Oscar Bie - Schubert the Man

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LIBRARY OFWELLESLEY COLLEGE

PRESENTED BYBrandeis University Library


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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2012 with funding from

Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

http://archive.org/details/schubertmanOObieo


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SCHUBERT, THE MAN


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;B==a&==3E=^S=^&==3$===3E==^==^^OSCAR BIE

SCHUBERTTHE MAN

Translated from the German byJEAN STARR UNTERMEYER

ILLUSTRATEDDODD, MEAD & COMPANY

NEW YORK MCMXXIX

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Copyright, 1928By DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, Ino.

Published November 1928Second printing January 192J>

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICABY THE VAIL-BALLOU PRESS, INC., BINGHAMTON, N. Y.


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTThe publishers are indebted to the Musical Cou-rier for its courtesy in granting permission to usethe illustrations which appear in this volume.


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TRANSLATOR'S NOTEFor invaluable aid in completing the latter

half of this book, the translator is indebtedto Judith Heller-Bernays of Vienna.

J. S. U.


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FOREWORDThe international character of the Schubert

Centenary makes it opportune to present thisbiographical work by Oscar Bie, translated intoEnglish. Intrinsically the book is an admirablestudy of Schubert the man, combining sympathywith scholarship. It possesses additional weight asthe Centennial biography, since it fills the long-feltwant for a non-technical study, competent on themusical side and in scope wide enough to meritthe interest and appreciation of the layman.Mr. Bie's literary distinction and musical knowl-

edge have been amply demonstrated in his bookson the opera, the dance, and the history of musicthe majority of which have been translated intoEnglish.

I believe this book will have lasting value, yet Iwould not underestimate its immediate and far-reaching application as the Centennial biography,approved by the International Advisory Body.The Schubert Centenary is a tribute not limitedto any class or group. Especially in America hasthe commemoration taken a civic and educationalscope, in which musical and art societies are sup-plemented by community forces comprising theschools, the churches, and Industry.


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FOREWORDThe Centennial biography will, no doubt, ad-

vance a just appraisal of Schubert the man and hisworks. To commend it to English-speaking read-ers is, I believe, to render a service.

Louis SterlingChairman, Committee on

International RelationsSchubert Centenary


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INTRODUCTIONThe celebration of the Schubert Centennial in

America is being carried out with broad thorough-ness and purposeful vision. One of its fruits is thisbiography, which aims at being both a character-istic study of the man and a treatise on the musicof one of the greatest, most appealing, and mostbeloved of composers.On behalf of the Schubert Centennial Com-mittee, I take pleasure in commending this bookto American readers.

Otto H. KahnChairman, Advisory BodySchubert Centennial


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CONTENTSPAGE

His Life iPiano Music 40Songs 80Chamber Music 123Symphonies 154The Rest 176


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ILLUSTRATIONSFranz Schubert. (From the oil painting by Wilhelm

August Rieder) FrontispieceFACIKQPAOB

Franz Schubert's father. (From an unsigned paint-ing in the Schubert Museum) 8

Front view and courtyard of Schubert's birthplace 9Room in which the composer probably was born . 1Room in the Schubert Museum with the composer'spiano 18

Schubert at the age of sixteen 19Lichtenthal, a suburb of Vienna where Schubert

grew up 26Ferdinand, Schubert's oldest brother . . ,. ,. 27Antonio Salieri, Schubert's music teacher . . . 27Schubert's stepbrothers, Andreas and Anton . 36Silhouette of Schubert ini8i7 36Municipal hospital, church and Karntnertor Thea-

ter, which Schubert as a boy visited frequently 37Courtyard view of the school house in Saulengasse 3 46The inn "Zur Ungarischen Krone" where the

"Schubertianer" held meetings . ... 46Excursion of the "Schubertianer" 47Atzenbrugg mansion, where Schubert and hisfriends spent many happy hours . . . . 58

Frolic on the Atzenbrugg grounds 59Inn "Zum Roten Igel," headquarters of the Societyof the Friends of Music 70

Schubert's guitar 70


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ILLUSTRATIONSFACINGPAGE

Pencil sketch of Schubert, by Kupelwieser, 1821 . 71A game of Charades. (Water color by Kupelwieser,1821) 82Esterhazy mansion in Zelesz, Hungary . . . 83Michael Vogl. (Lithograph by Kriehuber, 1830) 83Michael Vogl and Franz Schubert go out to con-

quer. (Pencil sketch by Franz von Schober) . 94Moritz von Schwind 94The market place in Steyr 95Schubert, Lachner, Schwind and Vogl, serenading anewly built house. (Pen and ink sketch by

Moritz von Schwind, 1862) 108An evening in Grinzing; Schubert, Lachner, andBauernfeld enjoying a bottle of wine. (Pen andink sketch by von Schwind, 1862) . 109

Tavern "Gottweigerhof," where Schubert lived in1823 118

Johann Jenger, Anselm Huettenbrenner and Schu-bert. (Colored drawing by Teltscher, about1827) 119

Schubert evening at the home of Josef von Spaun.(Sketch in oil by Moritz von Schwind, 1868) 130

Schubert. (Lithograph by Josef Teltscher, 1826) . 131Inn "Zum Goldenen Rebhuhn" 142The Karlskirche (church) with the Technical High

