Franz Peter Schubert is a musical genius of the 19th century. Biography of Franz Schubert Franz Schubert artistic direction

In Vienna, in the family of a school teacher.

Schubert's exceptional musical abilities were evident in early childhood. From the age of seven he studied playing several instruments, singing, and theoretical disciplines.

At the age of 11, Schubert attended a boarding school for soloists of the court chapel, where, in addition to singing, he studied playing many instruments and music theory under the guidance of Antonio Salieri.

While studying at the chapel in 1810-1813, he wrote many works: an opera, a symphony, piano pieces and songs.

In 1813 he entered the teachers' seminary, and in 1814 he began teaching at the school where his father served. In his spare time, Schubert composed his first mass and set Johann Goethe's poem "Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel" to music.

His numerous songs date back to 1815, including “The Forest King” to words by Johann Goethe, the 2nd and 3rd symphonies, three masses and four singspiels (a comic opera with spoken dialogue).

In 1816, the composer completed the 4th and 5th symphonies and wrote more than 100 songs.

Wanting to devote himself entirely to music, Schubert left his job at school (this led to a break in relations with his father).

In Želiz, the summer residence of Count Johann Esterházy, he served as a music teacher.

At the same time, the young composer became close to the famous Viennese singer Johann Vogl (1768-1840), who became a promoter of Schubert's vocal creativity. During the second half of the 1810s, numerous new songs came from Schubert's pen, including the popular "The Wanderer", "Ganymede", "Forellen", and the 6th Symphony. His singspiel "The Twin Brothers", written in 1820 for Vogl and staged at the Kärntnertor Theater in Vienna, was not particularly successful, but brought Schubert fame. A more serious achievement was the melodrama "The Magic Harp", staged a few months later at the Theater an der Wien.

He enjoyed the patronage of aristocratic families. Schubert's friends published 20 of his songs by private subscription, but the opera Alfonso and Estrella with a libretto by Franz von Schober, which Schubert considered his great success, was rejected.

In the 1820s, the composer created instrumental works: the lyrical-dramatic “Unfinished” symphony (1822) and the epic, life-affirming C major (the last, ninth in a row).

In 1823, he wrote the vocal cycle “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” based on the words of the German poet Wilhelm Müller, the opera “Fiebras”, and the singspiel “The Conspirators”.

In 1824, Schubert created string quartets A-moll and D-moll (its second part is variations on the theme of Schubert's earlier song "Death and the Maiden") and a six-part Octet for winds and strings.

In the summer of 1825, in Gmunden near Vienna, Schubert made sketches of his last symphony, the so-called “Bolshoi”.

In the second half of the 1820s, Schubert enjoyed a very high reputation in Vienna - his concerts with Vogl attracted large audiences, and publishers willingly published the composer's new songs, as well as plays and sonatas for piano. Among Schubert's works of 1825-1826, the piano sonatas, the last string quartet and some songs, including "The Young Nun" and Ave Maria, stand out.

Schubert's work was actively covered in the press, he was elected a member of the Vienna Society of Friends of Music. On March 26, 1828, the composer gave an author’s concert in the society’s hall with great success.

This period includes the vocal cycle "Winterreise" (24 songs with words by Müller), two notebooks of impromptu piano, two piano trios and masterpieces of the last months of Schubert's life - the Es-dur Mass, the last three piano sonatas, the String Quintet and 14 songs, published after Schubert's death in the form of a collection entitled "Swan Song".

On November 19, 1828, Franz Schubert died in Vienna of typhus at the age of 31. He was buried in Waring Cemetery (now Schubert Park) in north-west Vienna next to the composer Ludwig van Beethoven, who had died a year earlier. On January 22, 1888, Schubert's ashes were reburied in the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Before late XIX century, a significant part of the composer's extensive legacy remained unpublished. The manuscript of the "Grand" symphony was discovered by composer Robert Schumann in the late 1830s - it was first performed in 1839 in Leipzig under the baton of German composer and conductor Felix Mendelssohn. The first performance of the String Quintet took place in 1850, and the first performance of the Unfinished Symphony in 1865. The catalog of Schubert's works includes about one thousand items - six masses, eight symphonies, about 160 vocal ensembles, over 20 completed and unfinished piano sonatas and over 600 songs for voice and piano.

The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources

"GREAT SYMPHONY" BY FRANZ SCHUBERT

Throughout his life and for quite a long time after death, he was the personification of a misunderstood genius who never achieved recognition. His music was admired only by his friends and family, and most of his works were discovered and published many years after his untimely death.

Frustrated, always needy Schubert created divine music. Not being very happy, remaining lonely and feeling isolated from the whole world, he wrote wonderful music filled with freshness. So who was this short, myopic, short-lived wanderer, named at birth Franz Peter Schubert?

Youngest son

The Schubert family comes from Austrian Silesia. The composer's father moved to Vienna and after a while became the director of a school in the suburbs of Lichtenthal. He married a girl from his village who worked as a cook. The family did not have enough funds, although it cannot be said that they lived in poverty. The marriage produced 14 children, of whom only five survived. The youngest of the sons was Franz Peter Schubert.

Thanks to his ability to play various instruments, as well as his dedication to music, Schubert soon received a promotion - the post of first violin. He also had to conduct the orchestra if the chief conductor was absent.

Irresistible desire

His music wanted to come out, but he kept his impulses secret. Still, it was very difficult to resist the impulse to compose. Thoughts flowed through me Franz, and he never had enough music paper to write down everything that was rushing out.

Almost all my life Schubert lived, if not in poverty, then with limited means, but he always experienced a particularly acute shortage of music paper. Already at the age of 13, he wrote an incredible amount: sonatas, masses, songs, operas, symphonies... Unfortunately, only some of these early works saw the light of day.

U Schubert had an amazing habit: marking notes the exact date when he started composing the work and when he finished it. It is very strange that in 1812 he wrote only one song - “Sad” - a small and not his most outstanding work. It's hard to believe that not a single song came from the composer's pen during one of the most fruitful years of his work. Maybe, Schubert was so absorbed in instrumental music that it distracted his attention from his favorite genre. But the list of instrumental and religious music written during the same year is simply huge.

