On November 19, 1827, prominent Austrian composer Franz Schubert passed away and was buried near Beethoven’s tomb.
Schubert is considered one of the world’s musician geniuses.
Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in Vienna. The son of a parish schoolmaster, he became a choirboy in the Imperial Chapel in 1808 and began studies at the Konvict, the school for court singers. He played violin in the school orchestra.
Schubert, who was a teacher at the school for a short time, was always making songs and made himself a team composed of a poet, a singer and two musicians.
He was very fond of Beethoven and in his will he asked to be buried near him. Schubert was unknown in his short lifetime, and it was only after his death that his music was noticed around the world. His masterpieces, including his symphonies, were found in his house and cellar after his death.
Schubert’s instrumental works show development over a long period of time, but some of his greatest songs were composed before he was 20 years old. In Schubert’s songs the literary and musical elements are perfectly balanced, composed on the same intellectual and emotional level. Although Schubert composed strophic songs throughout his career, he did not follow set patterns but exploited bold and free forms when the text demanded it. His reputation as the father of German lieder (“art songs”) rests on a body of more than 600 songs.