SCHUBERT, FRANZ PETER (b. Vienna, Austria 31 Jan 1797 d. there 19 Nov 1828)
Schubert was the son of a poor schoolmaster who, with his whole family, loved music. Aged eleven he entered the choir of the Royal Chapel in Vienna, where he received his musical and general education. When his voice broke he assisted in his father's school, but soon began a full-time career in music.
He was a prolific composer, known to have written eight songs in one day and 144 in a year. In all, he wrote over six hundred. These were mostly settings of poetry, notably that of the German Romantic poet, Goethe. His first setting was Gretchen am Spinnrade (Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel), from Goethe's Faust.
As well as symphonies, chamber music and many piano compositions, he wrote choral works and masses and was fascinated by the operatic form. His operas were unsuccessful, however, and are seldom revived.
In Feb 1827, he set the first twelve of Wilhelm M├╝llerΓÇÖs Journey in Winter poems (Winterreise), completing the song-cycle by November 1828. The first part was published in Jan 1828, the remainder later in the year, after its composer's death. The songs deal with rejection and sorrow, expressed in deceptively simple terms. Schubert is said to have been so distressed when he sang them to friends that they later wondered if composing them had hastened his death.
