Biography – Bild 15

The final years In 1823 when Schubert’s health rapidly deteriorated, his fortune turned against him. He oscillates between exuberance and depression and was driven by a restless creativity. There is speculation about his diagnosis as changes in mood and problems with vision, combined with thirst, were associated with diabetes. Biographer’s link this to the prevalent …

Biography – Bild 14

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 …

Biography – Bild 13

Schubert in the salons of Vienna’s High Society It was a politically troubled and reactionary time. Napoleonic wars were raging in Europe. Society gathered evening hours in closed societies in members’ homes, also known as salons. They discussed politics and it was exceedingly popular to invite musicians as entertainment. Schubert was introduced in the bourgeois …

Biography – Bild 12

A typical day in Franz Peter Schubert life Schubert’s daily life followed quite similar routines. His finances forced him to stay in Vienna. He composed frantically between six o’clock in the morning and early afternoon and was then virtually unreachable. Thereafter he visited a cafe to drink coffee, smoke and read newspapers. In the evening …

Biography – Bild 8

Schubert follows his own path. Schubert gradually developed his personal expression with Mozart & Beethoven as models and contemporary German poetry ideals. This led to a breakup with Salieri that held the old Italian masters highest. When Schubert sought a position as a music teacher, Salieri recommended another candidate, and the breakup became a fact. …

Biography – Bild 7

Reluctance to follow the father’s footsteps. The nine-year-old Franz composed music, completely unmoved by his peers playing and romping noisily around him. The father disapproved of his son’s growing interest in composition and invited him instead to choose the secure income of the teaching profession, which led to numerous conflicts between father and son. Franz …