Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) [Austrian. Early Romantic period.]
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Schubert

Things I did NOT know about Schubert before I started looking at him more closely this week...

• He was not a celebrated composer during his lifetime -- none of his symphonies were performed during his lifetime, and they weren't published until decades after his death.
• He died of syphilis when he was quite young -- younger than Mozart -- and was an extremely prolific composer.

Choral Music. Schubert wrote well over a dozen operas, none of which were successful. He also wrote a handful of masses and other short settings of sacred text. His most well-known piece is probably what is now referred to as Ave Maria, though its actual title is Ellens dritter Gesang, and is part of the Songs from Sir Walter Scott song set.

Ave Maria: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsBt9yZDslA
Kyrie from Mass #2 in G major: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5eG0nbIako

One of Schubert's big contributions to classical music was his Lieder, and he wrote an extremely large number of songs over his short lifetime (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_songs_by_Franz_Schubert).

Song Cycles
Die schöne Müllerin (no. 11): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdeoTFiWJY8
Winterreise (no. 1): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLsaSm5iG9o

Chamber Music. Schubert wrote a variety of chamber pieces, including string quartets and trios, piano trios and quintets, an octet, and a piano sonata for a newly-invented instrument called the arpeggione (which is usually performed by a cello, as the arpeggione never really, umm, took off).

String Quintet in C major: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXISfCBz4Tg (unusual in its addition of a second cello as the fifth instrument, rather than a second viola)
Arpeggione Sonata: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh1PuFo-c_M
Piano Quintet (Trout): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxUr9XFpqQM (just a snippet!)

Piano Music. There's really so much out there... I just chose one piece from a sonata I like, and the second I chose pretty randomly...

Sonata in B flat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ok9tofNmqNY
Sonata in A minor: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-1j7QxZ6Fc


Orchestral Music. Schubert wrote nine symphonies, and his Unfinished Symphony (usually numbered 8, oddly) is one of his more well-known pieces as well... His ninth symphony, though (the Great Symphony) is amazing, and worth checking out.

Ninth Symphony (the Great): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoxdUStCfeo