Franz Schubert   (31st January 1797  -  19th November 1828)

KEY  DATES.
1797  Born 31 January, Himmelp-
          Fortgrund (a suburb of Vienna), the   
          son of a teacher and
          choirmaster.
1808  Joins Imperial Boys
          Choir.
1811  Makes first attempts at
         composition.
1812  Studies with the Vienna
         court composer Antonio
         Salieri.
1814  Joins his father as a 
         school master, while
         beginning to compose
        seriously.
1816  Abandons school teach-
         ing for a musical career.
1819  Tours Upper Austria with
         the singer Johann Vogl,
         who inspired many of his
         songs.
1825  Joins committee of the 
          prestigious Viennese
         music institution
         Gelsellschaft der
         Musikfreunde.
1827  Pallbearer at Beethoven`s
          funeral.
1828  One of his few public 
          concerts. Dies in Vienna,
          19 November, probably
          from Typhus.       
KEY     WORKS.
1814  Song, Gretchen am
         Spinnerade.
1815  Songs, Der Erlkonig
          Heidenroslein.
1816  Symphonies No. 4, `Tragic`,
          and No. 5.
1817  Songs, Die Forelle (`The
          Trout`), Der Tod und das
          Madchen (`Death and the
          Maiden`), An die Musik.
1819  Quintet, `Die Forelle`
1822  Symphony No. 8, `Un-
          finished`; Piano Fantasy
          `Wanderer`
1823  Song-cycle Die schone
          Mullerin; incidental music
          to Rosamunde; 6 Musical
          Moments including No.3.
1824  String Quartet No. 14, `Der
          Tod und das Madchen`;
          Octet in F; Sonata for two
          pianos, `Grand Duo`
1826  Symphony No. 9, `Great
          C Major`
1827  Song-cycle, Winterreise
1828  String Quintet in C; song
          -cycle, Schwanengesang;
          Piano impromptus.       
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Franz Schubert is regarded as the supreme melodist among the great composers. It is said that he sometimes jotted down melodies on the backs of café menus or any other scrap of paper that came to hand.  Many of his melodies do indeed sound effortless : they flow from his symphonies, string quartets, sonatas, and other instrumental works.  But their most natural home is in his songs - the famous Schubert Lieder.
(Read more......).........(Biographical video)
HIS  PLACE  IN  HISTORY
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A Schubert evening in a Vienna salon.
 Schubert died only a year after Beethoven, before he had a chance to emerge from the shadow of living  and working so close to such a giant among composers.And yet, in his tragically short life of 31 years, he achieved so much.  Schubert`s symphonies, sonatas and chamber music do not attempt the drama and intellectual power of Beethoven`s, but their beauty is unsurpassed.  And in other musical forms, Schubert was a true pioneer of Romantic music. His short pieces for the piano-musical moments, impromptus, waltzes-conveys wonderful freedom of form and expression, and inspired the likes of Schumann, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt and Brahms.  But above all, Schubert was the pioneer of the German art song, or Lied, which he turned into a major musical form. His technique was to use the accompanying piano to set the scene, often as vividly as any stage or film set, while reversing some of his loveliest tunes for the setting of the words to convey an amazing range and depth of feeling.
MOST  FAMOUS  WORK
Die schone Mullerin
`The Fair Maid of the Mill`, a
cycle or sequence off songs expressing the hope and despair of love, contains some of Schubert`s loveliest melodies and most heartfelt music.