decided to start training him privately in
music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the " rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (k ...
and composition. According to Ferdinand, the boy's first composition for piano was a Fantasy for four hands; his first song, ''Klagegesang der Hagar'', would be written a year later. Kreissle (1869), p. 6 Schubert was occasionally permitted to lead the Stadtkonvikt's orchestra, Duncan (1905), p. 9 and it was the first orchestra he wrote for. He devoted much of the rest of his time at the Stadtkonvikt to composing chamber music, several songs, piano pieces and, more ambitiously, liturgical choral works in the form of a "Salve Regina" (D 27), a "Kyrie" (D 31), in addition to the unfinished "Octet for Winds" (D 72, said to commemorate the 1812 death of his mother), Frost (1915), p. 9 the
cantata A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir. The meaning o ...
''Wer ist groß?'' for male voices and orchestra (D 110, for his father's birthday in 1813), and his first symphony (D 82). Duncan (1905), p. 10


Teacher at his father's school

At the end of 1813, Schubert left the Stadtkonvikt and returned home for teacher training at the St Anna Normal-
hauptschule A ''Hauptschule'' (, "general school") is a secondary school in Germany, starting after four years of elementary schooling (''Grundschule''), which offers Lower Secondary Education (Level 2) according to the International Standard Classification ...
. In 1814, he entered his father's school as the teacher of the youngest pupils. For over two years, young Schubert endured severe drudgery. Duncan (1905), pp. 13–14 There were, however, compensatory interests even then: for example, Schubert continued to take private lessons in composition from Salieri, who gave him more actual technical training than any of his other teachers, before they parted ways in 1817. In 1814, Schubert met a young soprano named
Therese Grob Therese Grob (16 November 1798 – 17 March 1875) was a singer and is alleged to have been the first love of the composer Franz Schubert. The composer's friend Anselm Hüttenbrenner recalled – twenty-six years after Schubert's death: "F ...
, daughter of a local silk manufacturer, and wrote several of his liturgical works (including a "Salve Regina" and a "Tantum Ergo") for her; she was also a soloist in the premiere of his Mass No. 1 (D. 105) in September 1814. Schubert wanted to marry her, but was hindered by the harsh marriage-consent law of 1815 Steblin (1998) requiring an aspiring bridegroom to show he had the means to support a family. Gibbs (2000), p. 39 In November 1816, after failing to gain a musical post in Laibach (now
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...
,
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, and ...
), Schubert sent Grob's brother Heinrich a collection of songs retained by the family into the twentieth century. Newbould (1999), p. 64 One of Schubert's most prolific years was 1815. He composed over 20,000 bars of music, more than half of which were for orchestra, including nine church works (despite his being an
agnostic Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficien ...
), a symphony, and about 140 Lieder. Newbould (1999), p. 40 In that year, he was also introduced to
Anselm Hüttenbrenner Anselm Hüttenbrenner (13 October 1794 – 5 June 1868) was an Austrian composer. He was on friendly terms with both Ludwig van Beethovenhe was one of only two people present at his deathand Franz Schubert, his recollections of whom constitute a ...
and
Franz von Schober Franz Adolf Friedrich Schober, since 1801 von Schober (born 17 May 1796, Torup Castle at Malmö, Sweden; died 13 September 1882 in Dresden), was an Austrian poet, librettist, lithographer, actor in Breslau and ''Legationsrat'' in Weimar. Schob ...
, who would become his lifelong friends. Another friend,
Johann Mayrhofer Johann Baptist Mayrhofer (22 October 17875 February 1836) was an Austrian poet and librettist. He is best known for his close friendship with the composer Franz Schubert. Biography Mayrhofer was born in Steyr, educated at Novitiate in St. Fl ...
, was introduced to him by Spaun in 1815. Throughout 1815, Schubert lived at home with his father. He continued to teach at the school and give private musical instruction, earning enough money for his basic needs, including clothing, manuscript paper, pens, and ink, but with little to no money left over for luxuries. Spaun was well aware that Schubert was discontented with his life at the schoolhouse, and was concerned for Schubert's development intellectually and musically. In May 1816, Spaun moved from his apartment in Landskrongasse (in the inner city) to a new home in the
Landstraße Landstraße (; Central Bavarian: ''Laundstrossn'') is the 3rd municipal district of Vienna, Austria (german: 3. Bezirk). It is near the center of Vienna and was established in the 19th century. Landstraße is a heavily populated urban area with m ...
suburb; one of the first things he did after he settled into the new home was to invite Schubert to spend a few days with him. This was probably Schubert's first visit away from home or school. Schubert's unhappiness during his years as a schoolteacher possibly showed early signs of depression, and it is virtually certain that Schubert suffered from
cyclothymia Cyclothymia ( ), also known as cyclothymic disorder, psychothemia/psychothymia, bipolar III, affective personality disorder and cyclothymic personality disorder, is a mental and behavioural disorder that involves numerous periods of symptoms of ...
throughout his life. In 1989 the musicologist
Maynard Solomon Maynard Elliott Solomon (January 5, 1930 – September 28, 2020) was an American music executive and musicologist, a co-founder of Vanguard Records as well as a music producer."Maynard Solomon" in '' Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', ...
suggested that Schubert was erotically attracted to men, a thesis that has been heatedly debated. The musicologist and Schubert expert
Rita Steblin Rita Katherine Steblin (April 22, 1951 – September 3, 2019)
obituary, ''Figures of Speech'' was a
has said that he was "chasing women". The theory of Schubert's sexuality or "Schubert as Other" has continued to influence current scholarship.


