Contents
Franz Schubert
Composing Winterreise, the Unfinished Symphony and hundreds of songs.
Erlkönig · Unfinished Symphony
- Born
- 31 January 1797
- Birthplace
- Vienna, Austria
- Died
- 19 November 1828
More people
Franz Schubert
Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer who made the relationship between poetry, voice and piano central to his music. He also wrote symphonies, chamber works and piano pieces during a life of only 31 years.
Early life
A teacher’s household
Grew up in Vienna with early music lessons from family members.
Choir and composition
Sang as a court chapel chorister and studied with Antonio Salieri.
Career
- 1814–1816
Schoolteacher and composer
Worked at his father’s school while producing a remarkable quantity of music.
- Late 1810s
Independent musician
Relied on friends, teaching and publication rather than a permanent court post.
- 1820s
Vienna composer
Developed song cycles and increasingly ambitious instrumental works.
- 1828
Public concert
Presented a successful concert devoted to his own music shortly before his death.
Selected work
Erlkönig
Voice and piano dramatise a father’s desperate ride with his child.
Unfinished Symphony
Two completed movements form one of his best-known orchestral works.
Winterreise
A song cycle following an isolated winter traveller.
Beyond work
Circle of friends
Friends gathered for informal evenings of his music, later known as Schubertiads.
Posthumous discovery
Many larger works reached wider audiences only after his death.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: Wilhelm August Rieder. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
