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Franz Peter Schubert (January 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828) was an
Austrian composer. He wrote some 600 Lieder, seven completed symphonies, the famous
"Unfinished Symphony", liturgical music, operas, and a large body of chamber and
solo piano music. He is particularly noted for his original melodic and harmonic
writing.
While Schubert had a close circle of friends and associates who admired his work
(including his teacher Antonio Salieri, and the prominent singer Johann Michael
Vogl), wider appreciation of his music during his lifetime was limited at best. He
was never able to secure adequate permanent employment, and for most of his career
he relied on the support of friends and family. Interest in Schubert's work
increased dramatically following his death.
 Early life
and education
Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria on January 31, 1797. His father Franz Theodor
Florian, the son of a Moravian peasant, was a parish schoolmaster; his mother
Elizabeth Vietz was the daughter of a Silesian master locksmith, and had also been
a housemaid for a Viennese family prior to her marriage. Of the Schuberts' fifteen
children (one illegitimate child was born in 1789), ten died in infancy; only four
survived. Their father Franz Theodor was a well-known teacher, and his school on
the Himmelpfortgrund was well attended. He was not a famous musician, but he taught
his son what he could of music.
At the age of five, Schubert began receiving regular instruction from his father
and a year later was enrolled at the Himmelpfortgrund school. His formal musical
education also began around the same time. His father continued to teach him the
basics of the violin. At seven, Schubert was placed under the instruction of
Michael Holzer. Holzer's lessons seem to have mainly consisted of conversations and
expressions of admiration and the boy gained more from his acquaintance with a
friendly joiner's apprentice who used to take him to a neighboring pianoforte
warehouse where he was given the opportunity to practice on better instruments. The
unsatisfactory nature of Schubert's early training was even more pronounced during
his time given that composers could expect little chance of success unless they
were also able to appeal to the public as performers. To this end, Schubert's
meager musical education was never entirely sufficient.
In October 1808, he was received as a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt (Imperial religious
boarding school) through a choir scholarship. It was at the Stadtkonvikt that
Schubert was introduced to the overtures and symphonies of Mozart. His exposure to
these pieces as well as various lighter compositions combined with his occasional
visits to the opera set the foundation for his greater musical knowledge.
Meanwhile, his genius was already beginning to show itself in his compositions.
Antonio Salieri, a leading composer of the period, became aware of the talented
young man and decided to train him in musical composition and music theory.
Schubert's early essay in chamber music is noticeable, since we learn that at the
time a regular quartet-party was established at his home "on Sundays and holidays,"
in which his two brothers played the violin, his father the cello and Franz himself
the viola. It was the first germ of that amateur orchestra for which, in later
years, many of his compositions were written. During the remainder of his stay at
the Stadtkonvikt he wrote a good deal more chamber music, several songs, some
miscellaneous pieces for the pianoforte and, among his more ambitious efforts, a
Kyrie (D.31) and Salve Regina (D.27), an octet for wind instruments (D.72/72a) -
said to commemorate the death of his mother, which took place in 1812 - a cantata
(D.110), words and music, for his father's name-day in 1813, and the closing work
of his school-life, his first symphony (D.82).
Teacher at
his father's school
At the end of 1813 he left the Stadtkonvikt and entered his father's school as
teacher of the lowest class. In the meantime, his father remarried, this time to
Anna Kleyenboeck, the daughter of a silk dealer from the suburb Gumpendorf. For
over two years the young man endured the drudgery of the work, which he performed
with very indifferent success. There were, however, other interests to compensate.
He received private lessons in composition from Salieri, who did more for
Schubert’s training than any of his other teachers.
Supported by
friends
As 1815 was the most prolific period of Schubert's life, 1816 saw the first real
change in his fortunes. Somewhere about the turn of the year Spaun surprised him in
the composition of Erlkönig (D.328, published as Op.1) — Goethe's poem propped
among a heap of exercise books, and the boy at white-heat of inspiration "hurling"
the notes on the music-paper. A few weeks later Franz von Schober, a student of
good family and some means, who had heard some of Schubert's songs at Spaun's
house, came to pay a visit to the composer and proposed to carry him off from
school-life and give him freedom to practice his art in peace. The proposal was
particularly opportune, for Schubert had just made an unsuccessful application for
the post of Kapellmeister at Laibach (the German name for Ljubljana), and was
feeling more acutely than ever the slavery of the classroom. His father's consent
was readily given, and before the end of the spring he was installed as 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 write all day," he said later to an inquiring visitor, "and when I
have finished one piece I begin another."