Support from friends

Significant changes happened in 1816. Schober, a student and of good family and some means, invited Schubert to lodge with him at his mother's house. The proposal was particularly opportune, for Schubert had just made the unsuccessful application for the post of
kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...
at Laibach, and he had also decided not to resume teaching duties at his father's school. By the end of the year, he became a guest in Schober's lodgings. For a time, he attempted to increase the household resources by giving music lessons, but they were soon abandoned, and he devoted himself to composition. "I compose every morning, and when one piece is done, I begin another." Duncan (1905), p. 26 During this year, he focused on orchestral and choral works, although he also continued to write Lieder. McKay (1996), p. 56 Much of this work was unpublished, but manuscripts and copies circulated among friends and admirers. Gibbs (2000), p. 44 In early 1817, Schober introduced Schubert to
Johann Michael Vogl Johann Michael Vogl (August 10, 1768 – November 19, Michael Lorenz: ''Studien zum Schubertkreis'', Phil. Diss. Vienna, 2001 1840), was an Austrian baritone singer and composer. Though famous in his day, he is remembered mainly for his close ...
, a prominent baritone twenty years Schubert's senior. Vogl, for whom Schubert went on to write a great many songs, became one of Schubert's main proponents in Viennese musical circles. Schubert also met Joseph Hüttenbrenner (brother of Anselm), who also played a role in promoting his music. Newbould (1999), p. 66 These, and an increasing circle of friends and musicians, became responsible for promoting, collecting, and, after his death, preserving his work. Duncan (1905), pp. 90–93 In late 1817, Schubert's father gained a new position at a school in Rossau, not far from Lichtental. Schubert rejoined his father and reluctantly took up teaching duties there. In early 1818, he applied for membership in the prestigious
Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde The Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien (), also known as the Wiener Musikverein (German for 'Viennese Music Association'), is an Austrian music organization that was founded in 1812 by Joseph Sonnleithner, general secretary of the Court Thea ...
, intending to gain admission as an accompanist, but also so that his music, especially the songs, could be performed in the evening concerts. He was rejected on the basis that he was "no amateur", although he had been employed as a schoolteacher at the time and there were professional musicians already among the society's membership. McKay (1996), 75 However, he began to gain more notice in the press, and the first public performance of a secular work, an overture performed in February 1818, received praise from the press in Vienna and abroad. Gibbs (2000), p. 59 Schubert spent the summer of 1818 as a music teacher to the family of Count Johann Karl
Esterházy The House of Esterházy, also spelled Eszterházy (), is a Hungarian noble family with origins in the Middle Ages. From the 17th century, the Esterházys were the greatest landowner magnates of the Kingdom of Hungary, during the time that it ...
at their château in Zseliz (now Želiezovce, Slovakia). The pay was relatively good, and his duties teaching piano and singing to the two daughters were relatively light, allowing him to compose happily. Schubert may have written his Marche Militaire in D major (D. 733 no. 1) for Marie and Karoline, in addition to other piano duets. Newbould (1999), p. 235 On his return from Zseliz, he took up residence with his friend Mayrhofer. Newbould (1999) pp. 69–72 During the early 1820s, Schubert was part of a close-knit circle of artists and students who had social gatherings together that became known as ''
Schubertiad A Schubertiade (also spelled Schubertiad) is an event held to celebrate the music of Franz Schubert (1797–1828). Modern Schubertiades also include concert series and festivals, such as the Schubertiade Vorarlberg. History During Schubert's lifet ...
s.'' Many of them took place in Ignaz von Sonnleithner's large apartment in the Gundelhof (Brandstätte 5, Vienna). The tight circle of friends with which Schubert surrounded himself was dealt a blow in early 1820. Schubert and four of his friends were arrested by the Austrian police, who (in the aftermath of the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
and
Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
) were on their guard against revolutionary activities and suspicious of any gathering of youth or students. One of Schubert's friends,
Johann Senn Johann Chrysostomus Senn (1 April 1795, Pfunds – 30 September 1857, Innsbruck; pseudonym: ''Bombastus Bebederwa'') was a political lyric poet of the Vormärz. Life Johann Senn was the son of the freedom fighter, Franz Michael Senn. He lived i ...
, was put on trial, imprisoned for over a year, and then permanently forbidden to enter Vienna. The other four, including Schubert, were "severely reprimanded", in part for "inveighing against fficialswith insulting and opprobrious language". Gibbs (2000), p. 67 While Schubert never saw Senn again, he did set some of his poems, ''Selige Welt'' (D. 743) and ''Schwanengesang'' (D 744), to music. The incident may have played a role in a falling-out with Mayrhofer, with whom he was living at the time. Gibbs (2000), p. 68 Schubert, who was only a little more than five feet tall, was nicknamed "Schwammerl" by his friends, which Gibbs describes as translating to "Tubby" or "Little Mushroom". "Schwamm" is German (in the Austrian and Bavarian dialects) for mushroom; the ending "-erl" makes it a diminutive. Gibbs also claims he may have occasionally drunk to excess, noting that references to Schubert's heavy drinking "... come not only in later accounts, but also in documents dating from his lifetime."


