Franz Peter SchubertJanuary 31, 1797 – November 19, 1828
He was born in Vienna on January 31, 1797 into a large, musical family and received formal musical training through much of his childhood. At seven, he was instructed by the local church organist. However, the boy gained more from his friendship with an apprentice who used to take him to a pianoforte warehouse where he could practice on better instruments. Even at that young age his genius was already beginning to show itself in his compositions. 
1815 was probably the most productive period of his life (he composed over 20,000 bars of music) and in 1816 he accepted an invitation to live with a friend at his mother's house. While there he devoted himself totally to composition. "I compose every morning, and when one piece is done, I begin another”, he said. He spent the summer of 1818 as music teacher to the family of a wealthy Count. His duties were relatively light and the pay was good. As a result, he happily continued to compose.
Gradually his music earned him a more prominent position as a musician and a wider public. Still, however, publishers remained distant and these were the darkest years of his life. 
In the early 1820’s Schubert began to be ill, although he continue to compose great volumes of work. The "Unfinished Symphony" was begun in 1822. (The question of why the symphony was "unfinished" has been debated endlessly and is still unresolved.)
Finally the setbacks of previous years were compensated by the prosperity and happiness of 1825. Publication had been moving more rapidly; the stress of poverty was for a time lightened and he continued to write as his fame in the music world grew. But in the midst of this creative activity, his health deteriorated. He died aged 31 on November 19, 1828. 
By his own request, he was buried next to Beethoven, whom he had adored all his life. However in 1888, both Schubert's and Beethoven's graves were moved to the Zentralfriedhof, where they can now be found next to those of Johann Strauss II and Johannes Brahms.
Interest in Schubert's work increased dramatically in the decades following his death. Composers like Franz Liszt, Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn discovered, collected, and promoted his works. He is now widely considered to be one of the greatest composers in the Western tradition. Back to ....Home Page....Free sheet music online Back to..... Classical Music History Back to......Top of Page.....Franz Peter Schubert
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