Holzer would often assure Schubert's father, with tears in his eyes, that he had never had such a pupil as Schubert, and the lessons may have largely consisted of conversations and expressions of admiration. Soon after, Schubert was given his first lessons outside the family by Michael Holzer, organist and choirmaster of the local parish church in Lichtental. His father gave him his first violin lessons when he was eight years old, training him to the point where he could play easy duets proficiently. And in truth his progress in a short period was so great that I was forced to acknowledge in him a master who had completely distanced and outstripped me, and whom I despaired of overtaking. I was amazed when Franz told me, a few months after we began, that he had no need of any further instruction from me, and that for the future he would make his own way. Although it is not known exactly when he received his first musical instruction, he was given piano lessons by his brother Ignaz, but they lasted for a very short time as Schubert excelled him within a few months. The house in which Schubert was born, today Nußdorfer Straße 54Īt the age of five, Schubert began to receive regular lessons from his father, and a year later he was enrolled at his father's school. Of Franz Theodor and Elisabeth's fourteen children (one of them illegitimate, born in 1783), nine died in infancy. His mother was the daughter of a Silesian master locksmith and had been a housemaid for a Viennese family before marriage. He came to Vienna from Zukmantel in 1784 and was appointed schoolmaster two years later.

His father, the son of a Moravian peasant, was a well-known parish schoolmaster, and his school in Lichtental (in Vienna's ninth district) had numerous students in attendance.

Schubert's immediate ancestors came originally from the province of Zuckmantel in Austrian Silesia. He was the twelfth child of Franz Theodor Florian Schubert (1763–1830) and Maria Elisabeth Katharina Vietz (1756–1812). Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers in the history of Western classical music and his work continues to be admired and widely performed.īiography Early life and education įranz Peter Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of Alsergrund), Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, on 31 January 1797, and baptized in the Catholic Church the following day. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to typhoid fever, but believed by some historians to be syphilis.Īppreciation of Schubert's music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death. He gave a concert of his works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. In 1821, Schubert was admitted to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. Despite this, he continued his studies in composition with Antonio Salieri and still composed prolifically. He left the Stadtkonvikt at the end of 1813 and returned home to live with his father, where he began studying to become a schoolteacher. In 1808, at the age of eleven, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt school, where he became acquainted with the orchestral music of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. His father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, but Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. 911).īorn in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna, Schubert showed uncommon gifts for music from an early age. 797), and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin (D. 796), the incidental music to the play Rosamunde (D. 759 ( Unfinished Symphony), the 'Great' Symphony No. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. Franz Peter Schubert ( German: 31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras.

Serenade franz schubert