!!!Schubert, Franz Peter

b. Vienna, Jan. 31, 1797, 
d. Vienna, Nov. 19, 1828. Composer; brother of Ferdinand  Schubert. 
Grew up in Lichtental near Vienna as the son of a teacher from Moravia 
and received his first music lessons from his father (violin, music 
theory) and his eldest brother Ignaz (piano). As he soon proved to be 
very musical he joined the Imperial Court Chapel Choir 
(Hofsaengerknaben) in 1808. Musical instruction by J. L. von  
Eybler, the choirmaster P. Koerner and esp. by A.  Salieri (until 
1816) gave S. sufficient knowledge of harmonic theory, counterpoint 
and instrumentation, to start composing. After seven smaller 
instrumental works S. composed his first song "Hagars Klage", in 
1811, which is said to have attracted Salieri´s attention. At 
the boarding school for the Vienna Boys´ Choir, S. met his 
friend and mentor J. von Spaun; the latter introduced him to J. 
Mayrhofer, who became his second great friend and supporter. In 1813 
S. wrote his First Symphony and began his first dramatic work, "The 
Devil's Palace of Desire" (Des Teufels Lustschloss). After leaving 
boarding school at the end of 1813 S. trained as a teacher, as his 
father had wished him to do, and at the same time worked as an 
assistant teacher at his father´s school. At first S. only wrote 
for a small circle, in 1814 the performance of his mass in F major in 
the Augustinerkirche on the occasion of the Vienna Congress made him 
more widely known. In 1814 he composed "Gretchen am Spinnrad", 
the first text by Goethe he set to music. Despite his obligations as a 
school teacher he composed 145 lieder in the following year (including 
"Heidenroeslein", "Wanderers Nachtlied" and 
"Erlkoenig") as well as four dramatic works, his Second and Third 
Symphonies, piano sonatas, dances and two masses. These works 
established the young teacher as a composer in Viennese musical life. 
In the autumn of 1815 S. met Franz von  Schober, and the inner circle 
of the "Schubertianer" and the "Schubertiaden" concert 
parties (S., Spaun, Mayrhofer and Schober) were now complete. The 
three friends enabled S. to give up his unloved job as a teacher and 
live as a freelance composer (other important friends were L. von 
 Sonnleithner, A.  Huettenbrenner and the court opera singer 
J. M.  Vogl). In 1817 S. wrote more famous lieder ("An die 
Musik", " Die Forelle"), as well as the string quartet 
"Death and the Maiden" (Der Tod und das Maedchen). In 1818 (and again 
in 1824) S. took up regular employment as a music teacher for the 
daughters of Prince Esterházy in Zeliezovce (Slovakia).

\\
Thanks to the generous support of his friends, who created a kind of 
"Court of the Muses" around the composer, S. could dedicate 
himself entirely to his music from 1819. This support also enabled the 
printing of the "Erlkoenig" in 1821. It proved such a success 
that 20 other lieder were imprinted shortly afterwards. 1820-1823 S. 
spent the summer with friends in Atzenbrugg (Lower Austria, 
watercolour by L.  Kupelwieser) and as the guest of bishop J. N. 
Dankesreither in St. Poelten; in the latter´s Ochsenburg castle 
he composed parts of the opera "Alfonso und Estrella".

\\
A severe illness at the end of 1822 interrupted S.´s 
productivity for nearly one year. The lieder cycle "Die schoene 
Muellerin" written during this time reflects his psychological 
crisis. Another severe blow followed. S., who had always regarded the 
opera as the height of compositional work, failed as an opera 
composer; "Fierabras" was refused and "Rosamunde", which was 
played for the first time in 1823, was a failure. S´s former 
creativity only returned in 1825 and on a summer journey together with 
J. M. Vogl he wrote, among other things, a symphony and the 
famous "Ave Maria". In the two following, relatively carefree 
years he composed numerous masterpieces such as the last string 
quartet (1826) or the lieder cycle "Die Winterreise" (1827). The 
echo of his performances in the European musical press shows that S. 
was by no means an unrecognised genius but an acknowledged and highly 
esteemed composer.

