Franz Schubert description of the work. Brief biography of Franz Schubert

K. Vasilyeva
Franz Schubert
1797 - 1828
short essay life and creativity
book for youth
"Music", 1969
(pdf, 3 Mb)

The fate of wonderful people is amazing! They have two lives: one ends with their death; the other continues after the death of the author in his creations and, perhaps, will never fade away, preserved by subsequent generations, grateful to the creator for the joy that the fruits of his labor bring to people. Sometimes the life of these creatures (be it works of art, inventions, discoveries) begins only after the death of the creator, no matter how bitter it is.
This is how the fate of Schubert and his works developed. Most of it the best essays, especially large genres, was not heard by the author. Much of his music could have disappeared without a trace if not for the energetic search and enormous work of some ardent connoisseurs of Schubert (including such musicians as Schumann and Brahms).
And so, when the ardent heart of a great musician stopped beating, his best works began to be “born again”, they themselves started talking about the composer, captivating listeners with their beauty, deep content and skill.

His music began to gradually sound everywhere where only true art is appreciated.
Speaking about the features of Schubert's work, academician B.V. Asafiev notes in him "a rare ability to be a lyricist, but not to withdraw into his own personal world, but to feel and convey the joys and sorrows of life in the way that most people feel and would like to convey." Perhaps it is impossible to express more precisely and more deeply the main thing in Schubert's music, what is its historical role. Schubert created a huge number of works of all genres that existed in his time without exception - from vocal and piano miniatures to symphonies.
In every area, except for theatrical music, he said a unique and new word, left wonderful works that still live today. With their abundance, the extraordinary variety of melody, rhythm, and harmony is striking.
“What an inexhaustible wealth of melodic invention was in this untimely completed
his career as a composer,” Tchaikovsky wrote admiringly. “What a luxury of fantasy and sharply defined originality!”
Schubert's song richness is especially great. His songs are valuable and dear to us not only as independent works of art. They helped the composer find his musical language in other genres. The connection with the songs consisted not only in general intonations and rhythms, but also in the peculiarities of presentation, development of themes, expressiveness and colorfulness of harmonic means. Schubert opened the way for many new musical genres- impromptu, musical moments, song cycles, lyric-dramatic symphony. But in whatever genre Schubert writes - traditional or created by him - everywhere he appears as a composer of a new era, the era of romanticism, although his work is firmly based on classical musical art.
Many features of the new romantic style were then developed in the works of Schumann, Chopin, Liszt, Russian composers of the second half of XIX century.

Schubert's music is dear to us not only as a magnificent artistic monument. It touches the audience deeply. Whether it sprinkles with fun, plunges into deep reflections, or causes suffering - it is close, understandable to everyone, so vividly and truthfully does it reveal human feelings and thoughts expressed by Schubert, great in his boundless simplicity.

MAIN WORKS OF SCHUBERT

For symphony orchestra
Eight symphonies, including:
Symphony No. 4, in C minor (Tragic), 1816
Symphony No. 5 in B flat major, 1816
Symphony No. 7 in B minor (Unfinished), 1822
Symphony No. 8, in C major, 1828
Seven overtures.

Vocal works(notes)
Over 600 songs including:
Cycle "The Beautiful Miller", 1823
Cycle "Winter Way", 1827
Collection " swan song(posthumous), 1828
More than 70 songs based on Goethe's texts, among them:
"Margarita at the spinning wheel", 1814
"Forest King", 1815
Over 30 spiritual works, including:
Mass in A flat major, 1822
Mass in E flat major, 1828
More than 70 secular works for choir and various ensembles.

Chamber Ensembles
Fifteen quartets, including:
Quartet in A minor, 1824
Quartet in D minor, 1826
Trout Quintet, 1819
String Quintet, 1828
Two piano trios, 1826 and 1827
Octet, 1824

Piano works
Eight impromptu, 1827-1828
Six Musical Moments, 1827
Fantasy "Wanderer", 1822
Fifteen sonatas, including:
Sonata in A minor, 1823
Sonata in A major, 1825
Sonata in B flat major, 1828
56 piano duets.
Hungarian divertissement, 1824
Fantasy in F minor, 1828
24 collections of dances.