School (to the right) and Fruhwirth mansion(to the left.) The buildings front on the RiverWien 142

Schubert. (Oil painting by Joseph Mahler, about1827) . . .143

Schubert. (Pencil sketch on plaster of Paris, byMoritz von Schwind, 1870) . . ; . . .158

Cxvi]


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ILLUSTRATIONSFACINGPAGE

Program of Schubert's concert (1828) in the Soci-ety of the Friends of Music 159

House in which Schubert died, Kettenbruckengasse,Vienna 170

Death masks of Schubert 171Manuscript of the Andante from Schubert's Piano

Sonata, E Flat Major, Op. 122 188Beethoven's "Ich Liebe Dich" on the reverse side of

Schubert's manuscript . . ,., . t.. . .189

J>vii]


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SCHUBERT, THE MAN


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HIS LIFEThat face! At first it has the look of a school-master, glancing through his spectacles withfriendly eyes. But it is clear that this is the face ofone who has mastered his craft. He died so youngat thirty-one, when many are just beginningandso few of his compositions appeared during hislife that the printing of his collected works cov-ered a period longer than his whole earthly exist-ence. Whom the gods love, die young. But whyshould I quote that? If he had lived, he would haveprojected the distinction of his youth into a stillriper manhoodinto an indescribably fruitful fu-tureand would have become the first and fore-most of all.

It is the face of a teacher, but not of a strictone. The hair curls about the brow. No, this is nopedagogue; this is an artist, a true musician, cer-tainly, if not a virtuoso. The gaze is modest; it be-tokens a man of the people, one who can work andplay man to man, one who can casually create beau-tiful things. The mouth is slightly sensual, with alook of friendly expectancy, a hint of gaiety. Thelips smile; they seem ready to tell stories, new andendless stories or the old stories with new varia-CO


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SCHUBERT, THE MANtions, never tiring in their Viennese Gemiitlich-keit. 1 There is nothing commanding, scheming,nothing pressing, nothing problematical. All flowsnaturally from heart to heart, the sense of itscarcely touching the encompassing world. Loveencircles you, and will bring mankind to you for athousand years, over a space so great that yourdreams could never have imagined it. From thethin and meagre soil of an uneventful life thereblossoms a strength that will endure.Dance and song are the sources of your power:

the lightly swinging melody, the gentle harmony,the cradling rhythm. There are no convulsions, nosudden descent or soaring between dramatic con-trasts. The listener to your music moves in a land-scape full of sun and fragrance, a landscape ofspring, on a day when music is first being created,when man is still at one with himself, grateful forhis surroundings, without mutiny or passion. Thepowers themselves have not been differentiated. Itis a world of youth and faith, but also a world ofage and escape; for it is the privilege of age that itcan regain an almost untroubled country.The delicate sensuousness, the lyric playfulness(that only in the later works bears certain witness

1 Literally translated this word means: "easy sociability." But all sug-gestion of charm is lost by this exactitude. Gemutlichkeit is such anintegrated part of the language that it loses, if not its life, at least itscharacter by translation. M


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HIS LIFEof the Daemonic) flow easily and quietly. He plays,composes, improvises indefatigably. He's at hismanuscripts night and day. He stretches the samethemes wider and wider. There is no end to thecontinuity and broadening.And yet the length is never clumsy or unnatural,

for it is the very breath of a musical spirit that isborn for the varied and voluble expression ofideas. This spirit, never suffering confusion, opensthe sluices of its stone-stream, looses the flood,swinging, plashing, overleaping itself. It is asthough the heart were happily opened and theblood poured itself out unrestrained, unhinderedby scholarship or rules.And how amazing! This creator, who did not

need to restrain himself from the flood of histhoughts, his fancies, his forms; who dared to al-low himself playfulness for its own sake; he, asif from a very superfluity of the long line, was thefirst to understand how to set the short phrases. Hewas the discoverer in music of the short lyric,which, in a few lines and turns of a phrase, catchesand contains a mood. Are these impromptus hisessence? Are they the source of his creativeness?Are the longer pieces only the joining together ofsuch short and unconnected thoughts? It may be.In this way we come nearer him. Tradition andscholarship lay in his pen; structure and variation


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SCHUBERT, THE MANbelonged to the style of His time; but the quietlimpid character of a locked mood, the pastoral inmusic, that was his genius, his discovery, his fruit-fulness, and his gratitude to nature. From thisstandpoint all is clear; speculations draw towardsthis central point, and all conclusions proceed fromthis discovery.

Let us examine his different genres. There is nonethat is foreign to him, but there are certain onesthat are native. Piano-music, song, and the smallorchestra are his province. A little symphonic mu-sic might be added, and a fragment of opera. Butthe last is not his particular characteristic. His artis intimate. Where Beethoven, at the same period,projected works in large dimensions away fromtheir center, Schubert condensed everything, froma smaller circle, and drew it into himself. Bach,also, in his own way, was intimate, but one mightsay that Bach's intimacy was in the nature ofmetaphysical service; Schubert's was a privatething, responsible only to himself.

There is little to tell of his life, which is thin inincident compared with his rich and exuberant tal-ents. Everything went inward. The biographermust devote himself quietly to Schubert's art,which surpasses any drama of his life, and findscompletion in its own contemplation. If it wasnot recognized sufficiently then, it is recognized toM


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HIS LIFEthe full now, since it has become a part of our-selves.

