Franz Schubert
On the 31st of January 1797, a boy named Franz Peter Schubert was born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna. He entered the world as the twelfth child of Franz Theodor Florian Schubert and Maria Elisabeth Katharina Vietz. His father worked as a parish schoolmaster in Lichtental, a district within Vienna that housed numerous students. The family home stood at what is now Nußdorfer Straße 54. By the age of five, Schubert began receiving regular lessons from his own father. A year later, he enrolled in his father's school where he studied alongside other children. His elder brother Ignaz provided piano instruction for a very short time before Schubert surpassed him. At eight years old, his father gave him violin lessons that trained him to play easy duets proficiently. Soon after, Michael Holzer became his first teacher outside the family circle. Holzer served as organist and choirmaster of the local parish church in Lichtental. He often spoke with tears in his eyes about never having had such a pupil. The young student seemed to gain more from visits to a neighboring pianoforte warehouse than from formal lessons. He played viola in the family string quartet alongside his brothers Ferdinand and Ignaz on violins and his father on cello.
At the end of 1813, Schubert left the Stadtkonvikt school to return home for teacher training. In 1814, he entered his father's school as the teacher of the youngest pupils. For over two years, he endured severe drudgery while teaching there. Despite this burden, he continued private composition lessons with Antonio Salieri until they parted ways in 1817. A significant change occurred in 1816 when Franz von Schober invited him to lodge at his mother's house. Schober came from an affluent family and offered Schubert a place to stay after he decided not to resume teaching duties. During this period, Schubert focused heavily on orchestral and choral works while also writing Lieder. Much of this work remained unpublished but circulated among friends and admirers. In early 1817, Schober introduced Schubert to Johann Michael Vogl, a prominent baritone twenty years his senior. Vogl became one of Schubert's main proponents in Viennese musical circles. He went on to write many songs specifically for Vogl to perform. These friendships formed the core of what became known as the Unsinnsgesellschaft or Nonsenses Society. Heinrich Anschütz wrote that Schubert was an active member during 1817 and 1818. The group held social gatherings that eventually evolved into events called Schubertiads. Many took place in Ignaz von Sonnleithner's large apartment located at Brandstätte 5 in Vienna.
In 1822, Schubert embarked suddenly on a work that showed his maturing personal vision more decisively than almost any other piece. This composition became known as the Symphony in B minor, later called the Unfinished Symphony. He left it incomplete after writing two movements and sketches some way into a third movement. He did not mention this work to any of his friends despite feeling thrilled by what he was achieving. The following year, 1823, marked another milestone when he composed his first large-scale song cycle titled Die schöne Müllerin. This series set poems by Wilhelm Müller and is widely considered one of the pinnacles of Lieder. In 1824, he wrote several string quartets including the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor with variations on Death and the Maiden. That same winter season saw him compose the Sonata in A minor for arpeggione and piano during a minor craze over that instrument. By 1827, he had written the song cycle Winterreise which also set texts of Müller. The Wiener Theaterzeitung commented that Winterreise was a work none could sing or hear without being deeply moved. His last collection of songs published posthumously included settings of words by Heinrich Heine, Ludwig Rellstab, and Johann Gabriel Seidl under the title Schwanengesang.
In the late summer of 1828, Schubert saw physician Ernst Rinna who may have confirmed his suspicions that he was ill beyond cure. Some symptoms matched those of mercury poisoning since mercury was then a common treatment for syphilis. At the beginning of November, he fell ill again experiencing headaches, fever, swollen joints, and vomiting. Five days before his death, his friend Karl Holz visited to play music for him. The last musical work Schubert wished to hear was Beethoven's String Quartet No. 14 in C-sharp minor Opus 131. Holz remarked that the King of Harmony had sent the King of Song a friendly bidding to the crossing. Schubert died in Vienna aged thirty-one on the 19th of November 1828 at the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. The cause of death was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever though other theories exist including tertiary stage syphilis. Six weeks before his death he walked sixty-eight kilometers in three days which ruled out musculoskeletal syphilis. His final illness featured gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting leading some researchers to argue it was salmonella or indeed typhoid fever.