Musical and dramatic works
Eight singspiel, including:
Friends from Salamanca, 1815
"Twins", 1819
Operas:
"Alfonso and Estrella", 1822
"Fierabras", 1823
"Home War" ("Conspirators"), 1823
The rest are not finished.
Melodrama "The Magic Harp", 1820

Franz Schubert

creativity composer schubert

Childhood and years of study. Franz Schubert was born in 1797 on the outskirts of Vienna - Lichtental. His father, a school teacher, came from a peasant family. Mother was the daughter of a locksmith. The family was very fond of music and constantly arranged musical evenings. My father played the cello, and the brothers played various instruments.

Having discovered musical abilities in little Franz, his father and older brother Ignaz began to teach him to play the violin and piano. Franz had beautiful voice. He sang in the church choir, performing difficult solo parts. The father was pleased with the success of his son.

When Franz was eleven years old, he was assigned to a convict - a school for the training of church choristers. The atmosphere of the educational institution favored the development musical ability boy. In the school student orchestra, he played in the group of first violins, and sometimes even acted as a conductor.

Already in those years, Schubert began to compose. His first works are a fantasy for piano, a series of songs. Young composer writes a lot, with great enthusiasm, often to the detriment of others schoolwork. The boy's outstanding abilities drew the attention of the famous court composer Salieri to him, with whom Schubert studied for a year.

Rapid development over time musical talent Franz began to cause alarm in his father. But no prohibitions could delay the development of the boy's talent.

Years of creative flourishing. For three years he served as a teacher's assistant teaching children literacy and other starting subjects. But his attraction to music, the desire to compose is becoming stronger. 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. 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 during the contract. Schubert was the soul of this circle. Small in stature, stocky, stocky, very short-sighted, Schubert had great charm. During meetings, friends got acquainted with fiction, poetry of the past and present.

But sometimes such meetings were devoted exclusively to the music of Schubert, they even received the name "Schubertiad". On such evenings, the composer did not leave the piano, immediately composing ecossaises, waltzes, landlers and other dances. Many of them have remained unrecorded.

The last years of life and creativity. He writes symphonies, piano sonatas, quartets, quintets, trios, masses, operas, a lot of songs and much more. Having neither the means nor influential patrons, Schubert had almost no opportunity to publish his writings.

Nevertheless, the Viennese recognized and fell in love with Schubert's music. Like the old ones folk songs, passing from singer to singer, his works gradually gained admirers.

Insecurity, constant life failures seriously affected Schubert's health. At the age of 27, the composer wrote to his friend Schober: "... I feel like an unfortunate, insignificant person in the world ..." This mood was also reflected in the music last period. If earlier Schubert created predominantly bright, joyful works, then a year before his death he wrote songs, uniting them under the common name “Winter Way”. In 1828, 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 the composer great joy and hope for the future. The end came unexpectedly. Schubert fell ill with typhus, and in the autumn of 1828 Schubert died. The remaining property was valued for pennies, many of the compositions were lost. Famous poet At that time, Grillparzer, who had composed Beethoven's funeral oration a year earlier, wrote on a modest monument to Schubert in the Vienna cemetery: "Death buried here a rich treasure, but even more beautiful hopes."

Main works.

Over 600 songs

• 9 symphonies (one of them is lost)
• 13 overtures for symphony orchestra
• 22 piano sonatas

Several collections of pieces and individual dances for piano

• 8 impromptu
• 6 "musical moments"

"Hungarian divertissement" (for piano 4 hands)

Trios, quartets, quintets for various compositions

Said, "Never ask for anything! Never and nothing, and especially for those who are stronger than you. They will offer and give everything themselves!

This quote from the immortal work "The Master and Margarita" characterizes the life of the Austrian composer Franz Schubert, familiar to most of the song "Ave Maria" ("Ellen's Third Song").

During his lifetime, he did not strive for fame. Although the works of the Austrian were distributed from all the salons of Vienna, Schubert lived extremely poorly. Once the writer hung out his frock coat on the balcony with the pockets turned inside out. This gesture was addressed to creditors and meant that there was nothing more to take from Schubert. Knowing the sweetness of glory only fleetingly, Franz died at the age of 31. But centuries later this musical genius became recognized not only at home, but throughout the world: creative heritage Schubert is immense, he composed about a thousand works: songs, waltzes, sonatas, serenades and other compositions.

