How Did Schubert Write 600 Songs Before Dying at 31? Vienna's Shy Genius of Song

Franz Schubert (1797–1828) wrote more than 600 songs, along with symphonies, chamber music, piano sonatas and operas, in a life that lasted only 31 years. He managed it by composing almost constantly from his teens onward, often for and among a close circle of friends rather than for a big public. In his lifetime he gave just one public concert of his own works, and much of his music was discovered only after his death. Today he is seen as the bridge between Beethoven's Classical world and the Romantic era, and as the master of the German art song, the Lied.

A schoolmaster's son in Vienna

Schubert was born on 31 January 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund, a suburb of Vienna. His father, Franz Theodor, ran a school, and the family was large: of fourteen children, only five survived to adulthood. Music was part of home life. Franz learned first from his father, then from his older brother Ignaz on the piano, and then from the local church organist, Michael Holzer.

In 1808 he won a choir scholarship to the Stadtkonvikt, Vienna's imperial seminary school, where he met Joseph von Spaun, who would become one of his closest lifelong friends. From 1812 he also took lessons from Antonio Salieri, the famous court composer, and studied with him until 1817.

The reluctant teacher

After leaving the seminary in 1813, Schubert trained as a teacher and from 1814 worked in his father's school. He was not a happy teacher. His mind was elsewhere, and in these years he poured out music, including many of his early songs. Later, when his father moved to another school, Schubert reluctantly went back to teaching for a while, but music always won.

Erlkönig: a masterpiece at eighteen

The song that made his name was Erlkönig ("The Erl-King"), written in 1815 when he was 18, to a dramatic poem by Goethe. His friend Joseph von Spaun later claimed Schubert wrote it in just a few hours one afternoon.

The song is a small opera for one voice. A single singer must play four characters: a narrator, a worried father, his frightened son and the seductive Erl-King. Meanwhile the piano plays relentless fast triplets that sound like a galloping horse. When Spaun sent Schubert's Goethe settings to the great poet, Goethe returned them without comment. But Vienna loved it. After the baritone Johann Michael Vogl sang it in public in March 1821, the song made Schubert famous in the city, and it was published that year as his Opus 1.

Schubertiads: music among friends

Schubert never held a permanent official post. Instead, he lived among friends, including Spaun, the poet Johann Mayrhofer, the wealthy and charming Franz von Schober, and the singer Vogl, who was about twenty years older. They held evening gatherings where Schubert's new songs and piano pieces were performed. These parties became known as Schubertiads.

The circle also had its tensions with authority. In 1820 Schubert and several friends were arrested and reprimanded by the police; one friend, the poet Johann Senn, was imprisoned and banned from Vienna.

Unfinished symphonies and song cycles

Schubert wrote in nearly every genre. In 1822 he began the Symphony in B minor, now called the "Unfinished" because only two movements were completed. His "Great" C major Symphony was rehearsed by Vienna's music society but never given a public performance in his lifetime.

His greatest achievements, though, may be his song cycles: Die schöne Müllerin (1823), about a young miller in love, and Winterreise (1827), a bleak winter journey of 24 songs. In these collections, the songs tell a story together, and the piano is a full partner rather than an accompanist.

Illness and one public concert

Around 1823 Schubert fell seriously ill; symptoms of syphilis are reported from that year. His health improved and worsened in turns, and he kept composing.

On 26 March 1828 he finally gave a public concert of his own music, the only one of his career. It was a popular and financial success, but it was quickly overshadowed by the arrival in Vienna of the violin superstar Niccolò Paganini.

Death at 31

Schubert died on 19 November 1828 in his brother Ferdinand's apartment in Vienna, aged 31. The official cause was typhoid fever, although historians still debate the role of his earlier illness. He was buried near Beethoven, whom he had deeply admired. His friend, the poet Franz Grillparzer, wrote the epitaph: "The art of music here entombed a rich possession, but even far fairer hopes."

A late discovery

Much of Schubert's music stayed unpublished at his death. In the following decades, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Liszt and Brahms championed his works. In 1867 the English writers George Grove and Arthur Sullivan travelled to Vienna and found manuscripts of six symphonies and other works. Little by little, the shy composer who had written for his friends became one of the most loved voices in music.

Learn with Schubert: English phrases about friends and time

Phrase	Meaning	Example
a close-knit group	friends who are very close	Schubert had a close-knit group of friends.
to come into your own	to finally show your true ability	He came into his own as a songwriter.
ahead of your time	having ideas too new for the moment	His music was ahead of its time.
to cut short	to end something early	Illness cut his life short.
a labour of love	work done for pleasure, not money	The Schubertiads were a labour of love.

Try this: Describe a group of friends you have. Write three English sentences using "a close-knit group", "a labour of love" and "to come into your own".