All romantic streams of music flow from thissource. The best German essentials lie rooted inthis landscape. Noise is silenced, struggle is stilled,problems sleep; here blooms a new, unsuspected,and unmeasured tenderness, the gentle love ofmusic.He was a teacher's son and a teacher. He wasborn on January 31, 1797, in Lichtenthal near

Vienna, where his father taught. His father andhis brothers were musical, and he grew up in apropitious atmosphere. From his father he learnedto play the violin, from his brother the piano; andthen he was given over to Herr Holzer, the choraldirector of the Lichtenthal district church, withwhom he learned theory and organ-playing andcultivated a good soprano voice. At that time ageneral musical training was as usual as it is nowunusual. He learned quickly and easily and soonoutstripped his teachers. Then the great event oc-curred. He was admitted into the Guild of theCourt Singers, which necessitated visits to the Con-vent and Gymnasium and gave him the oppor-tunity to take part in a small orchestra formed bythe pupils. When he was about thirteen years oldthe impulse to compose awoke powerfully. Hisfather at first opposed it, as has been the case with


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SCHUBERT, THE MANmost fathers of geniuses. But young Franz let noth-ing disturb him, procured music-paper whereverpossible, and when he had none ruled himself someon any white sheet, and wrote and wrote andwrote. This made his father angry. Then Franzstudied with Salieri, after the musical director ofthe convent had become devilishly watchful ofhim. What could the good Salieri teach him? Hewas a courtier, musically very modest, not evenripe for Mozart and Beethoven, an intrigant, oftenagainst his own pupils.At this time, in November 1812, Franz wrote

to his brother Ferdinand: "Out at once with whatlies on my heart. And so I'll come sooner to mygoal and you'll not be detained by nice digressions.For a long time I've considered my condition, and,taken all in all, found it good; but here and thereit could be bettered. You know from experiencethat a man would often like to eat a roll and acouple of apples, especially when, after a poor din-ner, he can look forward to eight and a half emptyhours, followed by a poor supper. This often verypressing wish recurs increasingly and, nolens vo-lens, I must at last make a change. The few penniesthat I get from Father go to the devil in the firstfew days. What shall I do the rest of the time?Frankly, I'm not ashamed to call on you. (MatthewChap. 1 1-4.) So I thought: How would it be if youM


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HIS LIFEwould send me a couple of Kreutzer every month?You'd hardly notice it, while I would feel happyin my cell and would be contented. As I said, Isupported myself with the words of the ApostleMatthew who said: {He who has two coats, let himgive one to the poor.' With which I hope you willagree and respond to your loving, poverty-stricken,hopeful, and once more indigent brotherFranz."

His father considered it all and became amiableagain. People assured him that Franz was some-thing out of the ordinary. Family quartettes wereplayed at home, which helped the boy greatly. Hisfriend Spaun took him to the opera. He saw therefor the first time the singer Michael Vogl, who wasto become his good fortune. Gluck's Iphigenia inTauris delighted him the most. Anna Milder sangit. He sat with Spaun and Theodor Korner in therestaurant "Blumenstockl" (The Flower Pot)and the three celebrated their enthusiasm forGluck in such a way that they were almost drawninto a quarrel with a University professor whoseintelligence was not satisfied by Gluck.What next? The fourteen-year-old militaryservice threatened. One is free from this serviceonly if one is a teacher. His father said"Howwould it be, Franz, if you became a teacher, likemyself?" Franz considered: "Then I'd be free ofthe conventthis prisonand could surely fol-

OH


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SCHUBERT, THE MANlow my leaning." Therefore he studied pedagogyand at seventeen passed his examinations as com-ing assistant. He received his diploma. In mostsubjects he was good; average in the chief studies,the elements of pedagogy and Latin writing, lessgood in theoretical theology and in mathematics,and quite poor in practical religion. At that timea distinction was made between theoretical andpractical knowledge, but not between officials andmen. One who had a real understanding of menwas the poet Johann Mayrhofer, ten years olderthan Schubert, a book-censor who had been giventhe office against his wish. "My friendship withSchubert," he relates, "was begun by a friend ofmy youth, who gave Schubert a poem of mine,'Am See/ to set to music. In company with thisfriend, Schubert entered the room which five yearslater we were to share together. It was in a gloomystreet. The building, inside and out, had felt theweight of time; the roof was sunken, the light cutoff by a large building opposite. A played-outpiano, a small bookshelfsuch was the room inwhich hours were passed that will never leave mymemory." He lived in Schubert's songs and car-ried them as possessions during all his days. Afriendly circle was created.

Schubert's life has been written in many booksmost extensively in the biography of Walter


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Franz Schubert's father.From an unsigned painting in the Schubert Museum


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Front view and courtyard of Schubert's birthplace


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HIS LIFEDahms, which appeared in 19 12 and surpassed allearlier works, since it was based on the mass ofauthentic material collected in Vienna with suchindustry by Alois Fellner. I can not invent newfacts and thanks for the old ones must be givento Dahms' book. Nor can the arrangement bemuch altered. Everything is as clear as it is beau-tiful. It is enough for me to share in a loving serv-ice to this good being.