Schubert's failed marriage

1813 is considered the final period early creativity. Due to adolescence, the voice began to break, and Franz no more could sing in the court chapel. The emperor allowed him to stay at school, but the young genius no longer wanted to study. He returned home and, at his father's insistence, became a teacher's assistant at his school. He happened to work in a class for the youngest, with children who still don’t know how to do anything and quickly forget everything. This was unbearable for the young genius. He often lost his temper, correcting students with kicks and slaps. Despite his desperate efforts, they were always unhappy with him.

In this period Schubert met Teresa Grom. The manufacturer's daughter, to put it mildly, was not a beauty - whitish, with faded eyebrows, like many blondes, and with traces of smallpox on her face. She sang in the church choir, and as soon as the music began to sound, Teresa was transformed from an ugly girl into a noticeable girl, illuminated by an inner light. Schubert could not remain indifferent and in 1814 decided to get married. However, financial difficulties prevented him from starting a family. Schubert Teresa’s mother was not satisfied with the school teacher’s penniless salary, and she, in turn, could not go against her parents’ will. After crying, she married the pastry chef.

End of routine

Devoting myself entirely to tedious work, Schubert never for a moment stopped working on what was given to him from birth. His productivity as a composer is simply amazing. 1815 is considered the most productive year of life Schubert.He wrote more than 100 songs, half a dozen operas and operettas, several symphonies, church music, and so on. During this time he worked a lot with Salieri. Now it’s hard to even imagine how and where he found time to compose. Many songs written during this period became the best in his work, what is even more surprising is that he sometimes wrote 5-8 songs a day.

Late 1815 – early 1816 Schubert wrote one of his best songs, “King Earl,” based on the verses of Goethe’s ballad. He read it twice and the music just poured out of him. The composer barely had time to write down the notes. One of his friends caught him in the process, and the song was performed that same evening. But after that the work lay on the table for 6 years, until didn't perform it at the concert in opera house. And only then the song received instant recognition.

A lot of works were written in 1816, although the opera genre was somewhat pushed aside in front of songs and cantatas. The cantata "Prometheus" was written to order, and for it Schubert received his first fee, 40 Austrian florins (a very small amount). This work of the composer was lost, but those who listened noted that the cantata was very good. Myself Schubert I was very pleased with this work.

Three years passed in endless self-punishment and unprecedented self-sacrifice and, finally, Schubert decided to free himself from the position that bound him. And even if this meant leaving Vienna and quarreling with his father, he was ready for anything.

Franz's new acquaintances

Franz von Schober

In December 1815, it was decided to add a music school to the regular school in Leibach. A teacher position was opened with a meager salary of only 500 Viennese florins. Schubert submits an application, and although it was not supported by a very strong recommendation from Salieri, someone else was appointed to the position, and the plan to escape from the house collapsed. However, help came from unexpected places.

Student Schober, born in Sweden and came to Germany, was so amazed by the songs Schubert, that I decided to meet the author at any cost. Seeing how the composer, absorbed in the work of a teacher's assistant, corrects the mistakes of little students, Schober decided to save the young genius from the hated vicious circle of everyday duties and offered to take one of the rooms in the apartment he was renting. That's what they did, and after some time Schubert moved in with the poet Mayrhofer, many of whose poems he later set to music. Thus began friendship and intellectual communication between the two talents. In this friendship there was a third, no less important - , famous performer Viennese operas

Schubert becomes famous

Johann Michael Vogl

Songs Franz became more and more attracted to the singer, and one day he came to him uninvited and looked at his work. Friendship Schubert With Voglem had a huge influence on the young composer. Vogl helped him in choosing poems for songs, recited poems with expression so that the music written Schubert, emphasized as much as possible the ideas expressed in the poems. Schubert came to Foglu in the morning, and they either composed together or corrected what had already been written. Schubert I relied heavily on my friend’s opinion and accepted most of his comments.

The fact that not all comments improved the composer's work is evident from the manuscripts of some songs written Schubert. A young and enthusiastic genius does not always grasp the taste and needs of the public, but a practicing performer usually understands its requirements better. Johann Vogl was not exactly the proofreader the genius needed, but on the other hand, he became the one who made Schubert famous.

Vienna - the kingdom of pianos

Beginning in 1821 for three years Schubert wrote mainly dance music. At the same time, the composer was ordered to write two additional parts for Herold’s opera “The Bell, or the Devil Page,” which he took on with great pleasure, because he really wanted to write something dramatic.

Natural spread of music popularity Schubert passed through musical circles that were open to him. Vienna has earned a reputation as the center of the music world. In every home, the piano was an indispensable part of evening gatherings, which included much music, dancing, reading and discussion. Schubert was one of the most famous and welcome guests at the Biedermeier meetings in Vienna.

A typical Schubertiad consisted of music and entertainment, unobtrusive conversation, and banter with the guests. As a rule, it all started with singing songs Schubert, often only written and accompanied by the composer, after which Franz and his friends played the piano in duets or with cheerful vocal accompaniment. The Schubertiades were often sponsored by high-ranking officials. This was the happiest time in the composer's life.

The year 1823 was one of the most productive and musically important years of my life. Schubert. He spent it in Vienna, working tirelessly. As a result, the drama Rosamund and the operas Fierabras and Singspiel were written. It was during this period that the delightful cycle of songs “The Beautiful Miller's Woman” was written. Many of these songs were created in the hospital where he ended up due to a severe illness that developed after contracting syphilis.

Fear of tomorrow

A year later, everything that happened in the composer’s life was clearly reflected in his recordings and clearly showed all the signs of depression, which was consuming him more and more. Schubert. Broken hopes (especially related to his operas), hopeless poverty, poor health, loneliness, pain and disappointment in love - all this led to despair.

But the most surprising thing was that this depression did not affect his performance at all. He never stops writing music, creating masterpiece after masterpiece.

