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Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) Background Franz Schubert was born in Vienna, 1797, the son of a schoolmaster who had moved to Vienna from his native Moravia. Franz was raised in a highly musical environment, and was taught to play the violin, viola, and piano. At age nine, he began harmony and counterpoint studies, and at 11 entered the Imperial Chapel as a choirboy, receiving his musical and general education at the Staatskonvikt. The school gave him ample opportunity to develop his compositional technique. He studied theory with Salieri (who was choirmaster), and composed his First Symphony (1813) for the school orchestra. First masterpieces When his voice broke in 1812, Schubert decided to leave the school and began training as a teacher. In 1814 he became assistant teacher to his father, and the same year, his Mass in F major was first performed in Vienna. The soprano soloist was Therese Grob, with whom Schubert fell in love. That year also saw the composition of his first true masterpiece, the song 'Gretchen at the Spinning-wheel', a setting of a poem by Goethe. During the next few years, he continued to compose an astonishing amount of music - his output in 1815 alone included 144 songs, a symphony, two Masses, and many other works. |
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The Viennese circle After his application for a better teaching post in 1816 was rejected, Schubert abandoned his teaching career and decided to live a Bohemian lifestyle as a composer. From that time onward, he never held any official position, but relied on his compositions to earn money. He gained a wide circle of artistic friends, including the poet Mayrhofer, and Michael Vogl, a famous opera singer who performed many of Schubert's songs. The group regularly made music at Viennese coffee-houses and homes, and these evenings became known as Schubertiads, where Schubert's latest songs and chamber music were performed. By 1818, Vienna was captivated by the operas of Rossini, and two of Schubert's Rossini-inspired overtures were performed at a concert in March 1818 - the first public performance of Schubert's music. In that year, he spent the summer teaching the two daughters of Count Johann Esterhazy. In 1819, Schubert wrote his famous 'Trout' piano quintet during a holiday in upper Austria with Vogl. This was followed by the oratorio Lazarus, the Wanderer Fantasy, and the Quartet Movement in C minor. A charity concert in 1821, including a performance of Erlkonig, brought Schubert a little more recognition with the public. By this time, his circle of friends had undergone many changes, with several members leaving Vienna. Among his new friends were the painters Leopold Kupelweiser and Moriz von Schwind. He sketched his Seventh Symphony in 1821, but left it unorchestrated, and in the following year began the famous Eighth Symphony in B minor, but only completed two movements of the work (hence its recent status as 'The Unfinished'). Schubert falls ill Towards the end of 1822, Schubert contracted syphilis. It is most likely he received the infection from a prostitute, of whom the gender remains the subject of much debate. In early 1823 he was admitted to the Vienna general hospital for several weeks. During his stay he managed to compose some of his great song-cycle Die Schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill), the subject-matter of which possibly reflects Schubert's own feelings at the time. It is about a boy who falls in love with a beautiful miller-girl who eventually rejects him. Throughout the cycle, the boy seeks solace in the masculine brook, and eventually commits suicide. In 1824, he again stayed with the Esterhazy family at Zseliz, and this time fell in love with Caroline Esterhazy, the middle child. The Esterhazys probably knew about Schubert's venereal disease, which, combined with his penury and low social position, made him an unsuitable match for Caroline. During his stay there, he managed to compose the the A minor string quartet and the Grand Duo for piano duet. The next year he composed his Ninth Symphony, the 'Great' - one of the most influential symphonies of the early 19th century. The last two years The years 1827 and 1828 saw the composition of Schubert's greatest and most profound masterpieces. The song-cycle 'Die Winterreise' (A Winter's Journey), perhaps his greatest work, was composed in 1827. A setting of 24 poems by Wilhelm Müller, it is an unrelentingly bleak work about a young man who, after being rejected by his lover, sets off on a journey into a desolate winter wasteland, sinking deeper into despair with each song. The world described in the cycle is devoid of other human beings, apart from the old, decrepit, impoverished organ grinder featured in the very last song - 'Will you grind your organ to my songs, too?'. The work is regarded as being the ultimate musical expression of Schubert's personality. Other works composed during the last two years include the two great piano trios, the C major string quintet, the Moments Musicaux for piano, and the last three piano sonatas. In 1827, it is said that Schubert was a torch-bearer at Beethoven's funeral. A public concert of Schubert's music in March 1828 was a success, but his health had irreversibly declined, and he died in November that year. He was buried beside Beethoven at Wahring. Schubert.. the Döppelgänger? Contemporary views on Schubert have, for the greater part of this century, been dominated by an image of him as the coffee-house songwriter, the merry melodist who wrote sublime tunes and little else. It is true that Schubert was one of the greatest melodists who ever lived; that his music has a totally spontaneous, joyful melodic inspiration unequalled in all music. But there are so many more sides to Schubert. Although he is often described as a jovial socialite ('incapable of malice, friendly, grateful, modest, and sociable', writes his friend Josef von Spaun), the writings of other associates paint an altogether darker picture - a man of violent mood swings and immoral cravings (his friend Josef Kenner writes of 'the cleavage in his souls ... of which one pressed heavenwards and the other bathed in slime'). It is impossible to totally separate the elements of his personality from his music, which contains some of the bleakest and most brutal moments in all Western music, as well as some of the most joyful and charming. Particularly in the works of the late period, even in the most happy and care-free music, there is always a hint of sadness and melancholy that reflects his despair over his illness, and his frustration with life. We must not forget that he was a master of his art - along with Beethoven, he was the most accomplished symphonist of his day. He excelled in all of the forms that he attempted (except opera), and was arguably the greatest song-writer who ever lived. He expanded Classical form immensely, and introduced harmonic innovations that remained unchallenged until well into the late 19th century. But it is the emotional expression of his music that places him firmly in the canon of great composers. He was, in many respects, the first true Romantic. Back to top of page |
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