\\
S.´s music contains elements of the classicist period, 
romanticism, Biedermeier and Sturm und Drang and can never be 
attributed to just one of the four directions. It thus expresses such 
a range of different emotions that is often characterised as the 
typically Viennese mixture of weltschmerz and unshakeable 
cheerfulness.

\\
As an instrumental composer S. built the bridge between the classical 
period and romanticism. This applies especially to his symphonies, 
which form the link between classical symphonies and the works of A.  
Bruckner. S. accepted classical forms but mixed or filled them with 
the enlarged harmony of romanticism. This can be seen in his 
instrumental work, esp. in his chamber and piano music, but is even 
stronger in his experimental genre, the kunstlied, which he perfected. 
His dances are different; in line with their function they are light 
music on the highest level, harmonious and with simple forms.

\\
The lied has a special status in his wide-ranging oeuvre. The vocal 
part and piano accompaniment become more independent, the harmony and 
form of the lied are extended (development of different settings for 
each stanza as well as stanzaic forms). S. aimed at an optimal 
interpretation of the text and dramatic tension. This sense of drama 
can already be seen in his early lieder such as "Gretchen am 
Spinnrad"" and "Erlkoenig", but becomes even stronger in the 
cycles "Die schoene Muellerin" and "Die Winterreise".

\\
Of his 18 dramatic works, from the magic opera "Des Teufels 
Lustschloss" (1814) to "Der Graf von Gleichen" (1827), only 
4 were performed (unsuccessfully) in his lifetime. Of "Rosamunde" 
only the overture and the instrumental intermezzos have become part of 
orchestral repertoire. S. museum in the house where he was born 
(Vienna, 9th district).

!Works
18 operas or lyrical dramas: A Sentry for Four Years (Der 
vierjaehrige Posten), 1815; Claudine von Villa Bella, 1815; Rosamunde, 
1823; Fierabras, 1823; Der Graf von Gleichen, 1827. - Church music: 6 
masses, requiem, Stabat mater, Tantum ergo and others. - Numerous 
choral works (often adaptations of solo songs). - Orchestral works: 9 
symphonies (including The Unfinished, 1822, and The Great in C major, 
1828); 17 overtures. - Chamber music: 15 string quartets (among others 
in d minor, "Death and the Maiden", 1824); string quintet in C major, 
1828; piano quintet in A major (Trout Quintet), 1819; 4 piano trios. - 
Piano pieces: 22 sonatas; numerous dances (waltzes, country dances, 
German dances, marches, polonaises, ecossaises); Major, 1822; 8 
impromptus; 6 Moments musicaux; four-handed piano pieces. - Nearly 
1,000 lieder for a vocal part and piano (among others): 
Heidenroeslein, 1815; Erl King (Erlkoenig), 1815; An die Musik, 1817; 
The Trout (Die Forelle), 1817; Ganymed, 1817. - Song cycles: The 
Miller's Beautiful Daughter (Die Schoene Muellerin), 1823; Winter 
Journey (Die Winterreise), 1827; Swan Song (Schwanengesang), 1828. - 
Edition: F. S., Neue Ausgabe saemtlicher Werke, 1964ff.

!Literature
O. E. Deutsch, F. S. Die Dokumente seines Lebens 
und Schaffens, 3 vols., 1913-1919; O. E. Deutsch, F. S., Briefe 
und Schriften, 1919; O. E. Deutsch, S., Thematic Catalogue of All His 
Works, 1951 (= Deutsch-Verzeichnis); M. Schneider, F. S., 
1958; H. Goldschmidt, F. S., 1964; A. Feil, F. S., 1975; R. 
Werba, S. und die Wiener, 1978; D. Fischer-Dieskau, F. S. in 
seinen Liedern, 1978; F. Hilmar, F. S. in seiner Zeit, 1985; J. 
Reed, S., 1987; W. Litschauer, Neue Dokumente zum S.-Kreis, 2 vols., 
1990/93; P. Clive, S. and His World, 1997; E. Hilmar and 
M. Jestremski (ed.), S.-Lexikon, 1997; W. Duerr and 
A. Krause, S.-Handbuch, 1997.



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