In 1826 Schubert received a letter of gratitude with a hundred florins attached from the committee of the Society of Music Lovers for his tireless admiration for the composer’s works. In response to this a year later Schubert sent his Ninth Symphony, which is generally considered one of his best works. However, the Society's executors considered the work too difficult for them, and rejected it as "unsuitable for execution." It is noteworthy that the same definition was often obtained late works Beethoven. And in both cases, only subsequent generations were able to appreciate the “complexities” of these works.

The end of the road for Franz Schubert

Sometimes he was tormented by headaches, but they did not foretell anything serious. By September 1828 Schubert I felt constantly dizzy. Doctors advised a calm lifestyle and spending more time in the fresh air.

On November 3, he walked a long distance to listen to the Latin Requiem written by his brother, last piece, heard Schubert. Returning home after a 3-hour walk, he complained of exhaustion. Syphilis, which the composer had been infected with for 6 years, has entered its final stage. The circumstances of the infection are not known for certain. He was treated with mercury, which most likely was the cause of the dizziness and headaches.

the room in which Schubert died

The composer's condition deteriorated dramatically. His consciousness began to lose touch with reality. One day he began to demand that he be allowed to leave the room where he was, because he did not understand where he was and why he was here.

died in 1828, before his 32nd birthday. He was buried near Beethoven, before whom he bowed throughout his short life.

Tragically he left this world early, leaving him an invaluable legacy. He created amazing music that touches the expression of feelings and warms the soul. None of the composer's nine symphonies were performed during his lifetime. Of the six hundred songs, about two hundred were published, and of the two dozen piano sonatas, only three.

DATA

“When I want to teach him something new, I find out that he already knows it. It turns out that I’m not teaching him anything, I’m just watching him in silent delight,” said choir teacher Mikael Holzer. Despite this remark, it is absolutely certain that under his leadership Franz improved my bass playing skills, piano and organ.

The delightful soprano and mastery of the violin could not be forgotten by anyone who had at least once heard Franz Schubert.

On holidays Franz loved going to the theater. Most of all he liked the operas of Weigl, Cherubini, and Gluck. As a result, the boy began to write operas himself.

Schubert felt deep respect and reverence for talent. One day, after performing one of his works, he exclaimed: “I wonder if I will ever be able to write something really worthy.” To which one of his friends noted that he had already written more than one very worthy work. In response to this, Schubert said: "Sometimes I wonder who can even hope to write anything worthwhile after Beethoven?!».

Updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena

Franz Schubert(31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828), Austrian composer, one of the founders musical romanticism, author of nine symphonies, about 600 vocal compositions, a large number of chamber and solo piano music.

The work of every great artist is a mystery with many unknowns. The greatness of Schubert - and it is beyond any doubt - also raises big questions for art historians. The amazing productivity alone, which allowed Schubert to create as many works in just 18 years as other composers could not create in a much longer period, generates interest in the composer’s living conditions and in the sources from which the genius drew his inspiration. For, despite the fact that the composer's pen quickly slid across the music paper, it would be deeply mistaken to consider Schubert's work as some kind of spontaneous phenomenon.

The artist’s creativity, no matter how much it impresses us with its fertility alone, does not flow outside human society and regardless of it. Constantly confronted with social reality, the artist draws from it more and more strength, and no matter how rich Schubert’s specific musical data was, no matter how uncontrollable his creative impulse was, the path of its development was determined by Schubert’s attitude as a person to the social conditions that reigned at that time. era in his country.

The music of his people constituted for Schubert not only the soil that nourished all his work. By asserting it in his works, Schubert thereby defends the interests of common man from the people, in defense of their natural and vital democratic rights. The voice of the “common” man, sounding in Schubert’s music, was a true reflection of the composer’s realistic attitude towards the working people.

Schubert lived only thirty-one years. He died, physically and mentally exhausted, exhausted by failures in life. None of the composer's nine symphonies were performed during his lifetime. Of the six hundred songs, about two hundred were published, and of the two dozen piano sonatas, only three. Schubert was not alone in his dissatisfaction with the life around him. This dissatisfaction and protest the best people societies were reflected in a new direction in art - romanticism. Schubert was one of the first Romantic composers.

Franz Schubert was born in 1797 in the Vienna suburb of Lichtenthal. His father, a school teacher, came from a peasant family. Mother was the daughter of a mechanic. The family loved music very much and constantly organized musical evenings. His father played the cello, and his brothers played various instruments.

Having discovered musical abilities in little Franz, his father and older brother Ignatz began to teach him to play the violin and piano. Soon the boy was able to take part in home performances string quartets, playing the viola part. Franz had in a wonderful voice. He sang in the church choir, performing difficult solo parts. The father was pleased with his son's success. When Franz was eleven years old, he was assigned to a convict school for training church singers.

Situation educational institution favored the development of the boy's musical abilities. In the school student orchestra, he played in the first violin group, and sometimes even served as conductor. The orchestra's repertoire was varied. Schubert became acquainted with symphonic works of various genres (symphonies, overtures), quartets, and vocal works. He confided to his friends that Mozart's Symphony in G Minor shocked him. Beethoven's music became a high example for him.

Already in those years, Schubert began to compose. His first works are Fantasia for piano, a number of songs. The young composer writes a lot, with great passion, often to the detriment of other school activities. The boy's outstanding abilities attracted the attention of the famous court composer Salieri, with whom Schubert studied for a year.

Over time, the rapid development of Franz's musical talent began to cause concern in his father. Knowing well how difficult the path of musicians was, even world famous ones, the father wanted to protect his son from a similar fate. As punishment for his excessive passion for music, he even forbade him to holidays be at home. But no prohibitions could delay the development of the boy’s talent. Schubert decided to break with the convict. Throw away boring and unnecessary textbooks, forget about worthless cramming that drains your heart and mind, and go free. Give yourself entirely to music, live only by it and for its sake.

On October 28, 1813, he completed his first symphony in D major. On the last sheet of the score, Schubert wrote “The End and the End.” The end of the symphony and the end of the convict.

For three years he served as an assistant teacher, teaching children literacy and other elementary subjects. But his attraction to music and his desire to compose is becoming stronger. One can only be amazed at the resilience of his creative nature. It was during these years of school hard labor, from 1814 to 1817, when it seemed that everything was against him, that he created an amazing number of works. In 1815 alone, Schubert wrote 144 songs, 4 operas, 2 symphonies, 2 masses, 2 piano sonatas, and a string quartet.

