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. Vertical Divider
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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
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. |