Childhood and youth

Franz Peter Schubert was born in Austria, not far from the picturesque city of Vienna. The gifted boy grew up in an ordinary poor family: his father, the school teacher Franz Theodor, came from a peasant family, and his mother, the cook Elisabeth (née Fitz), was the daughter of a repairman from Silesia. In addition to Franz, the couple raised four more children (out of 14 children born, 9 died in infancy).

It is not surprising that the future maestro showed a love for notes early, because music was constantly “flowing” in his house: Schubert Sr. loved to play the violin and cello like an amateur, and Franz's brother was fond of piano and clavier. Franz Jr. was surrounded by a delightful world of melodies, as the hospitable Schubert family often received guests, arranging musical evenings.

Noticing the talent of their son, who at the age of seven played music on the keys without studying notes, the parents sent Franz to the Lichtental parochial school, where the boy tried to learn to play the organ, and M. Holzer taught the young Schubert vocal art, which he mastered to fame.

When the future composer was 11 years old, he was accepted as a chorister in the court chapel, located in Vienna, and also enrolled in a school with a Konvikt boarding house, where he made his best friends. In an educational institution, Schubert zealously learned the basics of music, but mathematics and Latin were bad for the boy.

It is worth saying that no one doubted the talent of the young Austrian. Wenzel Ruzicka, who taught Franz the bass voice of a polyphonic musical composition, once stated:

“I have nothing to teach him! He already knows everything from the Lord God.

And in 1808, to the delight of his parents, Schubert was accepted into the imperial choir. When the boy was 13 years old, he independently wrote his first serious musical composition, and after 2 years, the recognized composer Antonio Salieri began to work with the young man, who did not even take a monetary reward from the young Franz.

Music

When the sonorous boyish voice of Schubert began to break down, the young composer, for obvious reasons, was forced to leave Konvikt. Franz's father dreamed that he would enter the teacher's seminary and follow in his footsteps. Schubert could not resist the will of his parent, so after graduation he began to work at a school where he taught the alphabet to elementary grades.

However, a man whose life was a passion for music, the noble work of a teacher was not to his liking. Therefore, between the lessons that Franz only aroused contempt, he sat down at the table and composed works, and also studied the works of and Gluck.

In 1814 he wrote the opera Satan's Pleasure Castle and a Mass in F major. And by the age of 20, Schubert had become the author of at least five symphonies, seven sonatas and three hundred songs. Music did not leave Schubert's thoughts for a minute: the talented writer woke up even in the middle of the night in order to have time to write down the melody that sounded in a dream.

In his free time, the Austrian arranged musical evenings: acquaintances and close friends appeared in the house of Schubert, who did not leave the piano and often improvised.

In the spring of 1816, Franz tried to get a job as a leader choir chapel However, his plans were not destined to come true. Soon, thanks to friends, Schubert met the famous Austrian baritone Johann Fogal.

It was this performer of romances that helped Schubert to establish himself in life: he performed songs to the accompaniment of Franz in the music salons of Vienna.

But it cannot be said that the Austrian owned keyboard instrument as masterly as, for example, Beethoven. He did not always make the right impression on the listening public, so Fogal got the attention of the audience at the performances.

Franz Schubert composes music in nature

In 1817, Franz became the author of music for the song "Trout" to the words of his namesake Christian Schubert. The composer also became famous thanks to the music for the famous ballad of the German writer "The Forest King", and in the winter of 1818 Franz's work "Erlafsee" was published by a publishing house, although before Schubert's fame, the editors constantly found an excuse to refuse the young performer.

It is worth noting that during the peak years of popularity, Franz acquired profitable acquaintances. So, his comrades (the writer Bauernfeld, the composer Huttenbrenner, the artist Schwind and other friends) helped the musician with money.

When Schubert was finally convinced of his vocation, in 1818 he left work at the school. But his father did not like his son's spontaneous decision, so he deprived his adult child of material assistance. Because of this, Franz had to ask friends for a place to sleep.

Fortune in the life of the composer was very changeable. The opera Alfonso e Estrella based on a composition by Schober, which Franz considered his success, was rejected. In this regard, Schubert's financial situation worsened. Also in 1822, the composer contracted an illness that undermined his health. In mid-summer, Franz moved to Zeliz, where he settled on the estate of Count Johann Esterházy. There, Schubert taught music lessons to his children.