Among the creations of this period there are many that are illuminated by the unfading flame of genius. These are the Tragic and Fifth B-flat major symphonies, as well as the songs “Rosochka”, “Margarita at the Spinning Wheel”, “The Forest Tsar”. “Margarita at the Spinning Wheel” is a monodrama, a confession of the soul.

“The Forest King” is a drama with several characters. They have their own characters, sharply different from each other, their own actions, completely dissimilar, their own aspirations, opposing and hostile, their own feelings, incompatible and polar. The story behind the creation of this masterpiece is amazing. It arose in a fit of inspiration. “One day,” recalls Shpaun, a friend of the composer, “we went to see Schubert, who was then living with his father. We found our friend in the greatest excitement. With a book in his hand, he walked back and forth around the room, reading aloud “The King of the Forest.” Suddenly he sat down at the table and began to write. When he stood up, the magnificent ballad was ready."

The father's desire to make his son a teacher with a small but reliable income failed. The young composer firmly decided to devote himself to music and left teaching at school. He was not afraid of a quarrel with his father. The entire subsequent short life of Schubert represents a creative feat. Experiencing great material need and deprivation, he worked tirelessly, creating one work after another.

Financial adversity, unfortunately, prevented him from marrying his beloved girl. Teresa Grob sang in the church choir. From the very first rehearsals, Schubert noticed her. Blonde-haired, with whitish eyebrows, as if faded in the sun, and a freckled face, like most dull blondes, she did not sparkle with beauty at all. Rather, on the contrary - at first glance she seemed ugly. On round face traces of smallpox were clearly visible. But as soon as the music sounded, the colorless face was transformed. It had just been extinguished and therefore lifeless. Now, illuminated by an inner light, it lived and radiated.

No matter how accustomed Schubert was to the callousness of fate, he did not imagine that she would treat him so cruelly. “Happy is he who finds a true friend. The one who finds it in his wife is even happier,” he wrote in his diary.

However, the dreams went to waste. Teresa's mother, who raised her without a father, intervened. Her father owned a small silk spinning factory. Having died, he left the family a small fortune, and the widow turned all her worries to ensuring that the already meager capital did not decrease. Naturally, she pinned hopes for a better future on her daughter’s marriage. And it is even more natural that Schubert did not suit her.

In addition to the penny salary of an assistant schoolteacher, he had music, which, as we know, is not capital. You can live by music, but you can’t live by it. A submissive girl from the suburbs, brought up in subordination to her elders, did not even allow disobedience in her thoughts. The only thing she allowed herself was tears. Having cried quietly until the wedding, Teresa walked down the aisle with swollen eyes. She became the wife of a pastry chef and lived a long, monotonously prosperous, gray life, dying at the age of seventy-eight. By the time she was taken to the cemetery, Schubert’s ashes had long since decayed in the grave.

For several years (from 1817 to 1822) Schubert lived alternately with one or the other of his comrades. Some of them (Spaun and Stadler) were friends of the composer from the convict days. Later they were joined by the multi-talented artist Schober, the artist Schwind, the poet Mayrhofer, the singer Vogl and others. The soul of this circle was Schubert. Short, stocky, very short-sighted, Schubert had enormous charm. His radiant eyes were especially beautiful, in which, as in a mirror, kindness, shyness and gentleness of character were reflected. And the delicate, changeable complexion and curly brown hair gave it appearance special attraction.

During meetings, friends got acquainted with fiction, poetry of the past and present. They argued heatedly, discussing issues that arose, and criticized the existing social order. But sometimes such meetings were devoted exclusively to Schubert’s music; they even received the name “Schubertiad”. On such evenings, the composer did not leave the piano, immediately composing ecosaises, waltzes, landlers and other dances. Many of them remained unrecorded. Schubert's songs, which he often performed himself, evoked no less admiration.

Often these friendly gatherings turned into country walks. Saturated with bold, lively thought, poetry, and beautiful music, these meetings represented a rare contrast with the empty and meaningless entertainment of secular youth.

Unsettled life fun entertainment could not distract Schubert from his creativity, stormy, continuous, inspired. He worked systematically, day after day. “I compose every morning, when I finish one piece, I start another,” the composer admitted. Schubert composed music unusually quickly. On some days he created up to a dozen songs! Musical thoughts were born continuously, the composer barely had time to write them down on paper. And if it wasn’t at hand, he wrote the menu on the back, on scraps and scraps. Needing money, he especially suffered from a lack of music paper. Caring friends supplied the composer with it.

Music also visited him in his dreams. When he woke up, he tried to write it down as soon as possible, so he did not part with his glasses even at night. And if the work did not immediately develop into a perfect and complete form, the composer continued to work on it until he was completely satisfied. Thus, for some poetic texts, Schubert wrote up to seven versions of songs!

During this period, Schubert wrote two of his wonderful works - “The Unfinished Symphony” and the cycle of songs “The Beautiful Miller's Wife”.

“The Unfinished Symphony” does not consist of four movements, as is customary, but of two. And the point is not at all that Schubert did not have time to finish the remaining two parts. He started on the third - a minuet, as the classical symphony demanded, but abandoned his idea. The symphony, as it sounded, was completely completed. Everything else would be superfluous and unnecessary. And if classic shape requires two more parts, you have to sacrifice form. Which is what he did.

Schubert's element was song. In it he reached unprecedented heights. He elevated the genre, previously considered insignificant, to the level of artistic perfection. And having done this, he went further - he saturated chamber music with songfulness - quartets, quintets - and then symphonic music. The combination of what seemed incompatible - miniature with large-scale, small with large, song with symphony - gave a new, qualitatively different from everything that came before - a lyric-romantic symphony.