Musical maturity

The compositions of 1819 and 1820 show a marked advance in development and maturity of style. The unfinished
oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is ...
''Lazarus'' (D. 689) was begun in February; later followed, among some smaller works, by the hymn "Der 23. Psalm" (D. 706), the octet " Gesang der Geister über den Wassern" (D. 714), the Quartettsatz in C minor (D. 703), and the ''
Wanderer Fantasy The Fantasie in C major, Op. 15 ( D. 760), popularly known as the ''Wanderer Fantasy'', is a four-movement fantasy for solo piano composed by Franz Schubert in 1822. It is widely considered Schubert's most technically demanding composition for th ...
'' in C major for piano (D. 760). In 1820, two of Schubert's operas were staged: ''
Die Zwillingsbrüder ' (''The Twin Brothers'', D. 647) is a one-act Singspiel (sometimes also described as a Posse mit Gesang) composed by Franz Schubert in 1819 on a libretto by Georg Ernst von Hofmann. ' was first performed at the Kärntnertortheater on June 14, 1 ...
'' (D. 647) appeared at the
Theater am Kärntnertor or (Carinthian Gate Theatre) was a prestigious theatre in Vienna during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Its official title was (Imperial and Royal Court Theatre of Vienna). History The theatre was built in 1709 to designs by Anto ...
on 14 June, and ''Die Zauberharfe'' (D. 644) appeared at the
Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...
on 21 August. Austin (1873), pp. 46–47 Hitherto, his larger compositions (apart from his masses) had been restricted to the amateur orchestra at the Gundelhof (Brandstätte 5, Vienna), a society which grew out of the quartet-parties at his home. Now he began to assume a more prominent position, addressing a wider public. Publishers, however, remained distant, with
Anton Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...
hesitantly agreeing to print some of his works on commission. Wilberforce (1866), pp. 90–92 The first seven opus numbers (all songs) appeared on these terms; then the commission ceased, and he began to receive parsimonious royalties. The situation improved somewhat in March 1821 when Vogl performed the song "
Erlkönig "Erlkönig" is a poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. It depicts the death of a child assailed by a supernatural being, the Erlking, a king of the fairies. It was originally written by Goethe as part of a 1782 Singspiel, . "Erlkönig" has been ...
" (D. 328) at a concert that was extremely well received. Wilberforce (1866), p. 25 That month, Schubert composed a Variation on a Waltz by Diabelli (D 718), being one of the fifty composers who contributed to the ''
Vaterländischer Künstlerverein ''Vaterländischer Künstlerverein'' was a collaborative musical publication or anthology, incorporating 83 variations for piano on a theme by Anton Diabelli, written by 51 composers living in or associated with Austria. It was published in ...
'' publication. The production of the two operas turned Schubert's attention more firmly than ever in the direction of the stage, where, for a variety of reasons, he was almost completely unsuccessful. All in all, he embarked on twenty stage projects, each of them failures that were quickly forgotten. In 1822, ''
Alfonso und Estrella ' (''Alfonso and Estrella''), 732, is an opera with music by Franz Schubert, set to a German libretto by Franz von Schober, written in 1822. Along with the later '' Fierrabras'', composed in 1823, it marks Schubert's attempt to compose grand Rom ...
'' was rejected, partly owing to its libretto (written by Schubert's friend
Franz von Schober Franz Adolf Friedrich Schober, since 1801 von Schober (born 17 May 1796, Torup Castle at Malmö, Sweden; died 13 September 1882 in Dresden), was an Austrian poet, librettist, lithographer, actor in Breslau and ''Legationsrat'' in Weimar. Schob ...
). Newbould (1999), p. 173 In 1823, ''
Fierrabras ''Fierrabras'', 796, is a three-act German opera with spoken dialogue written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Joseph Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor (Vienna's Court Opera Theatre). Along ...
'' (D 796) was rejected: Domenico Barbaia,
impresario An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer. His ...
for the court theatres, largely lost interest in new German opera due to the popularity of
Rossini Gioachino Antonio Rossini (29 February 1792 – 13 November 1868) was an Italian composer who gained fame for his 39 operas, although he also wrote many songs, some chamber music and piano pieces, and some sacred music. He set new standards ...
and the Italian operatic style, and the failure of
Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his operas, ...
's '' Euryanthe''. Denny (1997), pp. 245–246 ''Die Verschworenen'' (''The Conspirators'', D 787) was prohibited by the censor (apparently because of its title), Gibbs (2000), p. 111 and '' Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (D 797) was withdrawn after two nights, owing to the poor quality of the play for which Schubert had written incidental music. Despite his operatic failures, Schubert's reputation was growing steadily on other fronts. In 1821, the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde finally accepted him as a performing member, and the number of performances of his music grew remarkably. McKay (1996), p. 101 These performances helped Schubert's reputation grow rapidly among the members of the Gesellschaft and established his name. Some of the members of the Gesellschaft, most notably Ignaz von Sonnleithner and his son Leopold von Sonnleithner, had a sizeable influence on the affairs of the society, and as a result of that and of Schubert's growing reputation, his works were included in three major concerts of the Gesellschaft in 1821. In April, one of his male-voice quartets was performed, and in November, his Overture in E minor (D. 648) received its first public performance; at a different concert on the same day as the premiere of the Overture, his song ''
Der Wanderer "Der Wanderer" ( D 489) ormerly D 493is a lied composed by Franz Schubert in October 1816 for voice and piano. A revised version was published near the end of May 1821 as opus 4, number 1. The words are taken from a German poem by Georg Phili ...
'' (D. 489) was performed. In 1822, Schubert made the acquaintance of both Weber and
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
, but little came of it in either case; however, Beethoven is said to have acknowledged the younger man's gifts on a few occasions. On his deathbed, Beethoven is said to have looked into some of the younger man's works and exclaimed: "Truly, the spark of divine genius resides in this Schubert!" Beethoven also reportedly predicted that Schubert "would make a great sensation in the world," and regretted that he had not been more familiar with him earlier; he wished to see his operas and works for piano, but his severe illness prevented him from doing so. Thayer (1921), pp. 299–300


