Franz Schubert

The incomparable Franz Schubert died of typhus on 19 November 1828 at the age of 31 in the city of Vienna, where he was born on 31 January 1797 and was a chorister and pupil of Salieri. His prodigious output was a gift to this world from the son of a lowly schoolmaster who gave him some musical tuition. Schubert fashioned a new art form from the Lied, revealing its potential, and his creative gifts induced a flood of music, much of it never heard by the composer. In general he was not an innovator, but adapted classical forms and language, adding a new emotional dimension. For such a brief life, the quantity and quality of his work is incredible. Thankfully, we are the beneficiaries, especially now that virtually everything of value by Schubert is to be found on record.