Schubert and the Schubertians
Schubert’s friends played a particularly important role in his life, both as a private individual and in his career. The so-called Schubertians consisted of musicians, poets, painters, and influential middle-class families, to whose homes he was a frequent visitor. These Schubertians put their homes at his disposal, opened their salon doors and established relations between Schubert, publishers, and musicians.
At the center of this group were his childhood friends Josef von Spaun, Franz von Schober, Johann Mayrhofer and opera singer Michael Vogel.
Schubert was one of the first free-lance composers, which implied that he was free from being exploited. It meant a certain artistic freedom but also a great financial uncertainty which led him to occasionally undertake missions that he really did not like. He was poor but survived because he was surrounded by a loyal circle of friends who supported him. ”Through him (Schubert), we all became friends and brothers” said Josef von Spaun.