Her world is a world of simple and intimate human feelings, the most subtle and deep psychological experiences. This is a confession of the soul, expressed not with a pen or a word, but with sound. The song cycle “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” is a clear confirmation of this. Schubert wrote it based on poems by the German poet Wilhelm Müller. “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” is an inspired creation, illuminated by gentle poetry, joy, and the romance of pure and high feelings. The cycle consists of twenty separate songs. And all together they form a single dramatic play with a beginning, twists and turns and a denouement, with one lyrical hero - a wandering mill apprentice. However, the hero in “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” is not alone. Next to him there is another, no less important hero - a stream. He lives his stormy, intensely changing life.

The works of the last decade of Schubert's life are very diverse. He writes symphonies, piano sonatas, quartets, quintets, trios, masses, operas, a lot of songs and much other music. But during the composer’s lifetime his works were rarely performed, and most of they remained in manuscripts. Having neither funds nor influential patrons, Schubert had almost no opportunity to publish his works.

Songs, the main thing in Schubert's work, were then considered more suitable for home music playing than for open concerts. Compared to the symphony and opera, songs were not considered an important musical genre. Not a single Schubert opera was accepted for production, and not a single one of his symphonies was performed by an orchestra. Moreover, the notes of his best Eighth and Ninth Symphonies were found only many years after the composer's death. And the songs based on Goethe’s words, sent to him by Schubert, never received the poet’s attention.

Shyness, inability to manage his affairs, reluctance to ask, to humiliate himself in front of influential people were also an important reason for the composer’s constant financial difficulties. But, despite the constant lack of money, and often hunger, the composer did not want to go either into the service of Prince Esterhazy or as a court organist, where he was invited.

At times Schubert did not even have a piano and composed without an instrument, but neither this nor financial difficulties did not stop him from composing music. And yet the Viennese recognized and fell in love with his music, which itself made its way to their hearts. Like ancient folk songs, passed on from singer to singer, his works gradually gained admirers. These were not regulars of brilliant court salons, representatives of the upper class.

Like a forest stream, Schubert's music found its way to the hearts of ordinary residents of Vienna and its suburbs. A major role was played here by the outstanding singer of that time, Johann Michael Vogl, who performed Schubert's songs to the accompaniment of the composer himself.

Insecurity and continuous failures in life had a serious impact on Schubert's health. His body was exhausted. Reconciliation with his father in the last years of his life, a calmer, more balanced home life could no longer change anything.

Schubert could not stop composing music; this was the meaning of his life. But creativity required a huge expenditure of effort and energy, which became less and less every day.

At twenty-seven years old, the composer wrote to his friend Schober: “...I feel like an unhappy, insignificant person in the world...” This mood was reflected in the music last period. If earlier Schubert created mainly bright, joyful works, then a year before his death he wrote songs, uniting them under the common title “Winterreise”.

This has never happened to him before. He wrote about suffering and suffered. He wrote about hopeless melancholy and was hopelessly melancholy. He wrote about the excruciating pain of the soul and experienced mental anguish. "Winter Way" is a journey through torment, and lyrical hero, and the author.

The cycle, written in the blood of the heart, excites the blood and stirs the hearts. Thin thread, woven by the artist, connected the soul of one person with the soul of millions of people with an invisible but indissoluble connection. She opened their hearts to the flow of feelings rushing from his heart.

This is not the first time the composer has addressed the theme of romantic wanderings, but its embodiment has never been so dramatic. The cycle is based on the image of a lonely wanderer, wandering aimlessly along a dull road in deep melancholy. All the best things in his life are in the past. The traveler torments himself with memories, poisoning his soul.

In addition to the “Winter Reise” cycle, other works of 1827 include popular piano impromptu and musical moments. They are the founders of new genres of piano music, later so beloved by composers (Liszt, Chopin, Rachmaninov).

So, Schubert creates more and more new, uniquely wonderful works, and no difficult circumstances can stop this wonderful inexhaustible flow.

The last year of Schubert's life - 1828 - surpasses all previous ones in the intensity of his creativity. Schubert's talent reached full bloom. The composer felt a surge of strength and energy. An event that happened at the beginning of the year played a huge role in this. Through the efforts of friends, the only concert of his works during Schubert’s lifetime was organized. The concert was a huge success and brought great joy to the composer. His plans for the future became brighter. Despite his failing health, he continues to compose.

The end came unexpectedly. Schubert fell ill with typhus. But, despite his progressive illness, he still composed a lot. In addition, he studies the work of Handel, deeply admiring his music and skill. Not heeding the formidable symptoms of the disease, he decides to start studying again, considering his work not technically advanced enough.

But the weakened body could not stand it serious illness, and on November 19, 1828, Schubert died. The composer's body was buried in Bering, not far from Beethoven's grave.

The remaining property went for pennies. Friends organized a fundraiser for a tombstone. The famous poet of the time, Grillparzer, who had composed a funeral eulogy for Beethoven a year earlier, wrote on the modest monument to Schubert in the Vienna cemetery: “Here music buried not only a rich treasure, but also countless hopes.”

Trusting, frank, incapable of betrayal, sociable, talkative in a joyful mood - who knew him differently?
From the memories of friends

F. Schubert is the first great romantic composer. Poetic love and pure joy of life, despair and coldness of loneliness, longing for an ideal, thirst for wandering and the hopelessness of wandering - all this found an echo in the composer’s work, in his naturally and effortlessly flowing melodies. The emotional openness of the romantic worldview and the spontaneity of expression raised the song genre to unprecedented heights: this previously minor genre became the basis for Schubert art world. In a song melody, the composer could express a whole range of feelings. His inexhaustible melodic gift allowed him to compose several songs a day (more than 600 in total). Song melodies also penetrate into instrumental music, for example, the song “Wanderer” served as material for the piano fantasy of the same name, and “Trout” - for a quintet, etc.

Schubert was born into the family of a school teacher. The boy showed outstanding musical abilities very early and was sent to study in the convict (1808-13). There he sang in the choir, studied music theory under the direction of A. Salieri, played in the student orchestra and conducted it.