In 1823, Schubert became an honorary member of the Styrian and Linz musical unions. In the same year, the musician composes the song cycle "The Beautiful Miller's Woman" to the words of the romantic poet Wilhelm Müller. These songs tell about a young man who went in search of happiness.

But happiness young man was love: when he saw the miller's daughter, Cupid's arrow rushed into his heart. But the beloved drew attention to his rival, the young hunter, so the joyful and sublime feeling of the traveler soon grew into desperate grief.

After the tremendous success of The Beautiful Miller's Girl in the winter and autumn of 1827, Schubert worked on another cycle called The Winter Journey. The music, written to the words of Muller, is distinguished by pessimism. Franz himself called his brainchild "a wreath of creepy songs." It is noteworthy that Schubert wrote such gloomy compositions about unrequited love shortly before his own death.

Franz's biography indicates that sometimes he had to live in dilapidated attics, where, with the light of a burning torch, he composed great works on scraps of greasy paper. The composer was extremely poor, but he did not want to exist on the financial assistance of his friends.

“What will happen to me…,” Schubert wrote, “I will probably have to go from door to door and beg for bread in my old age, like Goethe’s harpist.”

But Franz could not even imagine that he would not have old age. When the musician was on the verge of despair, the goddess of fate smiled at him again: in 1828, Schubert was elected a member of the Vienna Society of Friends of Music, and on March 26, the composer gave his first concerto. The performance was triumphant, and the hall was torn from loud applause. On this day, Franz on the first and last time In my life, I learned what real success is.

Personal life

In life, the great composer was very timid and shy. Therefore, many of the writer's entourage profited from his gullibility. Franz's financial situation became a stumbling block on the path to happiness, because his beloved chose a rich groom.

Schubert's love was called Teresa the Hump. Franz met this special person while in the church choir. It is worth noting that the fair-haired girl was not known as a beauty, but, on the contrary, had an ordinary appearance: her pale face was “adorned” with smallpox marks, and sparse and white eyelashes “flaunted” on her eyelids.

But it was not appearance that attracted Schubert in choosing a lady of the heart. He was flattered that Teresa listened to music with awe and inspiration, and at these moments her face took on a ruddy look, and happiness shone in her eyes.

But, since the girl was brought up without a father, her mother insisted that she choose the latter between love and money. Therefore, Gorb married a wealthy confectioner.

The rest of the information about Schubert's personal life is very scarce. According to rumors, the composer was infected with syphilis in 1822 - at that time incurable disease. Based on this, we can assume that Franz did not disdain visiting brothels.

Death

In the autumn of 1828, Franz Schubert was tormented by a two-week fever caused by an infectious intestinal disease - typhoid fever. On November 19, at the age of 32, the great composer died.

The Austrian (according to his last wish) was buried at the Waering cemetery next to the grave of his idol, Beethoven.

• Franz Schubert bought a grand piano with the proceeds from the triumphant concert in 1828.
• In the autumn of 1822, the composer wrote "Symphony No. 8", which went down in history as the "Unfinished Symphony". The fact is that at first Franz created this work in the form of a sketch, and then in the score. But for some unknown reason, Schubert never finished work on the brainchild. According to rumors, the remaining parts of the manuscript were lost and were kept by friends of the Austrian.

• Some mistakenly attribute to Schubert the authorship of the title of the impromptu play. But the phrase "Musical moment" was coined by the publisher Leidesdorf.
• Schubert adored Goethe. The musician dreamed of getting to know this famous writer However, his dream was not destined to come true.
• Schubert's great C major symphony was found 10 years after his death.

• An asteroid discovered in 1904 was named after Franz's play Rosamund.
• After the death of the composer, a mass of unpublished manuscripts remained. For a long time people did not know what was composed by Schubert.

