Franz Schubert: biography, interesting facts, videos, creativity

Franz Schubert

A beautiful star in the famous galaxy that the Austrian land was fertile on musical geniuses - Franz Schubert. An eternally young romantic who suffered a lot in his short life path, who managed to express all his deep feelings in music and taught the listeners to love such “not perfect”, “not exemplary” (classical) music, full of spiritual torments. One of the brightest founders of musical romanticism.

A brief biography of Franz Schubert and many interesting facts about the composer can be found on our page.

Short biography of Schubert

The biography of Franz Schubert is one of the shortest in the world musical culture. Having lived only 31 years, he left behind a bright trace, similar to what remains after the comet. Born to become another Viennese classic, Schubert, due to his sufferings and deprivations, brought deep personal experiences to the music. So romanticism was born. The strict classical rules that recognize only exemplary restraint, symmetry and calm consonances have been replaced by protest, explosive rhythms, expressive melodies full of genuine feelings, tense harmonies.

He was born in 1797 in a poor family of a school teacher. His fate was predetermined - to continue his father's craft, neither fame nor success were assumed here. However, at an early age he showed high abilities to music. After receiving his first musical lessons in his home, he continued his studies in the parish school, and then in the Viennese convict, a closed boarding school for church choir singers. The order in the school was similar to the army - the pupils had to rehearse for hours and then perform concerts. Later, Franz recalled with horror the years spent there, he was disappointed for a long time in church dogmas, although he turned to the spiritual genre in his work (wrote 6 masses). The famous "Ave Maria", without which not a single Christmas can be done, and which is most often associated with the beautiful image of the Virgin Mary, was in fact conceived by Schubert as a romantic ballad based on the lyrics of Walter Scott (translated into German).

He was a very talented student, the teachers refused him with the words: "God taught him, I have nothing to do with him." From the biography of Schubert, we learn that his first composer experiments began at the age of 13 years, and with 15, he began to deal with counterpoint and composition by the maestro Antonio Salieri himself.

From the choir of the Court Chapel ("Hofsengecnabe"), he was expelled after his voice began to break.. During this period, it was already time to decide on the choice of profession. My father insisted on enrolling in a teacher’s seminary. The prospects for working as a musician were very vague, and working as a teacher could at least be confident in the future. Franz gave way, learned and even managed to work in school for 4 years.

But then all the activities and life arrangements did not correspond to the emotional impulses of the young man - all his thoughts were only about music. He composed in his spare time, played a lot of music in a narrow circle of friends. And once decided to leave a permanent job and devote himself to music. It was a serious step - to give up to a guaranteed, albeit modest, income and doom yourself to hunger.

With the same moment coincided first love. The feeling was reciprocal - young Teresa Grob was clearly awaiting the offer of a hand and heart, but it never followed. Franz's income was not enough for his own existence, not to mention the maintenance of the family. He remained lonely, his musical career was never developed. Unlike the Liszt and Chopin virtuoso pianists, Schubert did not possess outstanding performance skills and could not gain the fame of a performer. In the post of conductor in Laibach, which he expected, he was refused, and he never received any other serious proposals.

The publication of works to him almost did not bring money. Publishers were very reluctant to print works of a little-known composer. As they would say now, he was not "promoted" for the masses. Sometimes he was invited to perform in small salons, whose members felt more like bohemian than really interested in his music. A small circle of Schubert's friends supported the young composer financially.

But by and large, it was to a large audience that Schubert almost never spoke. He never heard a standing ovation after any successful finale of the work; he did not feel what his composer “techniques” most often the audience responds to. I did not consolidate success in subsequent works - after all, he did not need to think about how to reassemble a large concert hall, to buy tickets, to be remembered, etc.

In fact, all of his music is an endless monologue with the most subtle reflection of a mature person. There is no dialogue with the public, trying to please and make an impression. She is all very intimate, even intimate in some sense. And filled with infinite sincerity of feelings. Deep experiences of his earthly loneliness, deprivation, bitterness of defeat filled his thoughts daily. And, finding no other way out, they poured out in the works.