In Schubert's family (as in the German burghers in general) music was loved, but tolerated only as a hobby; the profession of a musician was considered insufficiently honorable. The aspiring composer had to follow in his father's footsteps. For several years (1814-18), school work distracted Schubert from his creativity, and yet he composed extremely a lot. If in instrumental music While the dependence on the style of the Viennese classics (mainly W.A. Mozart) is still visible, in the song genre the composer already at the age of 17 creates works that fully reveal his individuality. The poetry of J. V. Goethe inspired Schubert to create such masterpieces as “Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel”, “The Forest King”, songs from “Wilhelm Meister”, etc. Schubert also wrote many songs based on the words of another classic of German literature - F. Schiller.

Wanting to devote himself entirely to music, Schubert left his job at school (this led to a break in relations with his father) and moved to Vienna (1818). Such intermittent sources of livelihood remain as private lessons and the publication of essays. Not being a virtuoso pianist, Schubert could not easily (like F. Chopin or F. Liszt) gain a name for himself in the musical world and thus promote the popularity of his music. This was not helped by the composer’s character, his complete immersion in composing music, his modesty and at the same time the highest creative integrity, which did not allow him to make any compromises. But he found understanding and support among his friends. A circle of creative youth is grouped around Schubert, each of whose members must certainly have some kind of artistic talent (What can he do? - this was the question that greeted every newcomer). Participants in the “Schubertiads” became the first listeners, and often co-authors (I. Mayrhofer, I. Zenn, F. Grillparzer) of the brilliant songs of the head of their circle. Conversations and heated debates about art, philosophy, and politics alternated with dances, for which Schubert wrote a lot of music, and often simply improvised it. Minuets, ecausses, polonaises, landlers, polkas, gallops - this is the range of dance genres, but waltzes rise above everything - no longer just dances, but rather lyrical miniatures. Psychologizing dance, turning it into a poetic picture of mood, Schubert anticipates the waltzes of F. Chopin, M. Glinka, P. Tchaikovsky, S. Prokofiev. Circle member, famous singer M. Vogl promoted Schubert's songs on the concert stage and, together with the author, toured the cities of Austria.

Schubert's genius grew out of the long-standing musical traditions of Vienna. The classical school (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven), multinational folklore, in which the influences of the Hungarians, Slavs, Italians were superimposed on the Austro-German basis, and finally, the special passion of the Viennese for dance and home music-making - all this determined the appearance of Schubert’s work.

The heyday of Schubert's work - the 20s. At this time, the best instrumental works were created: the lyrical-dramatic “Unfinished” symphony (1822) and the epic, life-affirming C major (the last, Ninth). Both symphonies were unknown for a long time: the C major one was discovered by R. Schumann in 1838, and the “Unfinished” was found only in 1865. Both symphonies influenced the composers of the second half of the 19th century c., defining different paths of romantic symphonism. Schubert never heard any of his symphonies performed professionally.

There were many difficulties and failures with opera productions. Despite this, Schubert constantly wrote for the theater (about 20 works in total) - operas, singspiels, music for the play “Rosamund” by V. Cesi. He also creates spiritual works (including 2 masses). Schubert wrote music of remarkable depth and impact in chamber genres (22 piano sonatas, 22 quartets, about 40 other ensembles). His impromptu songs (8) and musical moments (6) marked the beginning of the Romantic piano miniature. New things are also emerging in songwriting. 2 vocal cycles based on poems by W. Müller - 2 stages life path person.

The first of them is “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” (1823) - a kind of “novel in songs”, covered by a single plot. Young man, full of energy and hopes, sets off towards happiness. Spring nature, a cheerfully babbling brook - everything creates a cheerful mood. Confidence soon gives way to a romantic question, the languor of the unknown: Where? But then the stream leads the young man to the mill. Love for the miller's daughter, her happy moments are replaced by anxiety, torment of jealousy and the bitterness of betrayal. In the gently murmuring, soothing streams of the stream, the hero finds peace and consolation.

The second cycle - “Winter Retreat” (1827) - a series of mournful memories of a lonely wanderer about unrequited love, tragic thoughts, only occasionally interspersed with bright dreams. The last song, “The Organ Grinder,” creates the image of a wandering musician, forever and monotonously turning his organ grinder and finding no response or outcome anywhere. This is the personification of the path of Schubert himself, already seriously ill, exhausted by constant poverty, backbreaking work and indifference to his creativity. The composer himself called the songs of “Winter Retreat” “terrible.”

The crowning achievement of vocal creativity is “Swan Song” - a collection of songs based on the words of various poets, including G. Heine, who turned out to be close to the “late” Schubert, who felt the “split of the world” more acutely and painfully. At the same time, Schubert never, even in the last years of his life, isolated himself in mournful tragic moods (“pain sharpens thought and tempers feelings,” he wrote in his diary). The figurative and emotional range of Schubert's lyrics is truly limitless - it responds to everything that worries any person, while the sharpness of the contrasts in it is constantly increasing (the tragic monologue “Double” and next to it is the famous “Serenade”). Schubert finds more and more creative impulses in the music of Beethoven, who, in turn, became acquainted with some of the works of his younger contemporary and appreciated them very highly. But modesty and shyness did not allow Schubert to personally meet his idol (one day he turned back at the very door of Beethoven’s house).

The success of the author's first (and only) concert, organized a few months before his death, finally attracted the attention of the musical community. His music, especially songs, begins to quickly spread throughout Europe, finding the shortest path to the hearts of listeners. She has a huge influence on the romantic composers of subsequent generations. Without the discoveries made by Schubert, it is impossible to imagine Schumann, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninov, Mahler. He filled the music with the warmth and spontaneity of song lyrics, revealed the inexhaustible peace of mind person.

K. Zenkin

Schubert's creative life is estimated at only seventeen years. Nevertheless, it is even more difficult to list everything he wrote than to list the works of Mozart, whose creative career was longer. Just like Mozart, Schubert did not bypass any area musical art. Some of his legacy (mainly operatic and spiritual works) was pushed aside by time itself. But in a song or a symphony, in a piano miniature or a chamber ensemble, the best sides of Schubert’s genius, the wonderful spontaneity and ardor of the romantic imagination, the lyrical warmth and quest of a thinking person of the 19th century found expression.