Discography

Songs (over 600 in total)

• Cycle "The Beautiful Miller" (1823)
• Cycle "Winter Way" (1827)
• Collection "Swan Song" (1827-1828, posthumous)
• About 70 songs to texts by Goethe
• About 50 songs to texts by Schiller

Symphonies

• First D-dur (1813)
• Second B-dur (1815)
• Third D-dur (1815)
• Fourth c-moll "Tragic" (1816)
• Fifth B major (1816)
• Sixth C-dur (1818)

Quartets (total 22)

• Quartet B-dur op. 168 (1814)
• G minor quartet (1815)
• A minor quartet op. 29 (1824)
• Quartet in d-moll (1824-1826)
• Quartet G-dur op. 161 (1826)

Franz Schubert(January 31, 1797 – November 19, 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 there is no doubt about it - also raises big questions for art historians. Already one amazing productivity, 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 those sources from which the genius drew his inspiration. For, despite the fact that the composer's pen quickly glided over the music paper, it would be deeply mistaken to consider Schubert's work as a kind of spontaneous phenomenon.

The work of an artist, no matter how much it appeals to us by its very fruitfulness, does not flow outside human society and regardless of it. Constantly confronted with social reality, the artist draws more and more strength from it, and no matter how rich Schubert's specific musical data, no matter how unstoppable his creative impulse, the paths of its development were determined by Schubert's attitude of man to the social conditions that prevailed in that era in his country.

The music of his people was for Schubert not only the soil that nourished all his work. By affirming it in his works, Schubert thus acts in defense of the interests of the common man of the people, in defense of his natural and vital democratic rights. The voice of a "simple" person, 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, exhausted physically and mentally, exhausted by failures in life. None of the composer's nine symphonies was performed during his lifetime. Of the six hundred songs, about two hundred were printed, and of the two dozen piano sonatas- only three. In your dissatisfaction surrounding life Schubert was not alone. This dissatisfaction and protest the best people societies are reflected in a new direction in art - in romanticism. Schubert was one of the first Romantic composers.

Franz Schubert was born in 1797 on the outskirts of Vienna - Lichtental. His father, a school teacher, came from a peasant family. Mother was the daughter of a locksmith. The family was very fond of music and constantly arranged musical evenings. My father played the cello, and the brothers played various instruments.

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

The atmosphere of the educational institution favored the development of the boy's musical abilities. In the school student orchestra, he played in the group of first violins, and sometimes even acted as a conductor. The orchestra's repertoire was varied. Schubert met with symphonic works various genres (symphonies, overtures), quartets, vocal compositions. He confessed to his friends that Mozart's symphony in G minor shocked him. Beethoven's music became a high model for him.

Already in those years, Schubert began to compose. His first works - Fantasia for Piano, a series of songs. The young composer writes a lot, with great enthusiasm, often to the detriment of other school activities. The boy's outstanding abilities drew the attention of the famous court composer Salieri to him, with whom Schubert studied for a year.

Over time, the rapid development of Franz's musical talent began to cause alarm in his father. Knowing well how difficult the path of musicians, even world famous ones, was, the father wanted to save his son from a similar fate. As punishment for his excessive passion for music, he even banned him from holidays to 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, heart and mind draining cramming and go free. To surrender entirely to music, to live only for it and for its sake.

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

For three years he served as a teacher's assistant, teaching children literacy and other elementary subjects. But his attraction to music, the desire to compose is becoming stronger. One has only to marvel at the resilience of his creative nature. It was during these years of school hard labor, from 1814 to 1817, when everything seemed to be 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 symphonies in B-flat major, as well as the songs "Rose", "Margarita at the Spinning Wheel", "Forest King". “Margarita at the spinning wheel” is a monodrama, a confession of the soul.

"Forest King" - a drama with several actors. They have their own characters, sharply different from each other, their actions, completely dissimilar, their aspirations, opposing and hostile, their feelings, incompatible and polar. The history of this masterpiece is amazing. It arose in a fit of inspiration. “Once,” recalls Shpaun, a friend of the composer, “we went to Schubert, who was then living with his father. We found our friend in the greatest excitement. Book in hand, he paced up and down the room, reading aloud The Forest King. Suddenly he sat down at the table and began to write. When he got up, a 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. All further short life of Schubert is a creative feat. Experiencing great material need and deprivation, he tirelessly created, creating one work after another.

