Franz Peter Schubert

Schubert was born at Lichtenthal (near Vienna), January 31, 1797, and died in Vienna, November 19, 1828. He was one of fourteen children, and lived in great poverty. Holzer, a Lichtenthal musician, gave him his first instruction, and Schubert showed abnormal skill in harmony. His voice procured him a position in the Convict, Vienna, where boys were trained for the Imperial Chapel choir. The boys were encouraged to study composition, but the work was of a desultory nature. In 1813 Schubert's voice broke, and, as he failed to pass the examination which would have brought him a scholarship, he qualified as a schoolmaster, and for three years aided his father in Lichtenthal. Salieri aided him in the study of composition, and his works achieved occasional performance. Between his seventeenth and eighthteenth birthdays he composed one hundred and forty-four songs, and so prolific was he that he once wrote eight songs in a single day, including "The Erl-King". In 1818 and 1824 Schubert spent his summers as teacher in the family of Count Esterhazy, but mostly his life was spent among Bohemian companions in various stages of poverty. His compositions range from his wonderful songs to symphonies, and in all he proved himself one of the supreme masters. Not even the story of Mozart is more pitiable than that of the neglect Schubert received from his contemporaries.

The Etude Magazine October 1909