In 1 8 14, Franz became a primary teacher. It iseasy to imagine how that suited him! Still, insteadof being obliged to don the colored coat of themilitia he could often quaff a convivial glass withhis friends and write all the music that occurred tohim. He received a state pension of forty gulden ayear; nevertheless he wrote the "Erlkonig."

Spaun tells of this in his Memoirs: "One after-noon I went with Mayrhofer to visit Schubert, wholived at that time with his father at Himmelpfort-grunde. 1 We found Schubert glowing, reading the'Erlkonig' aloud from a book. He kept walkingto and fro, the book in his hand. Suddenly he satdown, and in an incredibly short time the nobleballad was on paper. As Schubert had no piano weran with it to the Convent, and there, on the sameevening, the 'Erlkonig' was sung and hailed with^The district, picturesquely called "The Gate of Heaven," which no

longer exists under this name.


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SCHUBERT, THE MANenthusiasm. The old court organist, Ruzicka, theriplayed it over without the voice, sympathetically;and attentively, and was deeply moved by the com-position. When one or two wanted to strike outthe often-recurring dissonances, Ruzicka, sound-ing them on the piano, showed how they corre-sponded with the text, how much more beautifulthey were, and how happily they resolved."

In the matter of memoirs, one can never be cer-tain that everything tallies. Still, even though the"Erlkonig" may have been completed earlier thanthis account shows, it marks Schubert's first greatstep towards the heights of art. It signifies his en^try into a larger world, and is a proof of creativepower rather than a proof of erudition.

This brings us to the end of the year 1815. Atthis time Anselm Huttenbrenner joined thefriendly circle which met at Salieri's. At first,Franz distrusted him and thought he would beonly a superficial acquaintance. Then to his sur-prise he found that Huttenbrenner preferred thesame places in his work that he himself thoughtbest. This understanding brought them closer to-gether. At Mozatti's they sang with their host andAszmayer every Thursday, self-harmonized Quar-tettes which Schubert wrote extemporaneously,the casual flowering of old, intimate music!On the feminine side he was less successful. Her


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HIS LIFE ________name was Therese Grob; she had sung the sopranosolo in his first Mass; pockmarks were her jewelsbut she loved his music beyond everything. Heapproached her parents. He wrote several piecesfor her and her brother. Schubert remarked toHuttenbrenner on a walk, "She isn't pretty, butshe is goodtruly good." She would have ac-cepted him if he had had any situation. But hefound none. He tried several things, but they cameto nothing, and, since the good Therese did notwish to wait any longer, she married a baker. Schu-bert wrote in his diary: "Marriage in this time is adreadful thought for a single man. He wavers be-tween melancholy or the coarsest sensuality." Andfrom then on he ceased to concern himself seri-ously with women.

Things were going badly. An amateur orchestragave him some comfort, and a couple of music-lessons eked out his existence, but without hisfriends he would have gone under. First hisfriends tried an appeal to Goethe. As he himselfwas far too modest to turn to the god at Weimar,his friends had him neatly copy out his finestGoethe songs. Spaun packed them up and com-posed the following script to go with them: "Thepoems gathered together in the present notebookwere set to music by a nineteen-year-old composernamed Franz Schubert, to whom nature has givenDO


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SCHUBERT, THE MANa decided ability for composition since his tender-est childhood. Salieri, the Nestor of musicians, withan unselfish love for art, has brought this talent tofruition. The general approval which these songs,as well as other finished works, have won for theyoung artist from the severest judges in the art,* aswell as from those not connoisseurs, from men aswell as from women, together with the generalwish of his friends, at last moves the modest youthto open his musical career by publishing a part ofhis compositions. In humility, the young artisthopes he may dare dedicate this collection to yourExcellency, to whose noble poesy he not only as-signs the existence of a great part of them, but alsothanks his development as a German singer. Beingtoo modest to deem his work worthy to bear thegreat honor of the vast riches of the Germantongue, or to carry your highly celebrated nameon his brow, he has not the courage to ask yourExcellency for this great privilege; and Ione ofhis friendshave urged" But I can go no furtherwith this dripping flattery that was well-meantbut missed its mark. His Excellency answered nota word. In 1822, Max Lowenthal visited Goetheand talked to him about Schubert. Goethe knewnothing of him. At a much later date, Schroder-Devrient sang the "Erlkonig" for Goethe. He be-lieved he had heard the song before when it


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HIS LIFEexpressed nothing to him. "So rendered (he ad-mitted) the whole now formed a clear picture."The second attempt was with the publishers.

Spaun wrote to Breitkopf and Hartel and sent the"Erlkonig"as a trial. The publisher suspected ahoax through the misuse of the name of a Dresdencomposer, another Franz Schubert. He sent the"Erlkonig" to the latter and asked for an explana-tion. The other Schubert answered: "I never com-posed the Erlkonig cantata, but I'll seek to find outwho has perpetrated this clumsy fraud, and to dis-cover the culprit who has so misused my name."The real composer, however, received no answer.Help finally came from a singer. This must be

emphasizednot from a great poet, not from agreat publisher, but really, for once, from a greatsinger. Vogl was uncommonly famous and wasknown to be difficult of approach. This time,Friend Schober pulled the trick. He had himselfintroduced to Vogl and went into ecstasies overSchubert. Vogl shook his head. He had enough ofthis eternal music; young people were always be-ing recommended, but nothing ever came of it.When this was reported to Schubert he said: "Idid not expect anything else." But his friend wouldnot give up, and at last Vogl visited Schubert oneevening to see, as he said, what there was to it.Spaun tells it all: "Vogl, very pompous; Schubert,