Last years and masterworks

Despite his preoccupation with the stage, and later with his official duties, Schubert wrote much music during these years. He completed the Mass in A-flat major, (D. 678) in 1822, and later that year embarked suddenly on a work which more decisively than almost any other in those years showed his maturing personal vision, the Symphony in B minor, known as the ''Unfinished'' Symphony (D. 759). The reason he left it unfinished – after writing two movements and sketches some way into a third – continues to be discussed and written about, and it is also remarkable that he did not mention it to any of his friends, even though, as
Brian Newbould Brian Newbould (born 26 February 1936) is an English composer, conductor and author who has conjecturally completed Franz Schubert's Symphonies D 708A in D major, No. 7 in E major, No. 8 in B minor ("Unfinished") and No. 10 ("Last") in D major ...
notes, he must have felt thrilled by what he was achieving. In 1823, Schubert wrote his first large-scale
song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rare ...
, ''
Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...
'' (D. 795), setting poems by
Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) and ''Winterreise'' (1828), which Franz Schubert later set to music as song cycles. Life ...
. Newbould (1999), p. 215 This series, together with the later cycle ''
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'' (D. 911, also setting texts of Müller in 1827) is widely considered one of the pinnacles of
Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
er. He also composed the song '' Du bist die Ruh''' (''You are rest and peace'', Reed (1997), pp. 208–209 D. 776) during this year. Also in that year, symptoms of
syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium '' Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms of syphilis vary depending in which of the four stages it presents (primary, secondary, latent, a ...
first appeared. Newbould (1999), p. 210 In 1824, he wrote the Variations in E minor for flute and piano; ''Trockne Blumen'', a song from the cycle ''
Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...
''; and several string quartets. He also wrote the Sonata in A minor for arpeggione and piano (D. 821) at the time when there was a minor craze over that instrument. Newbould (1999), pp. 221–225 In the spring of that year, he wrote the Octet in F major (D. 803), a sketch for a "Grand Symphony," and in the summer went back to ''Zseliz''. There he became attracted to Hungarian musical idiom and wrote the ''Divertissement à la hongroise'' in G minor for piano duet (D. 818) and the String Quartet in A minor ''Rosamunde'' (D. 804). It has been said that he held a hopeless passion for his pupil, the Countess Caroline Esterházy, but the only work he dedicated to her was his Fantasia in F minor for piano duet (D. 940). Newbould (1999), p. 218 His friend
Eduard von Bauernfeld Eduard von Bauernfeld (13 January 1802 – 9 August 1890), Austrian dramatist, was born at Vienna. Life Having studied jurisprudence at the University of Vienna, he entered the government service in a legal capacity, and after holding variou ...
penned the following verse, which appears to reference Schubert's unrequited sentiments:
In love with a Countess of youthful grace, —A pupil of Galt's; in desperate case Young Schubert surrenders himself to another, And fain would avoid such affectionate pother Duncan (1905), p. 99
The setbacks of previous years were compensated by the prosperity and happiness of 1825. Publication had been moving more rapidly, the stress of poverty was for a time lightened, and in the summer he had a pleasant holiday in
Upper Austria Upper Austria (german: Oberösterreich ; bar, Obaöstareich) is one of the nine states or of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, an ...
where he was welcomed with enthusiasm. It was during this tour that he produced the seven-song cycle ''Fräulein am See'', based on
Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...
's '' The Lady of the Lake'', and including " Ellens Gesang III" ("Hymn to the Virgin") (D. 839, Op. 52, No. 6); the lyrics of Adam Storck's German translation of the Scott poem are now frequently replaced by the full text of the traditional Roman Catholic prayer
Hail Mary The Hail Mary ( la, Ave Maria) is a traditional Christian prayer addressing Mary, the mother of Jesus. The prayer is based on two biblical passages featured in the Gospel of Luke: the Angel Gabriel's visit to Mary (the Annunciation) and Mary' ...
(''Ave Maria'' in Latin), but for which the Schubert melody is not an original setting. The original only opens with the greeting "Ave Maria", which also recurs only in the refrain. Emmons (2006), p. 38 In 1825, Schubert also wrote the Piano Sonata in A minor (D 845, first published as op. 42), and began the Symphony in C major (''Great C major'', D. 944), which was completed the following year. Newbould (1999), p. 228 From 1826 to 1828, Schubert resided continuously in Vienna, except for a brief visit to
Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popula ...
, Austria, in 1827. In 1826, he dedicated a symphony (D. 944, that later came to be known as the ''Great C major'') to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and received an honorarium in return. The String Quartet No. 14 in D minor (D. 810), with the variations on '' Death and the Maiden'', was written during the winter of 1825–1826, and first played on 25 January 1826. Later in the year came the String Quartet No. 15 in G major, (D 887, first published as op. 161), the '' Rondo in B minor for violin and piano'' (D. 895), ''Rondeau brillant'', and the Piano Sonata in G major, (D 894, first published as ''Fantasie in G'', op. 78). He also produced in 1826 three Shakespearian songs, of which "" (D. 889) and "" (D. 891) were allegedly written on the same day, the former at a tavern where he broke his afternoon's walk, the latter on his return to his lodging in the evening. Smith & Carlson (1995), p. 78 The works of his last two years reveal a composer entering a new professional and compositional stage. Although parts of Schubert's personality were influenced by his friends, he nurtured an intensely personal dimension in solitude; it was out of this dimension that he wrote his greatest music. The death of Beethoven affected Schubert deeply, and may have motivated Schubert to reach new artistic peaks. In 1827, Schubert wrote the song cycle ''
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'' (D. 911), the Fantasy in C major for violin and piano (D. 934, first published as op. post. 159), the Impromptus for piano, and the two piano trios ( the first in B-flat major (D. 898), and the second in E-flat major, (D. 929); Newbould (1999) pp. 261–263 in 1828 the cantata ''Mirjams Siegesgesang'' (''Victory Song of Miriam'', D 942) on a text by Franz Grillparzer, the Mass in E-flat major (D. 950), the ''Tantum Ergo'' (D. 962) in the same key, the String Quintet in C major (D. 956), the second "Benedictus" to the Mass in C major (D. 961), the three final piano sonatas (D. 958, D. 959, and D. 960), and the collection ''13 Lieder nach Gedichten von Rellstab und Heine'' for voice and piano, also known as '' Schwanengesang'' (''Swan-song'', D. 957). Newbould (1999) pp. 270–274 (This collection – which includes settings of words by
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
, Ludwig Rellstab, and
Johann Gabriel Seidl Johann Gabriel Seidl (21 June 1804 – 18 July 1875) was an Austrian archeologist, poet, storyteller and dramatist. He wrote the lyrics to "Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze unsern Kaiser, unser Land!" This was the 1854 version of the Austrian ...
– is not a true song cycle like ''Die schöne Müllerin'' or ''Winterreise''.) The ''Great C major'' symphony is dated 1828, but Schubert scholars believe that this symphony was largely written in 1825–1826 (being referred to while he was on holiday at Gastein in 1825—that work, once considered lost, is now generally seen as an early stage of his C major symphony) and was revised for prospective performance in 1828. The orchestra of the Gesellschaft reportedly read through the symphony at a rehearsal, but never scheduled a public performance of it. The reasons continue to be unknown, although the difficulty of the symphony is the possible explanation. Griffel (1997), p. 203 In the last weeks of his life, he began to sketch three movements for a new Symphony in D major (D 936A); Newbould (1999), p. 385 In this work, he anticipates Mahler's use of folksong-like harmonics and bare soundscapes. Schubert expressed the wish, were he to survive his final illness, to further develop his knowledge of harmony and counterpoint, and had actually made appointments for lessons with the counterpoint master
Simon Sechter Simon Sechter (11 October 1788 – 10 September 1867) was an Austrian music theorist, teacher, organist, conductor and composer. He was one of the most prolific composers who ever lived, although his music is largely forgotten and he is now mainl ...
. Schonberg (1997), p. 130 On 26 March 1828, the anniversary of Beethoven's death, Schubert gave, for the only time in his career, a public concert of his own works. Newbould (1999), pp. 265–266 The concert was a success popularly and financially, even though it would be overshadowed by
Niccolò Paganini Niccolò (or Nicolò) Paganini (; 27 October 178227 May 1840) was an Italian violinist and composer. He was the most celebrated violin virtuoso of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin technique. His 24 Caprices fo ...
's first appearances in Vienna shortly after.


