Franz Schubert
Franz
Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria,
in 1797. The originator and supreme exponent of the modern German Lied, and a genius at melodic invention,
he wrote 9 symphonies, much piano and chamber music, and the famous song cycles.
Schubert
admired Beethoven, but did not enjoy
the same fame in his lifetime. Schubert's world was one of more intimate
meetings of friends in houses and salons, playing piano works, songs, and
chamber music. His art was founded on solid classical
traditions, but he also became a supreme romantic,
inspired by the natural beauty of the Austrian Tyrol, where he frequently hiked
with his singer friend Johann Vogl. His string quartet The
Trout based on his own song written earlier, is a supreme example of his
chamber music.
He became seriously ill in his last four years, but his
musical output was prolific none the less. He wrote the 8th Symphony
(Unfinished), his 9th Symphony (The Great), and The Shepherd
on the Rock in this last period. He died tragically in 1828 at the age
of only 31.