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SCHUBERT, THE MANsmall and unimposing. He made an awkwardcurtsy and stammered something about the honorof the acquaintance. Vogl wrinkled his nose andfinally said, 'Well, let's see what you've got. Ac-company me.' It was Mayrhofer's 'Augenlied.'Vogl hummed it over and said, somewhat coldly,'not bad.' He tried out a few more songs and saidto Schubert, at his departure, 'There is somethingin you, but you are too little the comedian, toolittle the charlatan. You waste your beautiful ideaswithout making a proper show of them.' However,he could not dismiss the pieces from his mind, butgrew continually fonder of the songs. Unsought,he returned to Schubert, invited Schubert to hishouse and studied with him. Finally, in an intoxica-tion of enthusiasm, it struck him that he wouldbecome Schubert's prophet. A quiet creation cameto the light of day. Schubert wrote in a letter: 'Themanner in which Vogl sings and I accompany, theway we in this moment seem to be one, is some-thing new and unheard of to these people.'At the end of 1817, Schubert took a vacation

from his post as teacher. The danger of militaryservice being over, he wanted to see how far musicalone could take him. In the next year one of hiscompositions was publicly performed for the firsttime. The violinist Jaell arranged a concert in "TheRoman Emperor," in which one of Schubert's


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HIS LIFEovertures was played. We read with satisfaction acontemporary criticism in one of the Viennatheatre papers which reports that Schubert movedand dazed all hearts with happy surprise. With fur-ther satisfaction, we read from his biography thatDr. Sartori, Mayrhofer's senior, for the first timeprinted a song of Schubert's as a supplement to thePicturesque Pocket Edition for Priends of the MoreInteresting Surroundings and Natural ArtisticWonders of the Austrian Monarchy. The title ofthe song was "Erlafsee," and the poem was Mayr-hofer's. Still a third star showed itself. Schubertwas recommended as piano teacher for both daugh-ters of Count Esterhazy. In winter they lived inVienna, in summer on their Hungarian estate,Zelesz. He received two guldens per hour; he wentwith them in summer and listened to the melodiesof the Gypsies; but he wrote to his brother Fer-dinand: "Things aren't going well with youwish I could change places with you, so that youcould once be happy ... as well as things arewith me, healthy though I am, in spite of the goodpeople that are here, still I shall be endlessly gladfor that instant which meansback to Vienna!Yes, beloved Vienna, you shut the dearest and bestin your narrow space, and only seeing you againcan still this longing."

Gradually shadows lowered; he was treated as a


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SCHUBERT, THE MANhireling and placed outside the company. Perhapsthe Countess was the only one who had an interestfor the reality of art. He lived at the lodge. Nearby, forty geese gabbled so that one could not hearone's own words; besides which the keeper was"highly musical" and played two dances on thelute. Schubert would like to be friendly with hisson. He prefers the surgeon, a jolly greybeard,seventy-five years old. But he announces in his let-ters that the cook, the ladies' maid, the chamber-maid, the nurse, the doorman and two stable mas-ters are his daily associates. How he suffered underthis bigotry! He said "bigoted as an old harlot,dumb as a brass donkey, obstinate as a buffalo. Itis a pleasure to hear the priest shout from the pul-pit, 'hussies,' 'dogs,' etc. He places a skull on thepulpit and says: 'Here stands your pockmarkedmug. This is the way you will look one of thesedays/ "He came back to Vienna and gave instruction

at the Esterhazys', for the time being, only in win-ter. School? No, that did not exist any longer.Never again would it exist for him. His fatherwas very angry. Bohemianism bloomed. Now heroomed with Schober, now with Mayrhofer. Mo-ritz von Schwind, gay, friendly, talkative, ro-mantic as Schubert himself, entered the friendly


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HIS LIFEcircle. If any one came to him during the day, herelates, Schubert only said: "God greet you. How-are you?" and kept writing; whereupon the visitordisappeared. Evenings they foregathered at the"Hungarian Crown," and relished the labors of theday. The manuscripts lay everywhere, and no onetroubled about them. Schubert sang them to hisfriends; they took the notebooks along with themand did not return them. Joseph Hiittenbrenner,Anselm's brother, obliging servitor to Schubert'sgenius, gathered them together and arranged themcarefully in a drawer; but then the place got intoan untidy state again, and Schubert affirmed it wasnot such a bad state, as there were only a fewsongs that really pleased him.