Final illness and death

In the midst of this creative activity, his health deteriorated. By the late 1820s, Schubert's health was failing and he confided to some friends that he feared that he was near death. In the late summer of 1828, he saw the physician Ernst Rinna, who may have confirmed Schubert's suspicions that he was ill beyond cure and likely to die soon. Some of his symptoms matched those of
mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashes ...
( mercury was then a common treatment for syphilis, again suggesting that Schubert suffered from it). Gibbs (2000), pp. 168–169 At the beginning of November, he again fell ill, experiencing headaches, fever, swollen joints, and vomiting. He was generally unable to retain solid food and his condition worsened. Five days before Schubert's death, his friend the violinist Karl Holz and his string quartet visited to play for him. The last musical work he had wished to hear was Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor, Op. 131; Holz commented: "The King of Harmony has sent the King of Song a friendly bidding to the crossing". Schubert died in Vienna, aged 31, on 19 November 1828, at the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. The cause of his death was officially diagnosed as
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over severa ...
, though other theories have been proposed, including the tertiary stage of syphilis. Newbould (1999), p. 275. Although there are accounts by his friends that indirectly imply that he was syphilitic, the symptoms of his final illness do not correspond with tertiary syphilis. Six weeks before his death, he walked 42 miles in three days, ruling out musculoskeletal syphilis. In the month of his death, he composed his last work, "Der Hirt Auf Den Felsen", making neurosyphilis unlikely. Finally, meningo-vascular syphilis is unlikely because it presents as progressive stroke-like picture, and Schubert had no neurological manifestation until his final delirium, which started only two days before his death. This, and the fact that his final illness was characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms (namely vomiting), led Robert L. Rold to argue that his final illness was a gastrointestinal one, like
salmonella ''Salmonella'' is a genus of rod-shaped (bacillus) Gram-negative bacteria of the family Enterobacteriaceae. The two species of ''Salmonella'' are '' Salmonella enterica'' and '' Salmonella bongori''. ''S. enterica'' is the type species and is ...
or indeed
typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...
. Eva M. Cybulska goes further and says that Schubert's syphilis is a conjecture. His multi-system signs and symptoms, she says, could point at a number of different illness such as
leukaemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...
,
anaemia Anemia or anaemia (British English) is a blood disorder in which the blood has a reduced ability to carry oxygen due to a lower than normal number of red blood cells, or a reduction in the amount of hemoglobin. When anemia comes on slowly, th ...
, or
Hashimoto's thyroiditis Hashimoto's thyroiditis, also known as chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis and Hashimoto's disease, is an autoimmune disease in which the thyroid gland is gradually destroyed. Early on, symptoms may not be noticed. Over time, the thyroid may enlarg ...
, and that many tell-tale signs of syphilis —
chancre A chancre ( )chancres
thefreedictionary
is a painless
, mucous plaques, rash on the thorax, pupil abnormality,
dysgraphia Dysgraphia is a learning disability of written expression, which affects the ability to write, primarily handwriting, but also coherence. It is a specific learning disability (SLD) as well as a transcription disability, meaning that it is a writ ...
— were absent. She argues that the syphilis diagnosis originated with Schubert's biographer Otto Deutsch in 1907, based on the aforementioned indirect references by his friends, and uncritically repeated ever since. It was near the grave of Beethoven, whom he had admired all his life, that Schubert was buried at his own request, in the village cemetery of Währing on the edge of the
Vienna Woods The Vienna Woods (german: Wienerwald) are forested highlands that form the northeastern foothills of the Northern Limestone Alps in the states of Lower Austria and Vienna. The and range of hills is heavily wooded and a popular recreation area ...
. A year earlier he had served as a torchbearer at Beethoven's funeral. In 1872, a memorial to Franz Schubert was erected in Vienna's Stadtpark. Duncan (1905), pp. 79–80 In 1888, both Schubert's and Beethoven's graves were moved to the
Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery (german: Wiener Zentralfriedhof) is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its ...
where they can now be found next to those of
Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...
and
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
. Gibbs (2000), p. 197
Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Ger ...
was present at both exhumations, and he reached into both coffins and held the revered skulls in his hands. The cemetery in Währing was converted into a park in 1925, called the Schubert Park, and his former grave site was marked by a bust. His epitaph, written by his friend, the poet Franz Grillparzer, reads: ''Die Tonkunst begrub hier einen reichen Besitz, aber noch viel schönere Hoffnungen'' ("The art of music has here interred a precious treasure, but yet far fairer hopes").


Music

Schubert was remarkably prolific, writing over 1,500 works in his short career. His compositional style progressed rapidly throughout his short life. Gammond (1982), p. 143, discussing in particular his chamber music The largest number of his compositions are songs for solo voice and piano (roughly 630). Schubert also composed a considerable number of secular works for two or more voices, namely
part song A part song, part-song or partsong is a form of choral music that consists of a song to a secular or non-liturgical sacred text, written or arranged for several vocal parts. Part songs are commonly sung by an SATB choir, but sometimes for an all ...
s, choruses and cantatas. He completed eight orchestral overtures and seven complete symphonies, in addition to fragments of six others. While he composed no concertos, he did write three
concertante Sinfonia concertante (; also called ''symphonie concertante'') is an orchestral work, normally in several movements, in which one or more solo instruments contrast with the full orchestra.Collins: ''Encyclopedia of Music'', William Collins Sons & C ...
works for violin and orchestra. Schubert wrote a large body of music for solo piano, including eleven incontrovertibly completed sonatas and at least eleven more in varying states of completion, numerous miscellaneous works and many short dances, in addition to producing a large set of works for
piano four hands Piano four hands (french: À quatre mains, german: Zu vier Händen, Vierhändig, it, a quattro mani) is a type of piano duet involving two players playing the same piano simultaneously. A duet with the players playing separate instruments is ...
. He also wrote over fifty chamber works, including some fragmentary works. Schubert's sacred output includes seven masses, one oratorio and one requiem, among other mass movements and numerous smaller compositions. Ewen (2007), p. 384 He completed only eleven of his twenty stage works.


Style

In July 1947 the Austrian composer Ernst Krenek discussed Schubert's style, abashedly admitting that he had at first "shared the wide-spread opinion that Schubert was a lucky inventor of pleasing tunes ... lacking the dramatic power and searching intelligence which distinguished such 'real' masters as J. S. Bach or
Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...
". Krenek wrote that he reached a completely different assessment after a close study of Schubert's pieces at the urging of his friend and fellow composer
Eduard Erdmann Eduard Erdmann (5 March 1896 – 21 June 1958) was a Baltic German pianist and composer. Erdmann was born in Wenden (Cēsis) in the Governorate of Livonia. He was the great-nephew of the philosopher Johann Eduard Erdmann. His first musical s ...
. Krenek pointed to the piano sonatas as giving "ample evidence that chubertwas much more than an easy-going tune-smith who did not know, and did not care, about the craft of composition." Each sonata then in print, according to Krenek, exhibited "a great wealth of technical finesse" and revealed Schubert as "far from satisfied with pouring his charming ideas into conventional moulds; on the contrary he was a thinking artist with a keen appetite for experimentation." Lev.


Instrumental music, stage works and church music

That "appetite for experimentation" manifests itself repeatedly in Schubert's output in a wide variety of forms and genres, including opera, liturgical music, chamber and solo piano music, and symphonic works. Perhaps most familiarly, his adventurousness is reflected in his notably original sense of modulation; for example, the second movement of the String Quintet (D. 956), which is in E major, features a central section in the
distant key In music, a closely related key (or close key) is one sharing many common tones with an original key, as opposed to a distantly related key (or distant key). In music harmony, there are six of them: five share all, or all except one, pitches wit ...
of F minor. Gammond (1982), p. 117 It also appears in unusual choices of instrumentation, as in the Sonata in A minor for arpeggione and piano (D. 821), or the unconventional scoring of the ''
Trout Quintet The ''Trout Quintet'' (''Forellenquintett'') is the popular name for the Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667, by Franz Schubert. The piano quintet was composed in 1819, when he was 22 years old; it was not published, however, until 1829, a year af ...
'' (D. 667) for piano, violin, viola, cello, and double bass, whereas conventional piano quintets are scored for piano and
string quartet The term string quartet can refer to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two violinist ...
. Although Schubert was clearly influenced by the Classical
sonata form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...
s of Beethoven and
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
, his formal structures and his developments tend to give the impression more of melodic development than of harmonic drama. Gammond (1982), pp. 76–81 This combination of Classical form and long-breathed Romantic melody sometimes lends them a discursive style: his ''Great C Major Symphony'' was described by
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
as running to "heavenly lengths". Brown (2002), p. 630