Among Schubert's compositions roughly six hundred are songs for solo voice and piano making up the largest number of his output. Prior to his influence Lieder tended toward strophic syllabic treatment evoking folksong qualities engendered by Romantic nationalism. Among his settings of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe poetry two stand out particularly strikingly for their dramatic content. Gretchen am Spinnrade depicts the spinning wheel and treadle through eloquent keyboard figurations while Der Erlkönig uses furious galloping rhythms. He composed music using poems from myriad poets including Goethe Mayrhofer Schiller Heinrich Heine Friedrich Rückert and Joseph Freiherr von Eichendorff. Two song cycles on Wilhelm Müller's poems Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise helped establish the genre and its potential for musical poetic narrative. Antonín Dvořák wrote that Schubert created a new epoch with the Lied since all other songwriters followed in his footsteps. The Wiener Theaterzeitung noted that Winterreise was a work none could sing or hear without being deeply moved.
When Schubert died around one hundred opus numbers had been published mainly songs chamber music and smaller piano compositions. Manuscripts of many longer works remained hidden in cabinets and file boxes of family friends and publishers. Even some friends were unaware of the full scope of what he wrote. In 1838 Robert Schumann found the dusty manuscript of the C major Symphony during a visit to Vienna. He took it back to Leipzig where Felix Mendelssohn performed it and celebrated it in the Neue Zeitschrift. An important step toward recovery came when George Grove and Arthur Sullivan traveled to Vienna in October 1867. They unearthed manuscripts of six symphonies parts of incidental music to Rosamunde Mass No. 1 in F major and several operas including Des Teufels Lustschloss Fernardo Der vierjährige Posten and Die Freunde von Salamanka. With these discoveries they informed the public of existence of these works and copied fourth and sixth symphonies plus Rosamunde incidental music. This led to more widespread public interest in Schubert's work culminating in centennial commemorations in 1897 featuring ten days of concerts in Vienna.
In 1897 the one hundredth anniversary of Schubert's birth was marked by festivals and performances dedicated to his music throughout Europe and America. Emperor Franz Joseph gave a speech recognizing Schubert as creator of art song and one of Austria's favorite sons. A competition with top prize money of ten thousand US dollars sponsored by Columbia Phonograph Company held for original symphonic works presented as apotheosis of lyrical genius won by Kurt Atterberg's sixth symphony. Schubert has featured as character in films including Schubert's Dream of Spring Gently My Songs Entreat Serenade The Great Awakening It's Only Love Franz Schubert Das Dreimäderlhaus and Mit meinen heißen Tränen. His music appears in Disney's Fantasia Michael Powell's The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp Robert Bresson's Au hasard Balth Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors Roman Polanski's Death and the Maiden Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes A Game of Shadows and others. In 2008 ABC Classic FM radio station conducted survey where Schubert's chamber works dominated field ranking Trout Quintet first String Quintet second Notturno third.
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Common questions
When was Franz Schubert born and where?
Franz Schubert was born on the 31st of January 1797 in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna. He entered the world as the twelfth child of Franz Theodor Florian Schubert and Maria Elisabeth Katharina Vietz.
What caused the death of Franz Schubert on the 19th of November 1828?
The cause of death for Franz Schubert was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever though other theories exist including tertiary stage syphilis. His final illness featured gastrointestinal symptoms like vomiting leading some researchers to argue it was salmonella or indeed typhoid fever.
Which symphony did Franz Schubert leave incomplete after writing two movements?
Franz Schubert left his Symphony in B minor known as the Unfinished Symphony incomplete after writing two movements and sketches some way into a third movement. He did not mention this work to any of his friends despite feeling thrilled by what he was achieving.
Who were the main proponents that helped promote Franz Schubert's music in Viennese musical circles?
Johann Michael Vogl became one of Franz Schubert's main proponents in Viennese musical circles after being introduced to him in early 1817. Vogl went on to write many songs specifically for himself to perform and formed friendships with Schubert that created the core of the Unsinnsgesellschaft or Nonsenses Society.
What song cycles did Franz Schubert compose using poems by Wilhelm Müller?
Franz Schubert composed two major song cycles using poems by Wilhelm Müller titled Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. These works helped establish the genre and its potential for musical poetic narrative while setting texts that deeply moved listeners according to the Wiener Theaterzeitung.