In these areas musical creativity Schubert's innovation manifested itself with the greatest boldness and scope. He is the founder of the lyrical instrumental miniature, the romantic symphony - lyrical-dramatic and epic. Schubert is completely unfaithful figurative content in large forms of chamber music: piano sonatas, string quartets. Finally, the true brainchild of Schubert is the song, the creation of which is simply inseparable from his very name.

Schubert's music was formed on Viennese soil, fertilized by the genius of Haydn, Mozart, Gluck, and Beethoven. But Vienna is not only a classic, represented by its luminaries, but also rich life everyday music. Musical culture the capital of a multinational empire has long been significantly affected by its diverse and multilingual population. The crossing and interpenetration of Austrian, Hungarian, German, and Slavic folklore with the constant influx of Italian melodies over the centuries led to the formation of a specifically Viennese musical flavor. Lyrical simplicity and lightness, clarity and grace, cheerful temperament and lively dynamics street life, good-natured humor and ease of dance movement left a characteristic imprint on the everyday music of Vienna.

Austrian democracy folk music, the music of Vienna is inspired by the work of Haydn and Mozart; Beethoven was also influenced by it; according to Schubert, he is a child of this culture. For his commitment to her, he even had to listen to reproaches from friends. Schubert's melodies “sometimes sound too domestic, too in Austrian“,” writes Bauernfeld, “reminiscent of folk songs, the somewhat base tone and ugly rhythm of which do not have sufficient grounds to penetrate into poetic song.” To this kind of criticism, Schubert replied: “What do you understand? This is how it is and how it should be!” And indeed, Schubert speaks in the language of genre-everyday music, thinks in its images; from them grow works of high forms of art of the most varied nature. In a broad generalization of the song lyrical intonations that matured in the musical everyday life of the burghers, in the democratic environment of the city and its suburbs - the nationality of Schubert's creativity. The lyrical and dramatic “Unfinished” symphony unfolds on a song and dance basis. The implementation of genre material can be felt both in the epic canvas of the “Big” symphony in C major and in the intimate lyrical miniature or instrumental ensemble.

The element of songfulness permeated all areas of his work. The song melody forms the thematic basis of Schubert's instrumental works. For example, in the piano fantasy on the theme of the song “Wanderer”, in the piano quintet “Trout”, where the melody of the song of the same name serves as the theme for variations of the finale, in the d-minor quartet, where the song “Death and the Maiden” is introduced. But also in other works not related to the themes of certain songs - in sonatas, in symphonies - the song thematic structure determines the features of the structure, methods of developing the material.

It is natural, therefore, that although the beginning of Schubert’s career as a composer was marked by an extraordinary scope of creative ideas that encouraged him to try in all areas of musical art, first of all he found himself in song. It was in it, ahead of everything else, that the edges of his lyrical talent shone with a wonderful play.

“Among the music not for the theater, not for church, not for concerts, there is a particularly wonderful department - romances and songs for one voice with piano. From the simple, verse form of the song, this genre has developed to whole small single scenes-monologues, allowing for all the passion and depth of spiritual drama.

This type of music was magnificently manifested in Germany, in the genius of Franz Schubert,” wrote A. N. Serov.

Schubert - “the nightingale and the swan of song” (B.V. Asafiev). The song contains his entire creative essence. It is Schubert's song that is a kind of boundary separating the music of romanticism from the music of classicism. Coming from early XIX century, the era of song and romance is a pan-European phenomenon, which “can be called after the greatest master of urban democratic song-romance Schubert - Schubertianism” (B.V. Asafiev). The place of the song in Schubert's work is equivalent to the position of the fugue in Bach or the sonata in Beethoven. According to B.V. Asafiev, Schubert accomplished in the field of song what Beethoven did in the field of symphony. Beethoven summarized the heroic ideas of his era; Schubert was a singer of “simple natural thoughts and deep humanity.” Through the world of lyrical feelings reflected in the song, he expresses his attitude towards life, people, and the surrounding reality.

Lyricism is the very essence of Schubert's creative nature. The range of lyrical themes in his work is exceptionally wide. The theme of love with all the richness of its poetic shades, sometimes joyful, sometimes sorrowful, is intertwined with the theme of wandering, pilgrimage, loneliness, and the theme of nature, which permeates all romantic art. Nature in Schubert’s work is not just a background against which a certain narrative unfolds or some events take place: it is “humanized”, and the radiation of human emotions, depending on their nature, colors the images of nature, gives them a particular mood and corresponding flavor.

Childhood

Franz showed musical abilities very early. The first to teach him music were his family: his father (violin) and older brother Ignatz (piano). From the age of six he studied at the parish school of Lichtenthal. From the age of seven he took organ lessons from the bandmaster of the Lichtental church. The regent of the parish church, M. Holzer, taught him to sing

Thanks to his beautiful voice at the age of eleven Franz was accepted as a “singing boy” into the Viennese court chapel and into the Konvikt (boarding school). There his friends became Joseph von Spaun, Albert Stadler and Anton Holzapfel. Teachers Schubert there were Wenzel Ruzicka (bass general) and later (until 1816) Antonio Salieri (counterpoint and composition). Schubert He studied not only singing, but also became acquainted with the instrumental works of Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as he was second violin in the Konvikt orchestra.

His talent as a composer soon emerged. From 1810 to 1813 Schubert wrote an opera, a symphony, piano pieces and songs In his studies Schubert Mathematics and Latin were difficult for him, and in 1813 he was expelled from the choir because his voice was breaking. Schubert returned home and entered the teachers' seminary, which he graduated from in 1814. Then he got a job as a teacher at the school where his father worked (he worked at this school until 1818). In his spare time, he composed music. He studied mainly Gluck, Mozart and Beethoven. He wrote his first independent works - the opera "Satan's Pleasure Castle" and the Mass in F major - in 1814.

Maturity

Among friends Schubert there were the official J. Spaun, the amateur poet F. Schober, the poet I. Mayrhofer, the poet and comedian E. Bauernfeld, the artists M. Schwind and L. Kupelwieser, the composer A. Hüttenbrenner and J. Schubert. They were fans of creativity Schubert and periodically provided him with financial assistance.