Lieder and art songs

It was in the genre of the
Lied In Western classical music tradition, (, plural ; , plural , ) is a term for setting poetry to classical music to create a piece of polyphonic music. The term is used for any kind of song in contemporary German, but among English and French s ...
that Schubert made his most indelible mark.
Leon Plantinga Leon B. Plantinga is an American musicologist specializing in music of the later eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. His writings have influenced scholarship on Clementi, Beethoven, and Schumann, and his textbook ''Romantic Music'' continues to se ...
remarks that "in his more than six hundred Lieder he explored and expanded the potentialities of the genre, as no composer before him." Prior to Schubert's influence, Lieder tended toward a strophic, syllabic treatment of text, evoking the folksong qualities engendered by the stirrings of
Romantic nationalism Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
. Among Schubert's treatments of the poetry of
Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
, his settings of "
Gretchen am Spinnrade "" (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), Op. 2, 118, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert using the text from Part One, scene 15 of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's ''Faust''. With "Gretchen am Spinnrade" and some 600 other songs for voice and piano, S ...
" (D. 118) and "
Der Erlkönig Der or DER may refer to: Places * Darkənd, Azerbaijan * Dearborn (Amtrak station) (station code), in Michigan, US * Der (Sumer), an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq * d'Entrecasteaux Ridge, an oceanic ridge in the south-west Pacific Ocean ...
" (D. 328) are particularly striking for their dramatic content, forward-looking uses of harmony, and use of eloquent pictorial keyboard figurations, such as the depiction of the spinning wheel and treadle in the piano in "Gretchen" and the furious and ceaseless gallop in "". Swafford (1992), p. 211 He composed music using the poems of myriad poets, with Goethe,
Mayrhofer Mayrhofer is a German surname meaning "from the region of Mayrhof" in Austria. Notable people with the surname include: *Carl Mayrhofer (183782), Austrian obstetrician *Johann Mayrhofer (17871836), Austrian poet and librettist known for his friend ...
, and
Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
the most frequent, and others, including
Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was a German poet, writer and literary critic. He is best known outside Germany for his early lyric poetry, which was set to music in the form of '' Lied ...
,
Friedrich Rückert Friedrich Rückert (16 May 1788 – 31 January 1866) was a German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages. Biography Rückert was born in Schweinfurt and was the eldest son of a lawyer. He was educated at the local '' Gymnasiu ...
, and Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff. Of particular note are his two
song cycle A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle, of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online'' The songs are either for solo voice or an ensemble, or rare ...
s on the poems of
Wilhelm Müller Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller (7 October 1794 – 30 September 1827) was a German lyric poet, best known as the author of ''Die schöne Müllerin'' (1823) and ''Winterreise'' (1828), which Franz Schubert later set to music as song cycles. Life ...
, ''
Die schöne Müllerin ' (,"The Fair Maid of the Mill", Op. 25, D. 795), is a song cycle by Franz Schubert from 1823 based on 20 poems by Wilhelm Müller. It is the first of Schubert's two seminal cycles (preceding '' Winterreise'')'','' and a pinnacle of '' Lied'' ...
'' and ''
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'', which helped to establish the genre and its potential for musical, poetic, and almost operatic dramatic narrative. His last collection of songs, published in 1828 after his death, '' Schwanengesang'', is also an innovative contribution to German Lieder literature, as it features poems by different poets, namely Ludwig Rellstab, Heine, and
Johann Gabriel Seidl Johann Gabriel Seidl (21 June 1804 – 18 July 1875) was an Austrian archeologist, poet, storyteller and dramatist. He wrote the lyrics to "Gott erhalte, Gott beschütze unsern Kaiser, unser Land!" This was the 1854 version of the Austrian ...
. The ''
Wiener Theaterzeitung ''Wiener Theater Zeitung'' (also Bäuerles Theaterzeitung, Wiener allgemeine Theaterzeitung) was an Austrian journal founded by Adolf Bäuerle. It was published from 1806 to 1860 in Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT- ...
'', writing about ''Winterreise'' at the time, commented that it was a work that "none can sing or hear without being deeply moved". Gammond (1982), pp. 153–156
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...
wrote in 1894 that Schubert, whom he considered one of the truly great composers, was clearly influential on shorter works, especially Lieder and shorter piano works: "The tendency of the romantic school has been toward short forms, and although Weber helped to show the way, to Schubert belongs the chief credit of originating the short models of piano forte pieces which the romantic school has preferably cultivated.... Schubert created a new epoch with the Lied.... All other songwriters have followed in his footsteps." Dvořák (1894), pp. 344–345


Publication – catalogue

When Schubert died he had around 100
opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositi ...
s published, mainly songs, chamber music and smaller piano compositions. Publication of smaller pieces continued (including opus numbers up to 173 in the 1860s, 50 instalments with songs published by
Diabelli Anton (or Antonio) Diabelli (5 September 17818 April 1858) was an Austrian music publisher, editor and composer. Best known in his time as a publisher, he is most familiar today as the composer of the waltz on which Ludwig van Beethoven wrote ...
and dozens of first publications Peters), but the manuscripts of many of the longer works, whose existence was not widely known, remained hidden in cabinets and file boxes of Schubert's family, friends, and publishers. Even some of Schubert's friends were unaware of the full scope of what he wrote, and for many years he was primarily recognized as the "prince of song", although there was recognition of some of his larger-scale efforts. Gibbs (2000), pp. 61–62 In 1838
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
, on a visit to Vienna, found the dusty manuscript of the C major Symphony (D. 944) and took it back to
Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as ...
where it was performed by
Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sym ...
and celebrated in the '' Neue Zeitschrift.'' An important step towards the recovery of the neglected works was the journey to Vienna which the music historian
George Grove Sir George Grove (13 August 182028 May 1900) was an English engineer and writer on music, known as the founding editor of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. Grove was trained as a civil engineer, and successful in that profession, b ...
and the composer
Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...
made in October 1867. The travellers unearthed the manuscripts of six of the symphonies, parts of the incidental music to ''
Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...
'', the Mass No. 1 in F major (D. 105), and the operas ''Des Teufels Lustschloss'' (D. 84), ''Fernardo'' (D. 220), ''
Der vierjährige Posten ', 190, is a one-act singspiel by Franz Schubert to a libretto by Theodor Körner written for 's (1784–1814) opera of the same title that premiered in 1813 in Vienna's Theater an der Wien. Elizabeth Norman McKay: ''Franz Schubert's music for th ...
'' (D. 190), and ''
Die Freunde von Salamanka ''Die Freunde von Salamanka'' D.326 is an 1815 singspiel in two acts by Franz Schubert to a libretto by Johann Mayrhofer. The score, overture and eighteen numbers, is for three sopranos, three tenors, six basses, mixed choir and orchestra: :: Akt ...
'' (D. 326), and several other unnamed works. With these discoveries, Grove and Sullivan were able to inform the public of the existence of these works; in addition, they were able to copy the fourth and sixth symphonies, the ''
Rosamunde ''Rosamunde, Fürstin von Zypern'' (''Rosamunde, Princess of Cyprus'') is a play by Helmina von Chézy, which is primarily remembered for the incidental music which Franz Schubert composed for it. Music and play premiered in Vienna's Theater an d ...
'' incidental music, and the overture to ''Die Freunde von Salamanka''. Kreissle (1869), pp. 297–332, in which Grove recounts his visit to Vienna. This led to more widespread public interest in Schubert's work.See e.g. Kreissle (1869), p. 324, where Grove describes current (1860s) interest in Schubert's work, and Gibbs (1997), pp. 250–251, describing the size and scope of the 1897 Schubert centennial commemorations.


