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Sounds Like Schubert
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About This Site
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Franz Schubert - or Franz Peter Schubert, to give him his full name - was born at
half-past one on the afternoon of 31 Jan 1797, in Vienna at "Zum roten Kresnen"
(House of the Red Crab), then No. 72 Himmelpfortgrund, now No. 54 Nussdorferstrasse. The following day he was baptised in the Liechental parish Church of the Fourteen Friends in Need by the Co-operator, Johann Wanzka, in the presence of his uncle and godfather, Karl Schubert. He was the twelfth child of Franz Schubert, who had held an official appointment as a schoolmaster in the Himmlepfortgund since 13 June 1786, and of Elizabeth, nee Vitz or Vietz, his wife.
At his death on Nov 19, 1827, only 100 or so of his approximately 1000 works had been published.
These were not particularly representative of his output, as there was a
disproportionate bias towards songs, piano duets and collections of dances,
which were 'popular' and thus easier to sell. Few chamber works were published,
and no symphonies.
As George Marek points out in his biography,
"of his six hundred and three songs, fewer than a tenth are in general
usage; of his symphonies, only two form a firm part of the orchestral repertoire;
of his fourteen extant string quartets, four or five are regularrly played; of his
fifteen completed sonatas, five or six alone are frequently presented although his
smaller piano pieces, the marches, the impromptus, and waltzes, have done obedient
services for the young... His fifteen operas lie buried full fathom five, and to
hear a live performance of one of his five masses consitutes an exceptional event." p. xv
Maurice Brown, in his biography Schubert: A Critical Biography points out that
"Three aspects of Schubert's life give it a unique place in the annals of creative
artists. It has, to begin with, no elements in it of the success story; no climax
of recognition of his genius, or acknowledgement of it, breaks the continuous
obscurity of his years...
In the second place, Schubert was never able to free himself entirely from necessity
in composing; that is to say, throughout his life he composed because he strove for
a foothold...
The third, and most remarkable aspect, for the Schubert biographer, is the almost
impenetrable obscurity which descended at his death, and which persisted, with so
little mitigation, for 40 or 50 years."
And yet, even those with only a casual acquaintance with classical music, will
recognize his songs such as "Ave Maria", "Who is Sylvia?", and "Serenade".
They will also know that he wrote the "Unfinished Symphony". Those who know more,
will also recognize the C Major symphony - The Great - as well as the Trout Quintet,
the "Death and the Maiden" quartet, his songs "Erlking" and "Die Forelle" and his
song cycles such as "Winterreise" and "Die schone Mullerin".
It is to continue this exposure of Schubert's music to the listening public that
I put this web site together. I enjoy his music and I enjoy building web sites.
My hope is that one or more people who listen to some of the themes or excerpts on
this site will increasingly hear a piece on the radio or in a concert hall and be
able to say "Sounds like Schubert!"