Unfortunately, material hardships prevented him from marrying the girl he loved. Teresa Coffin sang in the church choir. From the very first rehearsals, Schubert noticed her. Fair-haired, with whitish eyebrows, as if faded in the sun, and a freckled face, like most dim blondes, she did not shine at all with beauty. Rather, on the contrary - at first glance it seemed ugly. Smallpox marks were clearly visible on her round face. But as soon as the music sounded, the colorless face was transformed. Only that it was extinct and therefore inanimate. Now illuminated inner light, it lived and shone.

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

However, the dreams were shattered. Teresa's mother, who raised her without a father, intervened. Her father owned a small silk mill. When he died, he left the family a small fortune, and the widow turned all her worries to ensure that the already meager capital did not decrease. Naturally, she linked her hopes for a better future with her daughter's marriage. And even more naturally, Schubert did not suit her.

In addition to the penny salary of an assistant school teacher, he had music, and, as you know, it is not capital. You can live with music, but you can't live with it. A submissive girl from the suburbs, brought up in submission to her elders, even in her thoughts did not allow disobedience. The only thing she allowed herself was tears. Having quietly wept until the wedding, Teresa with swollen eyes went down the aisle. She became the wife of a confectioner and lived a long, monotonous, 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 during the contract. Later they were joined by the multi-talented in the field of art Schober, the artist Schwind, the poet Mayrhofer, the singer Vogl and others. Schubert was the soul of this circle. Small in stature, stocky, stocky, very short-sighted, Schubert had great charm. Especially good were his radiant eyes, in which, as in a mirror, kindness, shyness and gentleness of character were reflected. And the delicate, changeable complexion and curly brown hair gave him appearance special attraction.

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

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 entertainments of secular youth.

The disorder of life, cheerful entertainment could not distract Schubert from 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 put them on paper. And if it was not at hand, he wrote on the back of the menu, on scraps and scraps. In need of money, he especially suffered from a lack of music paper. Caring friends supplied the composer with it.

Music visited him in a dream. Waking up, he strove 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 result in a perfect and complete form, the composer continued to work on it until he was completely satisfied. So, 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 song cycle "The Beautiful Miller's Woman".

The "Unfinished Symphony" does not consist of four parts, as is customary, but of two. And the point is not at all that Schubert did not have time to finish the other two parts. He started on the third - the minuet, as required by the classical symphony, but abandoned his idea. The symphony, as it sounded, was completely completed. Everything else would be superfluous, unnecessary. And if the classical form requires two more parts, it is necessary to give up the form. Which he did.

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

Her world is a world of simple and intimate human feelings, the subtlest and deepest psychological experiences. This is the confession of the soul, expressed not with a pen and not with a word, but with a sound. The song cycle "The Beautiful Miller's Woman" is a vivid confirmation of this. Schubert wrote it to the verses of the German poet Wilhelm Müller. "The Beautiful Miller's Woman" is an inspired creation, illuminated by gentle poetry, joy, romance of pure and high feelings. The cycle consists of twenty individual songs. And together they form one dramatic play with a plot, ups and downs and a denouement, with one lyrical hero - a wandering mill apprentice. However, the hero in "The Beautiful Miller's Woman" is not alone. Next to him is another, no less important hero - a stream. He lives his turbulent, intensely changeable life.

Artworks last decade Schubert's life is very diverse. He writes symphonies, piano sonatas, quartets, quintets, trios, masses, operas, a lot of songs and much more. But during the composer's lifetime, his works were rarely performed, and most of them remained in manuscript. Having neither the means nor influential patrons, Schubert had almost no opportunity to publish his writings.

Songs, the main thing in the work of Schubert, were then considered more suitable for home music-making than for open concerts. Compared to the symphony and opera, songs were not considered important musical genres. Not a single opera by Schubert was accepted for production, 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 death of the composer. And the songs to the words of Goethe, sent to him by Schubert, did not receive the attention of the poet.

Timidity, inability to arrange one's affairs, unwillingness to ask, to humiliate oneself before 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 to the service of Prince Esterhazy, or to the court organists, where he was invited.

At times, Schubert did not even have a piano and composed without an instrument, but neither this nor material difficulties prevented him from composing music. And yet the Viennese knew and fell in love with his music, which itself made its way to their hearts. Like old folk songs, passing from singer to singer, his works gradually acquired admirers. They were not frequenters of the brilliant court salons, representatives of the upper class.