Seldom did diversion beckon him away fromVienna. This summer he took his first journey withVogl, who asked him to go along. They paddledabout in Upper Austria. The "Forellen" (Trout)Quintette was written. Good modest Schubert!"When anyone wrote to ask him for a composition,he answered: "Since I do not possess anything forfull orchestra that I could send into the world withan easy conscience, and since there exist so manypieces by great masters (for instance Beethoven'sOvertures to Prometheus, Coriolanus, Egmont, andso forth), I must cordially beg your forgiveness


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SCHUBERT, THE MANthat I am not able to serve you at this moment, asit would be a detriment for me to appear withsomething mediocre."Nevertheless he experimented with music for afarce. Vogl recommended his "Zwillingsbriider"(Twin Brothers) to the theatre next to the Karnt-nerthor, and himself sang the chief part. AnselmHiittenbrenner relates that it was a great success.Schubert was stormily called for, but did not ap-pear because his coat was in too bad a condition.Anselm took off his own swallow-tails and pressedSchubert to put it on. But it was useless. The man-ager came forward and announced that Schubertwas not present, and Schubert, hearing this, smiled.In the same year he appeared at the Theater-an-der-Wien with his second work, "Die Zauberharfe"(The Magic Harp). He should have received arecompense of five-hundred gulden, but the man-ager went bankrupt.

Leopold Sonnleithner then became his "angel/*and brought him to Frohlichs. Four daughters,Katharina, Anna, Barbara, and Josepha, comprisedthe household. Sonnleithner, a cousin of Grill-parzer, brought them songs from a young man,reported to be very good. Kathi sat down and triedthem. An official, whose avocation was singing,shouted: "That is something quite extraordinary.Let's have a look." He sang the songs, and Schu-


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Room in which the composer probably was born

Room in the Schubert Museum with the composer's piano


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s^^^^^^^S

Schubert at the age of sixteen


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HIS LIFEbert himself followed close after. That was a mu-sical house. Kathi was the beloved of Grillparzer,who said of her "she gets drunk on music." Howcharming it must have been there. We still havepictures of the sisters. They do all honor to theirname. Kathi said of Schubert, "He was a noble soul,never envious or jealous; and whenever he heardanything beautiful in music he laid his hands to-gether over his mouth and sat there quite ecstatic."When he had composed something new, he cameto the girls, seated himself on the sofa and saidhappily: "Today I have made something that Ireally believe has succeeded."To understand Schubert fully, a person must feel

about him this Viennese air, this friendliness andgaiety that bloomed luxuriously from the soil of anintricately interwoven officialdom. Inspiration doesnot proceed from the great world into the narrowcity. It steps softly from the quiet heart, from therepressed emotion, to accustom the world to itself,to charm it, and to give itself to the worldto alterits very spirit.In 1 82 1, the friendly circle loosened. Schubertseparated himself from Mayrhofer. They musthave quarrelled fearfully. Mayrhofer was oftenirascible and finally unbearable. He went rapidlydownhill. He is said to have sought death unsuc-cessfully in the Danube. Then, in 1836, he threw

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SCHUBERT, THE MANhimself from his office window and was killed.Bauernfeld, when he heard of it, remarked"Asacrifice to the Austrian temperament." Hiitten-brenner and Spaun moved away, and that meantmore to Schubert than it seems when it is relatedtoday. He lived only in this friendly exchange. Intheir stead, Kupelwieser and Schwind, poor paint-ers, came close to him. There were several publicperformances of his works. The "Erlkonig" wassung, in an opera house concert, with telling effect,by Vogl. "Das Dorfchen" (The Village) and "DerGesang der Geister iiber dem Wasser" (The Songof the Spirits over the Water) were also given.The "Erlkonig" had to be repeated. Huttenbrenneraccompanied Vogl, and Schubert, who was just aswell able to play the accompaniment, turned thepages. But there were not many such concerts andsoon they ceased altogether. Leopold Sonnleithnerhad provided the one in the opera for him. Sonn-leithner's uncle Joseph had helped found the So-ciety of Noble Ladies for the Promotion of theGood and Useful, and this Society arranged theconcert. Joseph's brother, Ignaz, Court-Agent,Notary, Writer, Professor of the Laws of Ex-change, and a splendid bass, occupied a wonderfulapartment on the Bauernmarkt, where he couldassemble a hundred and twenty people. There wasalways a concert on Friday evenings, and theseon


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HIS LIFEconcerts became so crowded that finally entrancecards had to be given out. Leopold, the son ofIgnaz, was the first real Schubert fanatic. He madea collection of copies of Schubert's songs. From1 8 19 on, Schubert frequented the Sonnleithnerhouse and was always encouraged. Finally, Leopoldhad a brilliant idea. The publishers had always laidthe Schubertian songs aside because the accompani-ment was so difficult, and the composer too littleknown. Now matters should be changed. FatherIgnaz, with a small syndicate, should advance theprinting expenses of the first collection ; a publishershould take over the labor; the second collectionshould be brought out from the proceeds of thefirst, and so on, ad lib. It succeeded. The firstbooks were dedicated to 'persons of high standing,and they responded with an honorarium. Withevery edition, appeared new advertising, whichstimulated the sales. "Because of constant demand,the publishers are compelled to bring out these twovolumes and present them to the friends of GermanSong. The choice of poems already denotes the in-genious temper of the composer, but the way hegrasps the poetic masterpieces and expresses themmusically uncovers the extraordinary genius of theyoung artist." One copy was dedicated to the poetLadislaus Pryker, the Patriarch of Venice. He re-plied: "Highly-honoured SirYour kind an-em