At the beginning of 1818 Schubert left work at school. In July, he moved to Želiz (now the Slovak city of Železovce) to the summer residence of Count Johann Esterházy, where he began teaching music to his daughters. In mid-November he returned to Vienna. The second time he visited Esterhazy was in 1824.

In 1823 he was elected an honorary member of the Styrian and Linz musical unions.

In the 1820s Schubert health problems began. In December 1822 he fell ill, but after a stay in hospital in the autumn of 1823 his health improved.

Last years

The composer died of typhoid fever on November 19, 1828 at the age of less than 32 years after a two-week fever. According to last wish, Schubert They buried him in the Wehring cemetery, where the year before, Beethoven, whom he idolized, was buried. An eloquent inscription is engraved on the monument: “Music buried here a precious treasure, but even more wonderful hopes.” On January 22, 1888, his ashes were reburied at the Vienna Central Cemetery.

Creation

Collections of songs are of great importance in vocal literature. Schubert based on the poems of Wilhelm Müller - “The Beautiful Miller's Wife” and “Winter Reise”, which are, as it were, a continuation of Beethoven’s idea expressed in the collection of songs “To a Distant Beloved”. In these works Schubert showed remarkable melodic talent and a wide variety of moods; he gave accompaniment higher value, greater artistic meaning. The latest collection “Swan Song” is also remarkable, many of the songs from which have gained worldwide fame.

Musical gift Schubert opened new paths of piano music. His Fantasies in C major and F minor, impromptu, musical moments, sonatas are proof of the richest imagination and great harmonic courage. In the chamber and symphonic music- string quartet in D minor, quintet in C major, piano quintet “Forellenquintett” (“Trout”), “Great Symphony” in C major and “Unfinished Symphony” in B minor - Schubert demonstrates its unique and independent musical thinking, significantly different from the thinking of Beethoven, living and dominant at that time.

From numerous church writings Schubert(mass, offertory, hymns, etc.) the Mass in E-flat major is especially distinguished by its sublime character and musical richness.

Of the operas performed at that time, Schubert Most of all I liked “The Swiss Family” by Joseph Weigl, “Medea” by Luigi Cherubini, “John of Paris” by François Adrien Boieldieu, “Cendrillon” by Izward and especially “Iphigenia in Tauris” by Gluck. Schubert had little interest in Italian opera, which was in great fashion in his time; only “The Barber of Seville” and some passages from “Othello” by Gioachino Rossini attracted him.

Posthumous recognition

In 1897, the publishers Breitkopf and Hertel published a critical edition of the composer's works, whose chief editor was Johannes Brahms. Twentieth-century composers such as Benjamin Britten, Richard Strauss, and George Crum were or were persistent popularizers of music Schubert, or made allusions to it in their own music. Britten, who was an excellent pianist, accompanied many of the songs. Schubert and often played his solos and duets.

Unfinished Symphony

The manuscript was kept for more than 40 years by a friend Schubert Anselm Hüttenbrenner, until it was discovered by the Viennese conductor Johann Herbeck and performed in a concert in 1865. (The completed Schubert the first two movements, and instead of the missing 3rd and 4th movements the final movement from the early Third Symphony was performed Schubert in D major.) The symphony was published in 1866 in the form of the first two movements.

The reasons why are still unclear Schubert did not complete the “Unfinished” Symphony. Apparently, he intended to bring it to its logical conclusion: the first two parts were completely finished, and the 3rd part (in the nature of a scherzo) remained in sketches. There are no sketches for the ending (or they may have been lost).

For a long time there was a point of view that the “Unfinished” symphony is a completely completed work, since the circle of images and their development exhausts itself within two parts. As a comparison, they talked about Beethoven's sonatas in two movements and that later works of this kind became common among Romantic composers. However, this version is contradicted by the fact that the completed Schubert the first two parts are written in different keys, far from each other. (Such cases have not occurred either before or after him.)

Currently, there are several options for completing the “Unfinished” Symphony (in particular, the options of the English musicologist Brian Newbould and the Russian composer Anton Safronov).

Essays

• Singspiel (7), including Claudina von Villa Bella (on a text by Goethe, 1815, the first of 3 acts has been preserved; staged 1978, Vienna), The Twin Brothers (1820, Vienna), The Conspirators, or Home War (1823; staged 1861 , Frankfurt am Main);
• Music for plays - The Magic Harp (1820, Vienna), Rosamund, Princess of Cyprus (1823, ibid.);
• For soloists, choir and orchestra - 7 masses (1814-1828), German Requiem (1818), Magnificat (1815), offertories and other spiritual works, oratorios, cantatas, including Victory song Miriam (1828);
• For orchestra - symphonies (1813; 1815; 1815; Tragic, 1816; 1816; Small C major, 1818; 1821, unfinished; Unfinished, 1822; Major C major, 1828), 8 overtures;
• Chamber instrumental ensembles - 4 sonatas (1816-1817), fantasy (1827) for violin and piano; sonata for arpeggione and piano (1824), 2 piano trios (1827, 1828?), 2 string trios (1816, 1817), 14 or 16 string quartets (1811-1826), Trout piano quintet (1819?), string quintet ( 1828), octet for strings and winds (1824), etc.;
• For piano 2 hands - 23 sonatas (including 6 unfinished; 1815-1828), fantasy (Wanderer, 1822, etc.), 11 impromptu (1827-28), 6 musical moments (1823-1828), rondo, variations and other pieces, over 400 dances (waltzes, ländlers, German dances, minuets, ecosaises, gallops, etc.; 1812-1827);
• For piano 4 hands - sonatas, overtures, fantasies, Hungarian divertissement (1824), rondos, variations, polonaises, marches, etc.;
• Vocal ensembles for men, women's voices And mixed compositions accompanied and unaccompanied;
• Songs for voice and piano, (over 600) including the cycles “The Beautiful Miller’s Wife” (1823) and “Winter Retreat” (1827), the collection “Swan Song” (1828), “Ellen’s Third Song” (“Ellens dritter Gesang” , also known as Schubert's "Ave Maria").
• Forest king

Catalog of works

In astronomy