Like a forest stream, Schubert's music found its way to the hearts of ordinary people in Vienna and its suburbs. An outstanding singer of that time, Johann Michael Vogl, who performed Schubert's songs to the accompaniment of the composer himself, played an important role here.

Insecurity, continuous life failures seriously affected Schubert's health. His body was exhausted. Reconciliation with father last years 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 strength, energy, which became less and less every day.

At the age of twenty-seven, the composer wrote to his friend Schober: "... I feel like an unfortunate, most insignificant person in the world ..." This mood was also reflected in the music of the last period. If earlier Schubert created predominantly bright, joyful works, then a year before his death he wrote songs, uniting them under the common name “Winter Way”.

This has never happened to him before. He wrote about suffering and suffered. He wrote about hopeless longing and hopelessly yearned. 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 with the blood of the heart, excites the blood and stirs the heart. A thin thread woven by the artist connected the soul of one person with the soul of millions of people with an invisible but indissoluble bond. She opened their hearts to the flood 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, in deep anguish, aimlessly wandering along a dull road. All the best in his life - in the past. The traveler torments himself with memories, poisoning his soul.

In addition to the Winter Road cycle, among other works of 1827, popular piano impromptu and musical moments should be noted. They are the founders of new genres of piano music, subsequently 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 creativity. Schubert's talent reached full bloom. The composer felt a surge of strength and energy. An event that took place at the beginning of the year played a huge role in this. Through the efforts of friends, the only concert of his works during the life of Schubert was organized. The concert was a huge success and brought great joy to the composer. His plans for the future became brighter. Despite failing health, he continues to compose.

The end came unexpectedly. Schubert fell ill with typhus. But, despite the 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 perfect enough.

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

The rest of the property went for pennies. Friends organized a fundraiser for tombstone. The well-known poet of that time, Grillparzer, who had composed Beethoven's funeral oration a year earlier, wrote on a modest monument to Schubert in the Vienna cemetery: "Here music buried not only a rich treasure, but also countless hopes."

GRAND SYMPHONY FRANZ SCHUBERT

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

Frustrated, ever needy Schubert created divine music. Being not very happy, remaining lonely and feeling isolated from the whole world, he wrote marvelous music filled with freshness. So who was this short, short-sighted, short-lived wanderer, named at birth Franz Peter Schubert?

The youngest of sons

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 Lichtental. 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 different instruments, as well as devotion 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. Yet it was very difficult to resist the impulse to compose. Thoughts flooded Franz, and he never had enough music paper to write down everything that came out.

Almost all my life Schubert he lived, if not in need, 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.

At Schubert had an amazing habit: to mark on the notes the exact date when he began to compose a work and when he finished. It is very strange that in 1812 he wrote only one song - "Sad" - a small and not his most outstanding work. It is hard to believe that not a single song came out from the composer's pen in one of the most fruitful years of his work. Maybe, Schubert was so absorbed instrumental music that it diverted 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 the transitional age, 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. It fell to him to work in a class for the smallest, with children who still do not know how and quickly forget everything. It was unbearable for young genius. He often lost his temper, correcting students with kicks and spanks. Despite his desperate efforts, he was always dissatisfied.

In this period Schubert met Teresa Grom. The daughter of a manufacturer, to put it mildly, was not a beauty - whitish, with faded eyebrows, like many blondes, 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 conspicuous girl, illuminated by an inner light. Schubert could not remain indifferent and in 1814 he decided to marry. However, financial difficulties prevented him from starting a family. Schubert with a penny salary of a school teacher, Mother Teresa did not suit, and she, in turn, could not go against her parents' will. After weeping, she married a confectioner.

End of routine

Devoting himself to tedious work, Schubert never for a moment stopped working on what was given to him from birth. His performance as a composer is simply amazing. 1815 is considered the most productive year in life Schubert.He wrote over 100 songs, half a dozen operas and operettas, several symphonies, church music, and so on. During this time he worked with Salieri. Now it is difficult even to 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" to 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 notes. One of his friends caught him in the process, and the song was performed that same evening. But after that, the work lay in the table for 6 years, until did not 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 opera genre slightly pushed back before songs and cantatas. The cantata "Prometheus" was written to order, and for her Schubert received his first fee, 40 Austrian florins (a very small sum). This work of the composer was lost, but those who listened noted that the cantata was very good. Myself Schubert was very pleased with this work.

