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 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[ McKay (1996), p. 56] Much of this work was unpublished, but manuscripts and copies circulated among friends and admirers.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]
![Karikatur_von_Johann_Michael_Voglund_Franz_Schubert%2C_circa_1825](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/Karikatur_von_Johann_Michael_Voglund_Franz_Schubert%2C_circa_1825.jpg)
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 at their château in Zseliz (now
Želiezovce
Želiezovce ( hu, Zselíz, (formerly) Zseliz (till 1895), Zeliz, Zeléz, german: Zelis (rare)) is a town in Slovakia in the Nitra Region in the Levice District, near the Hron river.
Districts
* Jarok ( hu, Nyitra-Ivánka)
* Karolína
* Mi ...
, 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 ''
Schubertiads.'' 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
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 Fren ...
) 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 live ...
, 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'' (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" (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'' publication.
![Franz Schubert by Wilhelm August Rieder](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Franz_Schubert_by_Wilhelm_August_Rieder.jpeg)
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 Ro ...
'' 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
Domenico Barbaia (also spelled Barbaja; 10 August 1777 – 19 October 1841) was best known as an opera Italian impresario.
An energetic man, Barbaia, who was born in Milan, began his career by running a coffee shop. He made his first fortune by ...
,
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 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
''Euryanthe'' ( J. 291, Op. 81) is a German grand heroic-romantic opera by Carl Maria von Weber, first performed at the Theater am Kärntnertor in Vienna on 25 October 1823.Brown, p. 88 Though acknowledged as one of Weber's most important operas, ...
''.
[ 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
Ignaz Sonnleithner, from 1828 Ignaz Edler von Sonnleithner (30 July 1770 – 27 November 1831), was an Austrian jurist, writer and educator. He also founded the Society of Music Friends of the Austrian Imperial State in 1812.
Life
Family
Sonnle ...
and his son Leopold von Sonnleithner
Leopold Andreas Ignaz Sonnleithner (from 1828 Leopold Edler von Sonnleithner; born 15 November 1797 in Wien; died 3 March 1873 in Vienna) was an Austrian lawyer and a well-known personality of the Viennese Classical music scene. He was a friend ...
, 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 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 (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
, ''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 Lieder. 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 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
The arpeggione is a six-stringed musical instrument fretted and tuned like a guitar, but with a curved bridge so it can be bowed like a cello, and thus similar to the bass viola da gamba. The instrument is sometimes also called a guitar violonce ...
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
The Lady of the Lake (french: Dame du Lac, Demoiselle du Lac, cy, Arglwyddes y Llyn, kw, Arloedhes an Lynn, br, Itron al Lenn, it, Dama del Lago) is a name or a title used by several either fairy or fairy-like but human enchantresses in the ...
'', 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's ...
(''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, 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
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
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
''The Second'' is the second studio album by Canadian-American rock band Steppenwolf, released in October 1968 on ABC Dunhill Records. The album contains one of Steppenwolf's most famous songs, " Magic Carpet Ride". The background of the orig ...
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
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...
, 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
''Schwanengesang ( Swan Song)'', 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously:
# Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab)
# Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab)
# Frühlingssehnsucht (Rells ...
'' (''Swan-song'', D. 957).[ Newbould (1999) pp. 270–274] (This collection – which includes settings of words by Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Rellstab
Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab (13 April 179927 November 1860) was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab. An able pianist, he publ ...
, 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
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
'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.[ 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 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 several ...
, 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 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, t ...
, 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, mucous plaques, rash on the thorax, pupil abnormality, dysgraphia — 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
Währing () is the 18th district of Vienna and lies in northwestern Vienna on the edge of the Vienna Woods. It was formed in 1892 from the unification of the older suburbs of Währing, Weinhaus, Gersthof, Pötzleinsdorf, Neustift am Walde and S ...
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 and Johannes Brahms.[ Gibbs (2000), p. 197] Anton Bruckner 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
Franz Seraphicus Grillparzer (15 January 1791 – 21 January 1872) was an Austrian writer who was considered to be the leading Austrian dramatist of the 19th century. His plays were and are frequently performed at the famous Burgtheater in Vien ...
, 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. 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
Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer of Czech origin. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study ...
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
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
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. 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
Lev may refer to:
Common uses
*Bulgarian lev, the currency of Bulgaria
*an abbreviation for Leviticus, the third book of the Hebrew Bible and the Torah
People and fictional characters
*Lev (given name)
*Lev (surname)
Places
*Lev, Azerbaijan, a ...
.
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
Liturgical music originated as a part of religious ceremony, and includes a number of traditions, both ancient and modern. Liturgical music is well known as a part of Catholic Mass, the Anglican Holy Communion service (or Eucharist) and Evensong ...
