Schubert The Illustrated Lives Of The Great Composers

Schubert died at the age of thirty-one, in obscurity, his genius unrecognised except by a few friends. Today he is acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of all times. His nine symphonies include what is probably the most famous of all symphonies - The Unfinished- and his chamber music, the best loved of all quintets - The Trout. Perhaps his most impressive accomplishment was the composition of over six hundred exquisite songs, including the Schöne Mullerin and Winterreise song cycles, which never cease to delight audiences. In this new biography, the author traces the life and times of Schubert, the development of his music and the political and social climate of Vienne in the years following the Congress of 1814. Documentation of the period, Schubert's own letters and the recollections of his friends help bring Schubert's time alive. The text is completed with a number of facsimile reproductions of Schubert's manuscripts and published editions.

Of all the great composers, none - not even Mozart - has been so dogged by myth and misunderstanding as Franz Schubert. The notion of Schubert as a pudgy, lovelorn Bohemian schwammerl (mushroom) scribbling tunes on the back of menus in idle moments has never quite been eradicated. In this major new biography, Brian Newbould balances discussion of Schubert's compositions with an exploration of biographical influences that shaped his musical aesthetics. Schubert: The Music and the Man offers an eminently readable description of a musician who was compulsively dedicated to his art - a composer so prolific that he produced over a thousand works in eighteen years. Gifted with an intuitive know-how, coupled with a Mozartian facility for composition, Schubert combined the relish and wonder of an amateur with the discipline and technical rigor of a professional. He moved quickly and comfortably among genres, and sometimes composed directly into score but many pieces required painstaking revision before they satisfied his growing self-criticism. Examining afresh the enigmas surrounding Schubert's religious outlook, his loves, his sexuality, his illness and death, Newbould offers above all a celebration of a unique genius, an idiosyncratic composer of an astonishing body of powerful, enduring music.

The 1869 English translation of the first full-length biography of the celebrated composer, incorporating reminiscences of his contemporaries.

This is the first book of its kind on Schubert. It appears at a time when scholarly and general interest in his life and compositions is greater than ever, and its publication coincides with the celebration of the bicentenary of Schubert's birth in 1797. The book opens with a chronicle of Schubert's life, which is followed by more than 300 biographical entries offering information not only on his friends and acquaintances, and on persons with whom he was associated through his music (poets, librettists, publishers, patrons, musicians), but also on a number of later `Schubertians' who greatly advanced public appreciation and scholarly examination of his music or made a particularly significant contribution to our knowledge of his life. The book thus adds a fuller context and perspective to the reader's view of Schubert's activities, and indeed of the music itself.

An insightful biography of the great composer, revealing Schubert's complex and fascinating private life alongside his musical genius Brilliant, short-lived, incredibly prolific--Schubert is one of the most intriguing figures in music history. While his music attracts a wide audience, much of his private life remains shrouded in mystery, and significant portions of his work have been overlooked. In this major new biography, Lorraine Byrne Bodley takes a detailed look into Schubert's life, from his early years at the Stadtkonvikt to the harrowing battle with syphilis that led to his death at the age of thirty-one. Drawing on extensive archival research in Vienna and the Czech Republic, and reconsidering the meaning of some of his best-known works, Bodley provides a fuller account than ever before of Schubert's extraordinary achievement and incredible courage. This is a compelling new portrait of one of the most beloved composers of the nineteenth century.

Born just a few years after Mozart died, Franz Schubert had a lot in common with the famous composer. Schubert was also a gifted child who astonished adults with his musical ability. As a teen, Schubert was taught by one of Mozart s rivals. And like Mozart, Schubert s life ended prematurely and was filled with struggle. Still, while Mozart was celebrated across Europe, Schubert was almost completely unknown until just a few years before his death. The challenges of Schubert s life inspired his artmusic which is today performed across the world. Schubert s life, his challenges, and his compositions are all reasons he is considered one of the greatest composers.

Traces the life and times of Schubert, the development of his music and the political and social climate of his time.