Three years have passed in endless self-punishment and unprecedented self-sacrifice and, finally, Schubert decided to free himself from the position binding him. And even if for this it was necessary to leave Vienna, to quarrel with his father, he was ready for anything.

Franz's new acquaintances

Franz von Schober

In December 1815, it was decided to attach a musical school to the ordinary school in Leibach. They opened the position of a teacher with a meager, only 500 Viennese florins, salary. Schubert submits an application, and although it was backed up by a very strong recommendation from Salieri, another was appointed to the position, and the plan to escape from home collapsed. However, help came from an unexpected source.

Student schober, who was born in Sweden and came to Germany, was so amazed by the songs Schubert that he decided to get to know the author at all costs. Seeing how, absorbed in the work of a teacher's assistant, the composer corrects the mistakes of young students, schober decided to save the young genius from the hated vicious circle daily duties and offered to take one of the rooms of the apartment, which he rented. So they did, and after a while Schubert met with the poet Mayrhofer, many of whose poems he later set to music. Thus began a friendship and intellectual communication between the two talents. In this friendship there was a third, no less important - , famous performer Vienna operas.

Schubert becomes famous

Johann Michael Vogl

Songs Franz more and more attracted the singer, and one day he came to him without an invitation and looked through his work. Friendship Schubert With Fogle had a huge impact on young composer. Vogl helped him in choosing poems for songs, recited poems with expression so that the music written Schubert, maximally emphasized the ideas expressed in verses. Schubert came to Fogle in the morning, and they either composed together or corrected what had already been written. Schubert relied heavily on the opinion of a friend, 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 by Schubert. A young and enthusiastic genius does not always capture the taste and needs of the public, but the practicing performer usually understands its requirements better. Johan Vogl was not quite the corrector that a genius needed, but on the other hand, he became the one who made Schubert famous.

Vienna - the kingdom of the piano

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 undertook with great pleasure, because he really wanted to write something dramatic.

The Natural Spread of Music's Popularity Schubert passed through the musical circles that were open to him. Vienna has earned a reputation as the center of the musical world. In every home, the piano was an indispensable part of the evening gatherings, which were filled with music, dancing, reading, and discussion. Schubert was one of the most famous and welcome guests at the meetings of the Biedermeier Vienna.

A typical "Schubertiade" consisted of music and entertainment, unobtrusive conversation, banter with guests. As a rule, it all began with the performance of songs Schubert, often only written and to the accompaniment of the composer, after which Franz and his friends played the piano in duets or with cheerful vocal accompaniment. The "Schubertiads" were often sponsored by high-ranking officials. It 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, 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 notes and clearly showed all the signs of depression, more and more absorbing Schubert. Broken hopes (especially those associated with 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 does not stop writing music, creating masterpiece after masterpiece.

In 1826 Schubert received a letter of gratitude with a hundred florins attached to it from the committee of the "Society of Music Lovers" for tireless admiration of the composer's work. In response to this a year later Schubert sent his Ninth Symphony, which is generally considered one of his finest works. However, the Society's performers found the work too difficult for them, and dismissed it as "unfit to perform". It is noteworthy that later works often received the same definition. Beethoven. And in both cases, only subsequent generations were able to appreciate the "difficulties" of these works.

Franz Schubert's End

Sometimes he was tormented by headaches, but did not portend anything serious at all. By September 1828 Schubert felt constantly dizzy. Doctors advised a calm lifestyle and spending more time outdoors.

On November 3, he covered a long distance on foot to listen to a Latin Requiem written by his brother, last work, 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 passed into the last stage. The circumstances of the infection are not known for certain. He was treated with mercury, which was most likely the cause of his dizziness and headaches.

the room where Schubert died

The composer's condition worsened dramatically. His mind 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 reaching his 32nd birthday. He was buried near Beethoven, before which he bowed all his short life.

He left this world tragically early, leaving him an invaluable legacy. He created amazing music, touching with the manifestation of feelings and warming the soul. None of the composer's nine symphonies was 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 don’t teach him anything, I just watch him in mute 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.

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

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

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

Updated: April 13, 2019 by: Elena