All this time his circle of friends was steadily widening. Mayrhofer introduced him
to Johann Michael Vogl, a famous baritone, who did him good service by performing
his songs in the salons of Vienna; Anselm Hüttenbrenner and his brother Joseph
ranged themselves among his most devoted admirers; Joseph von Gahy, an excellent
pianist, played his sonatas and fantasias; the Sonnleithners, a burgher family
whose eldest son had been at the Stadtkonvikt, gave him free access to their home,
and organized in his honor musical parties which soon assumed the name of
Schubertiaden. The material needs of life were supplied without much difficulty. No
doubt Schubert was entirely penniless, for he had given up teaching, he could earn
nothing by public performance, and, as yet, no publisher would take his music at a
gift; but his friends came to his aid with true Bohemian generosity — one found him
lodging, another found him appliances, they took their meals together and the man
who had any money paid the score. Schubert was always the leader of the party, but
more often than not, was penniless. Though he was known by half a dozen
affectionate nicknames, the most characteristic was kann er 'was? ("Is he able?")
or more colloquially, "Can he pay?" (for the food and drink), his usual question
when a new acquaintance was introduced. Another nickname was "The Little Mushroom"
as Schubert was only five feet, one and one-half inches tall (1.56 m), and tended
to corpulence.
The compositions of 1820 are remarkable, and show a marked advance in development
and maturity of style. The unfinished oratorio "Lazarus" (D.689) was begun in
February; later followed, amid a number of smaller works, by the 23rd Psalm
(D.706), the Gesang der Geister (D.705/714), the Quartettsatz in C minor (D.703),
and the "Wanderer Fantasy" for piano (D.760). But of almost more biographical
interest is the fact that in this year two of Schubert's operas appeared at the
Kärntnerthor Theater, Die Zwillingsbrüder (D.647) on June 14, and Die Zauberharfe
(D.644) on August 19. Hitherto his larger compositions (apart from Masses) had been
restricted to the amateur orchestra at the Gundelhof, a society which grew out of
the quartet-parties at his home. Now he began to assume a more prominent position
and address a wider public. Still, however, publishers remained obstinately aloof,
and it was not until his friend Vogl had sung Erlkönig at a concert (Feb. 8, 1821)
that Anton Diabelli hesitatingly agreed to print some of his works on commission.
The first seven opus numbers (all songs) appeared on these terms; then the
commission ceased, and he began to receive the meagre pittances which were all that
the great publishing houses ever accorded to him. Much has been written about the
neglect from which he suffered during his lifetime. It was not the fault of his
friends, it was only indirectly the fault of the Viennese public; the persons most
to blame were the cautious intermediaries who stinted and hindered him from
publication.
The production of his two dramatic pieces turned Schubert's attention more firmly
than ever in the direction of the stage; and towards the end of 1821 he set himself
on a course which for nearly three years brought him continuous mortification and
disappointment. Alfonso und Estrella was refused, and so was Fierabras (D.796); Die
Verschworenen (D.787) was prohibited by the censor (apparently on the ground of its
title); Rosamunde (D.797) was withdrawn after two nights, owing to the poor quality
of its libretto. Of these works the two former are written on a scale which would
make their performances exceedingly difficult (Fierabras, for instance, contains
over 1,000 pages of manuscript score), but Die Verschworenen is a bright attractive
comedy, and Rosamunde contains some of the most charming music that Schubert ever
composed. In 1822 he made the acquaintance both of Weber and of Beethoven, but
little came of it in either case, though Beethoven cordially acknowledged his
genius, the quote attributed to Beethoven being: "Truly, the spark of divine genius
resides in this Schubert!" Schober was away from Vienna; new friends appeared of a
less desirable character; on the whole these were the darkest years of his
life.
In 1994 musicologist Rita Steblin discovered Schubert's brother Karl's marriage
petition on the attic floor of the Lichtental church. The composer's own wish to
marry Therese Grob was hindered by Metternich's harsh marriage consent law of 1815,
as Schubert's heart-rending cry in his diary of September 1816 makes clear.
Last years
and masterworks
In 1823 appeared Schubert's first song cycle, Die schöne Müllerin (D.795), after
poems by Wilhelm Müller. This work, together with the later cycle "Winterreise"
(D.911; also written to texts of Müller) is widely considered one of the pinnacles
of Schubert's work and of the German Lied in general. The piece "Du bist die Ruh"
("My sweet repose") was also composed during this year.
In the spring of 1824 he wrote the Octet in F (D.803), "A Sketch for a Grand
Symphony"; and in the summer went back to Želiezovce, when he became attracted by
Hungarian idiom, and wrote the Divertissement a l'Hongroise (D.818) and the String
Quartet in A minor (D.804). He held a hopeless passion for his pupil Countess
Karoline Eszterházy; but whatever may be said about this romance, its details are
not presently known.
Despite his preoccupation with the stage and later with his official duties, he
found time during these years for a good deal of miscellaneous composition. The
Mass in A flat (D.678) was completed and the exquisite "Unfinished Symphony"
(Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D.759) begun in 1822. The question of why the symphony
was "unfinished" has been debated endlessly and is still unresolved. To 1824,
beside the works mentioned above, belong the variations for flute and piano on
Trockne Blumen, from the cycle Die schöne Müllerin. There is also a sonata for
piano and arpeggione (D.821). This music is nowadays usually played by either cello
or viola and piano, although a number of other arrangements have been made.