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SCHUBERT, THE MANnouncement that you have dedicated the fourthvolume of your incomparable songs to me givesme the greater pleasure since it will remind me themore often of that evening when I was so grippedby the deep expressions of your spiritparticularlyby the tones of your 'Wanderer.' I am proud tobelong with you to one and the same fatherland,and sign myself, with the greatest respect, Yourssincerely, L. Pryker-Patriarch." And, at this, hisfather ceased to be angry.He tried everything. He worked with Schoberon an opera, "Alfonso and Estrella." He was givenhope that it might be performed in Vienna. AlsoDresden was suggested, where Weber might in-terest himself. But, as usual, it came to nothing.This work was first performed by Liszt in Weimarin 1854. Today it's quite dead. Joseph Hiitten-brenner literally tore himself apart for Schubertin a business way, but all in vain. What more canbe told of him at this time? He wrote the B Minorsymphony, from which he heard just as little asfrom any other of his symphonies. And he wrotethe "Wanderer-Phantasie" for the piano, whichproved somewhat difficult to play, even for him-self. He tried to approach Beethoven. He dedicatedto The Great Man, as his "votary and admirer,"the Eight Variations on a French Theme, for fourhands, that were published as Opus 10. He took

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HIS LIFEa copy in his hand and went to Beethoven. Whata decision that must have been! But he had notannounced himself; the Master was not there, andso he left the copy behind with a servant. It is cer-tain that Beethoven found the Variations verygood, and played them often with his nephew Karl.But the result was nil.

Joseph Hiittenbrenner had also turned to thePublisher, Peters. He wanted to see if there wasnot a more general interest in Schubert. Then theanswer from Peters was received. In an evasivefashion he said he was so occupied with Spohr,Rombert and Hummel that he had little time leftfor young authors. Nevertheless, Schubert had avery decent income from his Viennese publishers.Altogether, up to this time, it was two thousandgulden, to which the "Erlkonig" had contributedthe most. Sonnleithner's plan, that had been socleverly thought out, ran along very successfully.But no one had reckoned with Schubert's ownbusiness ignorance. One day his publisher said tohim: "Why do you want to keep on reckoningwith an uncertain income? Sell me the plates andthe rights for eight hundred Gulden and then youwill know what you have." And Schubert agreedthereby threatening his whole existence. Howcould any one help him? He had so many friendsand consulted none of them. He could have lived

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SCHUBERT, THE MANcomfortably; He could have demanded greaterhonorariums. Now that was a thing of the past.Then he became ill and he lost his hair. Doctors

may decide what was the cause of his illness and hisearly death. He had sometimes lived rather loosely.Who knows what may have resulted? The failureof the opera was real to him. Also the misfortunewith his friends was real. Schober even became anactor. A great deal was torn asunder. Poor Schu-bert often had to scratch for himself somethingbesides notes. He wrote poems, in the characteris-tic taste of the time. He wrote a sort of parable ofhis life "Mein Traum" (My Dream) , baroque andpompous. He also wrote a Diary. In March 1824,we find this entry: "No one understands the painof another, no one another's joy. Men hope to bebrought together, close to each other, but theytravel in parallels, away from each other. O miseryfor him who understands this! What I have pro-duced in music exists because of my understandingand my pain. Those compositions which pain aloneproduced seem to please the world most." Shortlyafter he wrote, "O fantasy! highest treasure ofmankind, you inexhaustible Source from whichartists as well as sages drink, remain with us, evenif recognized and honored by few, in order to saveus from so-called enlightenment, that hateful skele-


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^ HIS LIFEton witKout flesh and blood!" Gloomy is thisMarch, 1824. He wrote to Kupelwieser in Rome:"At last I can again pour out my soul to someone.You are so good and trustworthy. You will surelyexcuse me for things others would take in badpart. In a word, I feel myself the unhappiest, mostmiserable being on the earth. Consider a personwhose health will never be right, and who, fromhis desperation over this fact, makes it worse in-stead of better. Think of a man, I say, whose shin-ing hopes have come to nothing; to whom thefortune of love and friendship oflfers nothing butpain; from whom the inspiration of the beautiful,at least creatively, threatens to disappearand askyourself if such a one is not a miserable, unhappybeing? 'My peace is gonemy heart is heavyshall never find it again'so I could say every daysince every night that I go to sleep I hope never-more to awake; and each morning yesterday's sor-row greets me anew. So, joyless and friendless, Ipass my days; and if Schwind did not visit me oc-casionally and bring me a beam from those sweetdays that have passed . . ."

It is the epoch of the "Muller Lieder" (Miller'sSongs). He dedicated them to the splendid tenorKarl von Schonstein, whom he had met at Ester-hazy's, and who had become his new prophet,


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SCHUBERT, THE MANquicker and more sincere than Vogl. He went onceagain, with Schonstein, to pass the summer atZelesz. The young Countess Karoline became some-what more friendly, but the relationship alwaysremained rather superficial. His mood was notimproved. "How should we," he wrote, "begin tobe happy; as unhappiness is the only charm that isleft to us?" Each of his friends was in anothercorner of the world. How he yearned towards theformer days when they were all confidentially to-gether and each revealed the children of his art tothe other, with parental shyness. Do we discernthis nostalgia in the A Minor Quartette? He wrotea great deal for four hands at Zelesz. Duets areSchubert's simultaneous expression of the intimateand the social, and became an original art in hishands.He lived with Bauernfeld a sort of communal

existence. Lanner came closer: The "Waltz com-munity" comes to mind. Franz Lachner, who hadreceived the position of organist at the ProtestantChurch, joined them. As long as they sat theretogether, Schubert, Schwind and Lachner, theymust have been in their element. But is it not un-important to repeat this again and again? OnceLachner met Schubert and Lanner. Lanner hadnever known Lachner personally. Schubert intro-duced him. "Yes, yes, all Franzes have something