Complete editions

From 1884 to 1897,
Breitkopf & Härtel Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf. The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...
published
Franz Schubert's Works Franz Schubert's Works: Complete and Authoritative Edition (german: Franz Schubert's Werke: Kritisch durchgesehene Gesammtausgabe), also known as the Collected Edition, is a late 19th-century publication of Franz Schubert's compositions.Deutsch 19 ...
, a critical edition including a contribution made – among others – by
Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...
, editor of the first series containing eight symphonies. The publication of the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe by
Bärenreiter Bärenreiter (Bärenreiter-Verlag) is a German classical music publishing house based in Kassel. The firm was founded by Karl Vötterle (1903–1975) in Augsburg in 1923, and moved to Kassel in 1927, where it still has its headquarters; it al ...
started in the second half of the 20th century.


Deutsch catalogue

Since relatively few of Schubert's works were published in his lifetime, only a small number of them have
opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositi ...
s assigned, and even in those cases, the sequence of the numbers does not give a good indication of the order of composition. Austrian
musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...
Otto Erich Deutsch (1883–1967) is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Schubert's works. This was first published in English in 1951 (''
Schubert Thematic Catalogue ''Schubert: Thematic Catalogue of all his Works in Chronological Order'', also known as the Deutsch catalogue, is a numbered list of all compositions by Franz Schubert compiled by Otto Erich Deutsch. Since its first publication in 1951, Deutsc ...
'') and subsequently revised for a new edition in German in 1978 ('' Franz Schubert: Thematisches Verzeichnis seiner Werke in chronologischer Folge'' – Franz Schubert: Thematic Catalogue of his Works in Chronological Order).


Numbering issues

Confusion arose quite early over the numbering of Schubert's late symphonies. Schubert's last completed symphony, the ''Great C major'' , was assigned the numbers 7, 8, 9 and 10, depending on publication. Similarly the ''Unfinished'' has been indicated with the numbers 7, 8, and 9.See #Numbering of symphonies The order usually followed for these late symphonies by English-language sources is: *No. 7:
E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equiva ...
, D 729 *No. 8:
B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes n ...
, D 759 ''Unfinished'' *No. 9:
C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...
, D 944 ''Great C major'' *No. 10: Symphony No. 10 (Schubert), D major, D 936A An even broader confusion arose over the Sonatas, duos and fantasies by Franz Schubert#Numbering of the Piano Sonatas, numbering of the piano sonatas, with numbering systems ranging from 15 to 23 sonatas.


Instruments

Among pianos Schubert had access to were a Benignus Seidner piano (now displayed at the Vienna Museum#Birthplace of Franz Schubert, Schubert Geburtshaus in Vienna) and an Anton Walter & Sohn piano (today in the collection of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum). Schubert was also familiar with instruments by Viennese piano builder Conrad Graf.


Recognition

A feeling of regret for the loss of potential masterpieces caused by Schubert's early death at age 31 was expressed in the epitaph on his large tombstone written by Grillparzer: "Here music has buried a treasure, but even fairer hopes." Duncan (1905), p. 80 Some prominent musicians share a similar view, including the pianist Radu Lupu, who said: " chubertis the composer for whom I am really most sorry that he died so young. ... Just before he died, when he wrote his beautiful two-cello String Quintet in C, he said very modestly that he was trying to learn a little more about counterpoint, and he was perfectly right. We'll never know in what direction he was going or would have gone." However, others have expressed disagreement with this early view. For instance,
Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...
said: "It is pointless to guess at what more chubertmight have achieved. He did enough; and let them be honoured who have striven and accomplished as he did", and the pianist András Schiff said that: "Schubert lived a very short life, but it was a very concentrated life. In 31 years, he lived more than other people would live in 100 years, and it is needless to speculate what could he have written had he lived another 50 years. It's irrelevant, just like with Mozart; these are the two natural geniuses of music." The Wiener Schubertbund, one of Vienna's leading choral societies, was founded in 1863, whilst the Gründerzeit was taking place. The Schubertbund quickly became a rallying point for schoolteachers and other members of the Viennese middle class who felt increasingly embattled during the Gründerzeit and the aftermath of the Panic of 1873. In 1872, the dedication of the Schubert Denkmal, a gift to the city from Vienna's leading male chorus, the Wiener Männergesang-Verein, took place; the chorus performed at the event. The Denkmal was designed by Austrian sculptor Carl Kundmann and is located in Vienna's Stadtpark. Schubert's chamber music continues to be popular. In a Classic 100 chamber (ABC), survey conducted by the ABC Classic FM radio station in 2008, Schubert's chamber works dominated the field, with the ''Trout Quintet'' ranked first, the String Quintet in C major ranked second, and the Notturno (Schubert), Notturno in E-flat major for piano trio ranked third. Furthermore, eight more of his chamber works were among the 100 ranked pieces: both piano trios, the String Quartet No. 14 (Schubert), String Quartet No. 14 (''Death and the Maiden''), the String Quartet No. 15, the Arpeggione Sonata, the Octet (Schubert), Octet, the Fantasia in F minor (Schubert), Fantasie in F minor for piano four-hands, and the Adagio and Rondo Concertante, ''Adagio and Rondo Concertante'' for piano quartet. ''The New York Times'' chief music critic Anthony Tommasini, who ranked Schubert as the fourth greatest composer, wrote of him:
You have to love the guy, who died at 31, ill, impoverished and neglected except by a circle of friends who were in awe of his genius. For his hundreds of songs alone – including the haunting cycle ''
Winterreise ''Winterreise'' (, ''Winter Journey'') is a song cycle for voice and piano by Franz Schubert ( D. 911, published as Op. 89 in 1828), a setting of 24 poems by German poet Wilhelm Müller. It is the second of Schubert's two song cycles on Müller' ...
'', which will never release its tenacious hold on singers and audiences – Schubert is central to our concert life... Schubert's first few symphonies may be works in progress. But the ''Unfinished'' and especially the ''Great C major'' Symphony are astonishing. The latter one paves the way for Anton Bruckner, Bruckner and prefigures Gustav Mahler, Mahler.