, 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
A string quintet is a musical composition for five string players. As an extension to the string quartet (two violins, a viola, and a cello), a string quintet includes a fifth string instrument, usually a second viola (a so-called "viola quintet" ...
(D. 956), which is in E major, features a central section in the distant key 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.
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, 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 as running to "heavenly lengths".[ Brown (2002), p. 630]
Lieder and art songs
It was in the genre of the Lied 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
Strophic form – also called verse-repeating form, chorus form, AAA song form, or one-part song form – is a song structure in which all verses or stanzas of the text are sung to the same music. Contrasting song forms include through-composed, ...
, syllabic treatment of text, evoking the folksong qualities engendered by the stirrings of Romantic nationalism.
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, ...
" (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 Oc ...
" (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 the most frequent, and others, including Heinrich Heine, 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 '' Gymnasium'' ...
, and Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff
Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff (10 March 178826 November 1857) was a German poet, novelist, playwright, literary critic, translator, and anthologist. Eichendorff was one of the major writers and critics of Romanticism.Cf. J. A. Cuddon: ' ...
. Of particular note are his two song cycle
A song cycle (german: Liederkreis or Liederzyklus) is a group, or cycle (music), cycle, of individually complete Art song, songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit.Susan Youens, ''Grove online''
The songs are either for solo voice ...
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
''Schwanengesang ( Swan Song)'', 957, is a collection of 14 songs written by Franz Schubert at the end of his life and published posthumously:
# Liebesbotschaft (text: Ludwig Rellstab)
# Kriegers Ahnung (Rellstab)
# Frühlingssehnsucht (Rells ...
'', is also an innovative contribution to German Lieder literature, as it features poems by different poets, namely Ludwig Rellstab
Heinrich Friedrich Ludwig Rellstab (13 April 179927 November 1860) was a German poet and music critic. He was born and died in Berlin. He was the son of the music publisher and composer Johann Carl Friedrich Rellstab. An able pianist, he publ ...
, 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'', 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 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 composit ...
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 Peters may refer to:
People
* Peters (surname)
* Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada
Places United States
* Peters, California, a census-designated place
* Peters, Florida, a town
* Peters Township, Kingman County, Kan ...
), 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, 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 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 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 t ...
'' (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, editor of the first series containing eight symphonies. The publication of the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe
Franz Schubert (1797–1828): New Edition of the Complete Works (), commonly known as the New Schubert Edition (NSE), or, in german: Neue Schubert-Ausgabe (NSA), is a complete edition of Franz Schubert's works, which started in 1956 and is schedu ...
by Bärenreiter 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 composit ...
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
Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pub ...
(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'') 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, 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 need ...
, D 759 ''Unfinished''
*No. 9: C major, D 944 ''Great C major''
*No. 10: D major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Ch ...
, D 936A
An even broader confusion arose over the 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 Schubert Geburtshaus in Vienna) and an Anton Walter
Gabriel Anton Walter (5 February 1752 – 11 April 1826) was a builder of pianos. The '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' describes him as "the most famous Viennese piano maker of his time".Latcham (2009)
Life
Walter was born in Neuha ...
& Sohn piano (today in the collection of the Vienna Kunsthistorisches Museum). Schubert was also familiar with instruments by Viennese piano builder Conrad Graf
Conrad Graf (17 November 1782 in Riedlingen, Further Austria – 18 March 1851 in Vienna) was an Austrian-German piano maker. His pianos were used by Beethoven, Chopin, and Robert and Clara Schumann, among others.
Life and career
Graf began his ...
.
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
Radu Lupu (30 November 1945 – 17 April 2022) was a Romanian pianist. He was widely recognized as one of the greatest pianists of his time.
Born in Galați, Romania, Lupu began studying piano at the age of six. Two of his major piano teach ...
, 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 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
(; "founders' period") was the economic phase in 19th-century Germany and Austria before the great stock market crash of 1873. In Central Europe, the age of industrialisation had been taking place since the 1840s. That period is not precisely ...
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
The Panic of 1873 was a financial crisis that triggered an economic depression in Europe and North America that lasted from 1873 to 1877 or 1879 in France and in Britain. In Britain, the Panic started two decades of stagnation known as the ...
. In 1872, the dedication of the Schubert Denkmal, a gift to the city from Vienna's leading male chorus, the Wiener Männergesang-Verein
The Wiener Männergesang-Verein ("Vienna Men's Choral Society" or "Vienna Male Voice Choir") is a men's choir in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1843. The choir has regularly appeared with the Vienna Philharmonic, and has performed worldwide. Notable ...
, 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 survey
Survey may refer to:
Statistics and human research
* Statistical survey, a method for collecting quantitative information about items in a population
* Survey (human research), including opinion polls
Spatial measurement
* Surveying, the techniq ...