After meeting with opera and chamber singer Johann Michael Voglem things went a little better. The artist sang Schubert's songs and ballads in Viennese salons, while Franz himself acted as accompanist. In the performance of Vogl songs and romances of Schubert quickly gained popularity. In 1825, they undertook a joint travel tour of Upper Austria. In the provincial cities they were greeted willingly and with delight, but they failed to earn money again. How to become famous.

Already in the early 1820s, Franz began to disturb his health. It is authentically known that he contracted the disease after a visit to a woman, and this added frustration to this side of life. After minor improvements, the disease progressed, immunity weakened. Even the common cold was hard for him to carry. And in the fall of 1828 he fell ill with typhoid fever, from which he died on November 19, 1828.

Unlike Mozart, Schubert was buried in a separate grave. However, it was necessary to pay for such a magnificent funeral with money from the sale of his piano, bought after the only big concert. Recognition came to him posthumously, and much later - after several decades. The fact is that the main part of the essay in the musical version was kept with friends, relatives, in some cabinets as useless. Known for his forgetfulness, Schubert never kept a catalog of his works (like Mozart), did not try to systematize them somehow, or at least keep them in one place.

Most of the handwritten music material was found by George Grove and Arthur Sullivan in 1867. In the 19th and 20th centuries, important musicians played Schubert’s music, and such composers as Berlioz, Bruckner, Dvořák, Britten, Strauss recognized Schubert’s absolute influence on his work. Under the leadership of Brahms in 1897, the first scientifically verified edition of all the writings of Schubert was published.

Interesting facts about Franz Schubert

• It is known for certain that almost all the existing portraits of the composer were fairly flattered by him. For example, he never wore white collars. A direct, purposeful look was not characteristic of him at all - even close friends adoring him called Schumal Schwamal ("schwam" - in German "sponge"), referring to his gentle nature.

• Many memories of contemporaries about the unique distraction and forgetfulness of the composer have been preserved. Scraps of musical paper with sketches of essays could be found anywhere. They even say that once he saw the notes of a play, immediately sat down and played it. “What a lovely little thing!” Exclaimed Franz, “whose is she?” It turned out that the play was written by him. And the manuscript of the famous Big C major Symphony was accidentally discovered 10 years after his death.
• Schubert wrote about 600 vocal works, two-thirds of which were before the age of 19, and the total number of his compositions exceeds 1000, it is impossible to establish this, as some of them remained unfinished sketches, and some were probably lost. forever and ever.
• Schubert wrote a lot of orchestral works, but none of them he had heard in his entire life in public performance. Some researchers ironically believe that it is possible, therefore, they immediately guess that the author is an orchestral violist. According to Schubert's biography, in the court singing chapel, the composer studied not only singing, but also playing the viola, and performed the same part in a student orchestra. It was she who, in his symphonies, masses and other instrumental works, is spelled out most vividly and expressively, with a large number of technically and rhythmically complex figures.
• Few know that for most of his life, Schubert did not even have a piano at home! He composed on guitar! And in some works it is also clearly heard in the accompaniment. For example, in the same "Ave Maria" or "Serenade".

• There were legends about his shyness. He lived not just at the same time as Beethoven, whom he idolized, not just in one city - they lived literally in the neighboring streets, but they never met! The two greatest pillars of European musical culture, brought together by fate itself into one geographic and historical mark, missed each other by irony of fate or because of the timidity of one of them.
• However, after death, people united their memory: Schubert was buried next to Beethoven’s grave at the Wering cemetery, and later both graves were transferred to the Central Vienna cemetery.

• But even here the insidious grimace of fate appeared. In 1828, on the anniversary of the death of Beethoven, Schubert arranged a memorial evening for the great composer. It was the only time in his life when he went out into a huge hall and played his idol-related music for listeners. For the first time he heard applause - the audience exulted, shouted, "the new Beethoven was born!". For the first time he earned a lot of money - they were enough to buy (first in his life) a grand piano. Future success and glory, nationwide love seemed to him ... But after only a few months, he fell ill and died ... And the piano had to be sold to provide him with a separate grave.