The mishaps of the recent 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; in the summer there was a pleasant holiday in Upper Austria, where
Schubert was welcomed with enthusiasm. It was during this tour that he produced his
"Songs from Sir Walter Scott". This cycle contains his famous and beloved Ellens
dritter Gesang (D.839). This is today more popularly, though mistakenly, referred
to as "Schubert's Ave Maria"; while he had set it to Adam Storck's German
translation of Scott's hymn from The Lady of the Lake that happens to open with the
greeting Ave Maria and also has it for its refrain, subsequently the entire
Scott/Storck text in Schubert's song came to be substituted with the complete Latin
text of the traditional Ave Maria prayer; and it is in this adaptation that this
song of Schubert's is commonly sung today. During this time he also wrote the Piano
Sonata in A minor (D.845, Op. 42) and the Symphony No. 9 (D.944), which is believed
to have been completed the following year, in 1826.
From 1826 to 1828 Schubert resided continuously in Vienna, except for a brief visit
to Graz in 1827. The history of his life during these three years is little more
than a record of his compositions. The only events worth notice are that in 1826 he
dedicated a symphony to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde and received an
honorarium in return. In the spring of 1828 he gave, for the first and only time in
his career, a public concert of his own works which was very well received. But the
compositions themselves are a sufficient biography. The String Quartet 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 January 25, 1826. Later in the year came the
String Quartet in G major, the "Rondeau brilliant" for piano and violin (D.895,
Op.70), and the Piano Sonata in G (D.894, Op.78) (first published under the title
"Fantasia in G"). To these should be added the three Shakespearian songs, of which
"Hark! Hark! the Lark" (D.889) and "Who is Sylvia?" (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.
In 1827 Schubert wrote the song cycle Winterreise (D.911), a colossal peak of the
art of art-song, the Fantasia for piano and violin in C (D.934), and the two piano
trios (B flat, D.898; and E flat, D.929): in 1828 the Song of Miriam, the Mass in
E-flat (D.950), the Tantum Ergo (D.962) in the same key, the String Quintet in C
(D.956), the second Benedictus to the Mass in C, the last three piano sonatas, and
the collection of songs published posthumously under the fanciful name of
Schwanengesang ("Swan-song", D.957), which whilst not a true song cycle, retains a
unity of style amongst the individual songs, touching unwonted depths of tragedy
and the morbidly supernatural. Six of these are to words by Heinrich Heine, whose
Buch der Lieder appeared in the autumn. The Symphony No. 9 (D.944) is dated 1828,
and many modern Schubert scholars (including Brian Newbould) believe that this
symphony, written in 1825-6, was revised for performance in 1828 (a fairly unusual
practice for Schubert, for whom publication, let alone performance, was rarely
contemplated for many of his larger-scale works during his lifetime). In the last
weeks of his life he began to sketch three movements for a new Symphony in D
(D.936A).
The works of his last two years reveal a composer increasingly meditating on the
darker side of the human psyche and human relationships, and with a deeper sense of
spiritual awareness and conception of the 'beyond', reaching extraordinary depths
in several chillingly dark songs of this period, especially in the larger cycles,
(the song Der Doppelgaenger reaching an extraordinary climax, conveying madness at
the realization of rejection and imminent death, and yet able to touch repose and
communion with the infinite in the almost timeless ebb and flow of the String
Quintet). Schubert expressed the wish, were he to survive his final illness, to
further develop his knowledge of harmony and counterpoint.
Death
Schubert's grave in the Zentralfriedhof, Vienna.In the midst of this creative
activity, his health deteriorated. He had battled syphilis since 1822.
The final illness may have been typhoid fever, though other causes
have been proposed; some of his final symptoms match those of mercury poisoning
(mercury was a common treatment for syphilis in the early 19th century). At any
rate, insufficient evidence remains to make a definitive diagnosis.
His solace in his final illness was reading, and he had become a
passionate fan of the writings of James Fenimore Cooper.
He died aged 31 on Wednesday November 19, 1828 at the apartment of
his brother Ferdinand in Vienna. At 3pm that afternoon "someone observed that he
had ceased to breathe." By his own request, he was buried next to Beethoven, whom
he had adored all his life, in the village cemetery of Währing.
In 1888, both Schubert's and Beethoven's graves were moved to the
Zentralfriedhof, where they can now be found next to those of Johann Strauss II and
Johannes Brahms.
In 1872, a memorial to Franz Schubert was erected in Vienna's Stadtpark.
Source : Some of the information on
this page came from a Wikipedia article and is licensed under the GNU
Documentation License. ©2008 www.geneticmatrix.com.
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Franz Schubert -
Manifestor - Biography