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 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 (''Death and the Maiden''), the String Quartet No. 15, the Arpeggione Sonata
The Sonata for Arpeggione and Piano in A minor, D. 821, was written by Franz Schubert in Vienna in November 1824. The sonata is the only substantial composition for the arpeggione (which was essentially a bowed guitar) extant today. The sonata wa ...
, the Octet
Octet may refer to:
Music
* Octet (music), ensemble consisting of eight instruments or voices, or composition written for such an ensemble
** String octet, a piece of music written for eight string instruments
*** Octet (Mendelssohn), 1825 compos ...
, the Fantasie in F minor for piano four-hands, and the ''Adagio and Rondo Concertante'' for piano quartet.
''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' chief music critic Anthony Tommasini
Anthony Carl Tommasini (born April 14, 1948) is an American music critic and author who specializes in classical music. Described as "a discerning critic, whose taste, knowledge and judgment have made him a must-read", Tommasini was the chief ...
, 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 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-Germa ...
and prefigures Mahler
Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and the modernism ...
.
Tributes by other musicians
From the 1830s through the 1870s, Franz Liszt 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."[ Liszt (1989), p. 144] Schubert's symphonies were of particular interest to Antonín Dvořák. Hector Berlioz and Anton Bruckner 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
Anton Friedrich Wilhelm von Webern (3 December 188315 September 1945), better known as Anton Webern (), was an Austrian composer and conductor whose music was among the most radical of its milieu in its sheer concision, even aphorism, and stead ...
, Benjamin Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...
, George Crumb, and Hans Zender
Johannes Wolfgang Zender (22 November 1936 – 22 October 2019) was a German conductor and composer. He was the chief conductor of several opera houses, and his compositions, many of them vocal music, have been performed at international festival ...
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''.
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
Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (german: Franz Joseph Karl, hu, Ferenc József Károly, 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his ...
gave a speech recognising Schubert as the creator of the art song, and one of Austria's favourite sons.[ Rodenberg (1900), p. 118][ ''The Musical Times'', February 1897, p. 113]
Karlsruhe
Karlsruhe ( , , ; South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the third-largest city of the German state (''Land'') of Baden-Württemberg after its capital of Stuttgart and Mannheim, and the 22nd-largest city in the nation, with 308,436 inhabitants. ...
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 Phonograph Company
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. It was founded on January 15, 1889, evolving from the Ame ...
, 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
Kurt Magnus Atterberg (, 12 December 188715 February 1974) was a Swedish composer and engineer. He is best known for his symphonies, operas, and ballets.
Biography
Atterberg was born in Gothenburg. His father was Anders Johan Atterberg, enginee ...
'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), ''The Great Awakening
''The Great Awakening'' is the fourth studio album from the Christian rock band Leeland, released on September 20, 2011. ''The Great Awakening'' received a nomination to the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
The ...
'' (1941), ''It's Only Love
"It's Only Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written mostly by John Lennon and credited to Lennon–McCartney. It was first released in 1965 on the ''Help!'' album in the United Kingdom and on the ''Rubber Soul'' album in the ...
'' (1947), ''Franz Schubert
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 vocal wo ...
'' (1953), ''Das Dreimäderlhaus
''Das Dreimäderlhaus'' (''House of the Three Girls''), adapted into English-language versions as ''Blossom Time'' and ''Lilac Time'', is a Viennese pastiche operetta with music by Franz Schubert, rearranged by Heinrich Berté (1857–1924), ...
'' (1958), and '' Mit meinen heißen Tränen'' (1986). Schubert's music has also been featured in numerous post- silent era films, including Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's '' Fantasia'' (1940), which features Ave Maria
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's ...
(D. 839); and the biographical 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
is a 1986 Japanese adventure comedy-drama film about two animals, Milo (an orange tabby cat) and Otis (a pug). The original Japanese version, narrated by Shigeru Tsuyuki and with poetry recitation by Kyōko Koizumi, was released on July 12, ...
'' (1989), which features Serenade and Auf dem Wasser zu singen
"" (To sing on the water), D. 774, is a Lied composed by Franz Schubert in 1823, based on the poem of the same name by Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg.
The text describes a scene on the water from the perspective of the narrator who is in ...
(D. 774).
Schubert's String Quartet No. 15 in G is featured prominently in the Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
film ''Crimes and Misdemeanors
''Crimes and Misdemeanors'' is a 1989 American existential comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, who stars alongside Martin Landau, Mia Farrow, Anjelica Huston, Jerry Orbach, Alan Alda, Sam Waterston, and Joanna Gleason.
...
'' (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
Guy Stuart Ritchie (born 10 September 1968) is an English film director, producer and screenwriter. His work includes British gangster films, and the ''Adaptations of Sherlock Holmes, Sherlock Holmes'' films starring Robert Downey Jr.
Ritchi ...
. The music of the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor, " Death and the Maiden", is often used to accompany documentaries or films, notably the 1994 film of that name by Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
. 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 #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
.