Tributes by other musicians

From the 1830s through the 1870s,
Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...
transcribed and arranged several of Schubert's works, particularly the songs. Liszt, who was a significant force in spreading Schubert's work after his death, said Schubert was "the most poetic musician who ever lived."#Suttoni, Liszt (1989), p. 144 Schubert's symphonies were of particular interest to
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example ...
. Hector Berlioz and
Anton Bruckner Josef Anton Bruckner (; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer, organist, and music theorist best known for his symphonies, masses, Te Deum and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-Ger ...
acknowledged the influence of the ''Great C Major'' Symphony. It was Robert Schumann who, having seen the manuscript of the ''Great C Major'' Symphony in Vienna in 1838, drew it to the attention of Mendelssohn, who led the first performance of the symphony, in a heavily abridged version, in Leipzig in 1839. In the 20th century, composers such as Richard Strauss, Anton Webern, Benjamin Britten, George Crumb, and Hans Zender championed or paid homage to Schubert in some of their works. Britten, an accomplished pianist, accompanied many of Schubert's Lieder and performed many piano solo and duet works. Newbould (1999), pp. 403–404 German electronic music group Kraftwerk has an track titled ''Franz Schubert'' on their 1977 album ''Trans-Europe Express (album), Trans-Europe Express''.


Commemorations

In 1897, the 100th anniversary of Schubert's birth was marked in the musical world by festivals and performances dedicated to his music. In Vienna, there were ten days of concerts, and the Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria, Franz Joseph gave a speech recognising Schubert as the creator of the art song, and one of Austria's favourite sons.#Rodenberg, Rodenberg (1900), p. 118#MusicalTimes189702, ''The Musical Times'', February 1897, p. 113 Karlsruhe saw the first production of his opera ''
Fierrabras ''Fierrabras'', 796, is a three-act German opera with spoken dialogue written by the composer Franz Schubert in 1823, to a libretto by Joseph Kupelwieser, the general manager of the Theater am Kärntnertor (Vienna's Court Opera Theatre). Along ...
''. Gibbs (1997), p. 318 In 1928, Schubert Week was held in Europe and the United States to mark the centenary of the composer's death. Works by Schubert were performed in churches, in concert halls, and on radio stations. A competition, with top prize money of $10,000 and sponsorship by the Columbia Records, Columbia Phonograph Company, was held for "original symphonic works presented as an apotheosis of the lyrical genius of Schubert, and dedicated to his memory". The winning entry was Kurt Atterberg's sixth symphony.


In film and television

Schubert has featured as a character in several films including ''Schubert's Dream of Spring'' (1931), ''Gently My Songs Entreat'' (1933), ''Serenade (1940 film), Serenade'' (1940), ''The Great Awakening (film), The Great Awakening'' (1941), ''It's Only Love (film), It's Only Love'' (1947), ''Franz Schubert (film), Franz Schubert'' (1953), ''Das Dreimäderlhaus'' (1958), and ''Mit meinen heißen Tränen'' (1986). Schubert's music has also been featured in numerous post-silent era films, including Walt Disney's ''Fantasia (1940 film), Fantasia'' (1940), which features Ave Maria (Schubert), Ave Maria (D. 839); and the biographical film ''Carrington (film), Carrington'' (1995), which features the second movement of the String Quintet in C major (D. 956), as well as the English version of ''The Adventures of Milo and Otis'' (1989), which features Serenade and Auf dem Wasser zu singen (D. 774). Schubert's String Quartet No. 15 (Schubert), String Quartet No. 15 in G is featured prominently in the Woody Allen film ''Crimes and Misdemeanors'' (1989). The Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 (''Trout Quintet'') is featured in the 2011 film Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows by Guy Ritchie. The music of the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, "Death and the Maiden Quartet, Death and the Maiden", is often used to accompany documentaries or films, notably the 1994 Death and the Maiden (film), film of that name by Roman Polanski. The second movement from the Piano Trio No. 2 in E-Flat Major, Op. 100/D.929, was featured in Stanley Kubrick's 1975 film "Barry Lyndon". Schubert's life was covered in the documentary ''Franz Peter Schubert: The Greatest Love and the Greatest Sorrow'' by Christopher Nupen (1994), and in the documentary ''Schubert – The Wanderer'' by András Schiff and Mischa Scorer (1997), both produced for the BBC. "Great Performances," "Now Hear This: The Schubert Generation Series," hosted by Scott Yoo, explored commentary and performances by contemporary musician admirers.Now Hear This "The Schubert Generation"
''PBS'', September 25, 2020. Retrieved January 16, 2022.


Footnotes


References


Notes


Sources

Works by Otto Erich Deutsch Otto Erich Deutsch, working in the first half of the 20th century, was probably the preeminent scholar of Schubert's life and music. In addition to the catalogue of Schubert's works, he collected and organized a great deal of material about Schubert, some of which remains in print. * * * * 19th- and early 20th-century scholarship * * * * * * * The first full-length biography of Schubert (volume 1). * The first full-length biography of Schubert (volume 2). * * * * Modern scholarship * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Numbering of symphonies The following sources illustrate the confusion around the numbering of Schubert's late symphonies. The B minor ''Unfinished'' Symphony is variously published as No. 7 and No. 8, in both German and English. * German-language publication of the ''Unfinished'' Symphony score as No. 7. * English-language publication of the ''Unfinished'' Symphony score as No. 7. * English-language publication of the ''Unfinished'' Symphony score as No. 8.


External links

*
Texts and translations of vocal music by Schubert
a
The LiederNet ArchiveFranz Schubert Museum in Hohenems/Austria
* *

*[http://www.schubert-institut.at/ Franz-Schubert-Institut in Baden bei Wien]


Recordings


Schubertlied.de
– Free recordings of many Lieder by Schubert (mp3)
Schubert cylinder recordings
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.


Sheet music


Schubertline.co.uk
about 250 of Schubert's Songs (Schubertline edition) * *
Free digital scores by Franz Schubert
in th
OpenScore Lieder Corpus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schubert, Franz Franz Schubert, 1797 births 1828 deaths 19th-century Austrian musicians 19th-century Austrian male musicians 19th-century classical composers 19th-century classical pianists Austrian agnostics Austrian classical pianists Austrian Classical-period composers Austrian male classical composers Austrian opera composers Austrian people of Moravian-German descent Austrian Romantic composers Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Catholic liturgical composers Child classical musicians Composers for piano Deaths from typhoid fever Esterházy family Infectious disease deaths in Austria Male classical pianists Male opera composers Pupils of Antonio Salieri Composers from Vienna String quartet composers