Creativity Franz Schubert

Schubert's biography says that for his contemporaries he remained in the memory of the author of songs and lyrical piano pieces. Even the inner circle did not represent the scale of his creative works. And in the search for genres, artistic images, the work of Schubert is comparable with the heritage of Mozart. He perfectly mastered vocal music - he wrote 10 operas, 6 masses, several cantatas and oratorios, some researchers, including well-known Soviet musicologist Boris Asafiev, believed that Schubert’s contribution to the development of the song was as significant as Beethoven’s contribution to the development symphonies.

The heart of his work, many researchers believe vocal cycles "The Beautiful Miller" (1823), "Swan song"and" Winter Path "(1827). Consisting of different song numbers, both cycles are united by a common semantic content. The hopes and sufferings of a single person, which became the lyric center of romances, are largely autobiographical. In particular, songs from the" Winter Path "series written a year before his death, when Schubert was already seriously ill, and he felt his earthly existence through the prism of cold and hardship. The image of the organ-grinder from the final number “Organ-grinder” allegorically describes the monotony and fruitlessness of the efforts of a wandering musician.

In the instrumental music, he also highlighted all the genres that existed at that time - he wrote 9 symphonies, 16 piano sonatas, and many works for ensemble performance. But in the instrumental music is clearly audible connection with the beginning of the song - most of the themes have a pronounced melody, lyrical character. Lyricism is similar to Mozart. The melodic accent also prevails in the design and development of musical material. Taking from the Viennese classics the best in understanding the musical form, Schubert filled it with new content.

If Beethoven, who lived at the same time, literally on the next street, the music had a heroic, pathetic stash, reflected the social phenomena and moods of a whole people, then Schubert’s music is a personal experience of the gap between the ideal and the real.

His works were almost never performed, most often he wrote “to the table” - for himself and those most loyal friends who surrounded him. They gathered in the evenings at the so-called "Schubertiads" and enjoyed music and socializing. This had a tangible impact on all of Schubert's work - he did not know his audience, he did not seek to please some of the majority, he did not think how to amaze the listeners who came to the concert.

He wrote for loving and understanding his inner world of friends. They treated him with great respect and respect. And this whole chamber soul atmosphere is characteristic of his lyrical compositions. It is all the more surprising to realize that most of the works were written without hope of hearing them. As if he was completely devoid of ambition and ambition. Some incomprehensible force forced him to create, without creating positive reinforcement, without offering anything in return, except the friendly participation of loved ones.

Schubert's music to the cinema

Today there are a huge number of various treatments of Schubert's music. This was done by both academic composers and modern musicians using electronic instruments. Thanks to its exquisite and at the same time simple melody, this music quickly “falls on the ear” and is remembered. Most people know it from childhood, and it causes a “recognition effect” that advertisers love to use.

It can be heard everywhere - at ceremonies, philharmonic concerts, at student classes, as well as in "easy" genres - in movies and on television as background accompaniment.

As a soundtrack to feature films and documentaries and television series:

• "Mozart in the jungle" (t / s 2014-2016);
• "Secret Agent" (c / f 2016);
• "The illusion of love" (c / f 2016);
• "Hitman" (k / f 2016);
• "Legend" (k / f 2015);
• "Moonlight scam" (k / f 2015);
• Hannibal (c / f 2014);
• "Supernatural" (t / s 2013);
• "Paganini: The Devil's Violinist" (c / f 2013);
• "12 years of slavery" (c / f 2013);
• "Minority Report" (t / s 2002);
• "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows" (film 2011); "Trout"
• "Dr. House" (t / s 2011);
• "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" (film 2009);
• The Dark Knight (c / f 2008);
• "Smallville Mysteries" (t / s 2004);
• "Spider-Man" (film 2004);
• "Good Will Hunting" (k / f 1997);
• Doctor Who (t / since 1981);
• "Jane Eyre" (k / f 1934).

And countless others, bring everything is not possible. Also filmed biographical films about the life of Schubert. The most famous movie is "Schubert. The Song of Love and Despair" (1958), the 1968 TV play "The Unfinished Symphony", "Schubert" / Schubert. Das Dreimäderlhaus / Biographical feature film, 1958.

Schubert's music is understandable and close to the absolute majority of people, the joys and sorrows expressed in it form the basis of human life. Even centuries after his life, this music is more relevant than ever and will probably never be forgotten.