Chapter 52
Franz Schubert
Lecture Overview
• The Romantic Period in the history of music,
c1814–c1914
• Schubert’s life and times in Vienna
• Schubert compared to Beethoven
• History of the song and Schubert’s role in its
development
• Three Schubert songs:
– “Erlkönig”
– “Ganymed”
– “Nähe des Geliebten”
• Review
Characteristics of Romantic Music
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intense expressivity
closeness of music to literature
presence of the personal voice of the composer
individualism of expression
expansion and reinterpretation of traditional forms
tendency toward extremes: brevity or length
Schubert’s Life
• 1797 born in Vienna to family of a school teacher
• 1803 enters the choir of the court chapel in
Vienna, studies later with Antonio Salieri
• 1815 composes “Erlkönig”
• 1820 modest operatic success with Die
Zwillingsbrüder
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1821
1822
1823
1828
first Schubertiad
declining health
composes the song cycle Die schöne Müllerin
organizes an academy (public concert)
featuring his music
• 1828 dies in Vienna on 19 November
Schubert’s Principal Compositions
• songs: over 600 for voice and piano including the
cycles
– Die schöne Müllerin
– Winterreise
• piano: sonatas (many incomplete), dances,
character pieces, fantasies
• chorus: masses, motets
• orchestra: symphonies (9)
• chamber music: string quartets, String Quintet in C
A Schubertiad
In January 1821 Schubert’s friend Franz von Schober convened a gathering
of the composer’s friends to hear his music and to socialize. This was the first
Schubertiad, events that continued periodically within Schubert’s social circle
and provided the composer with an opportunity to hear his music performed.
A regular at the Schubertiads was the Viennese painter Moritz von
Schwind, who forty years after Schubert’s death recalled the Schubertiad
depicted here. Schubert is at the piano accompanying Johann Michael Vogl
in the performance of a song.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Schubert’s favorite poet for song writing was the great
German writer Goethe (1749–1832). Goethe’s gifts
went far beyond literature. He was a skillful painter
and a noted scientist who wrote treatises on biology
and optics. He made a name for himself in the 1770s
as a playwright (his play Egmont was provided with
incidental music in 1810 by Beethoven), and he later
wrote poetry and novels that helped to usher in the
Romantic period in literature. Goethe’s writings are
filled with song texts that have been taken up by
many of greatest composers—from Schubert to Anton
Webern
Franz Schubert, song “Erlkönig,” 1815
Through-composed form
Franz Schubert, song “Ganymed,” 1817
Through-composed (“scena”) form
Franz Schubert, song “Nähe des
Geliebten,” 1815
Strophic form
Review Key Terms
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Schubertiad
Lied (pl., Lieder)
song cycle
character piece
strophic form
Johann Michael Vogl
through-composed form
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
scena (type of song)