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HIS LIFEto them." * It is not in the nature of a biographyto write thus; but, generally speaking, there canbe no biography of Schubert's life, in which theouter events were so sparse. About this time Milderwrote to him to ask if he could give her an operafor Berlin. He packed up "Alphonse and Estrella"again. After three months it was returned. Shewrote: "If I'm to have the pleasure of appearingin one of your operas, it must be cast for my per-sonality; for example the role of a queen, a mother,or a peasant. To this end I would advise you tocreate something newsayan oriental plot inwhich I would be the central figure. This youwould do well, as far as I can observe from Goethe's'Divan' (Suleika). You could be sure of three peo-ple and the chorus for a good presentation herenamely, a soprano, a tenor and a bass. Should youfind such material, I beg you advise me of it so thatwe can come to terms. At which time I'll use allmeans to get it produced." Schubert did not allowhimself to be dictated to; he simply ignored thewhole matter.The journeys must have been very pleasant. As

a rule Vogl took him along, even once to Gastein,where Vogl went because of his gout. At GasteinSchubert wrote a symphony that was mislaid in

1 Bie implies that this sentence may hide a punwhich is untrans-latable.


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SCHUBERT, THE MANVienna and lias never been found. He went aboutas a guest, played here and there, and wrote charm-ing letters about Salzburg. The piano sonatas showthis epoch of his creativeness. Honorariumssome-what better. Post as Court Organistlaid aside.That is, he resigned it. Better be independent. "Thestate should support me," he said, "so I may beuntroubled and free to compose." Possibly, he didnot wish to practise and take the examinations.What could that be for him?He tried Goethe again. He dedicated some songs

and sent them to him: "Your Excellency, ifthrough the dedication of these settings of yourpoems I can prove my unbounded veneration ofyour Excellency and at the same time win someattention for my humble work, I shall prize sucha success as the most beautiful experience of mylife. With greatest respect, Your sincere servantFranz Schubert." Goethe made this note: "Mes-sage from Schubart from Vienna concerning mysong-compositions."

So far, I have been faithful to the accuracy ofWalter Dahms. Now I come to a place where hedescribes how, on this very same day, "Mendelssohnsent Goethe his three piano quartettes, and howSchubert suffered in comparison." Schubert, hin-dered by the reticence of the German worker,overthrown by the son of Abraham Mendelssohn,


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HIS LIFEthe Berlin banker! How is it possible to say suchthings? We should not shield Goethe in this in-stance. On the contrary, one ought to take him totask for it, without excuses. That is; the great au-thor should not have utilized this opportunity toapproach Father Abraham in this manner. Howugly it all is!

It is not my desire to write another "book" aboutSchubert, least of all as a musical scholar or ameticulous biographer. I let myself be carried by alight wind through the thorny woods of his life,through the rose-gardens of art, where I communewith his spirit. Did he really live? Do all thesebooks carry more conviction than one of hiswaltzes? The philologicians say: "We can prove hislife." But what is established? I could project an-other life for him, with Karoline von Esterhazy,in Hungarian castles, in the palaces of Vienna,through woods and fields, in radiance and delight,for seventy years; and still it would be far fromthe fact. I am too little the statistician. I have ahorror of reading books in order to borrow biog-raphy from them. And how long did it take forhis myth to descend from the spheres into thelibraries? In the seventies Kreissle von Hellbornfirst tried to collect a few facts. He could neverlearn anything conclusive about the B Minor Sym-phony from the Hiittenbrenners, It was first dis-

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SCHUBERT, THE MANcovered on May i, 1865, by Herbeck, and producedin December. Anselm arranged it for four hands,and guarded it jealously. No one else knew of it,except his brother Joseph. Then for the first timethere appeared the large complete edition, in whichBreitkopf and Hartel atoned for the sins they hadcommitted against Schubert. Much came to lightfor the first time, Mandyczewski wrote his carefulnotesmuch still remains in oblivion. It is almostmythical that such an artist, wandering carelesslyover the earth for a couple of decades, scattered hisworks, now here, now there, so carelessly that hisdisciples have been gathering them slowlyorseeking them vainlyever since. Known to us onlythrough echoes of his contemporaries, this life,which was scarcely lived, is too impalpable to bespread out in a biography! When I see all thesebooks, then the writing of Heuberger, to whomsome hitherto unknown details came by chance,the delightful little book of Klatte, the still in-complete documentary collection of Otto ErichDeutsch, the countless essays in Germany, Franceand England, the general opinion precipitated intoletters for a poor lonely Viennese musician, mylove for his ethereal work mounts far above allwritingsand I cannot read them. Disturbedthough I am at this one place in Dahms' book, Imust confess there was much I never knew till I

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SCHUBERT, THE MANI can recognize Herr Schober in all his elegance,can see the imposing Vogl next to the self-effacingSchubert, and can visualize the way they walkedand talked together. I thank the good Schwindmost of all. With his eternal sketching (principallyin the long account of Lachner's life) he caught thetrue Schubert characteristic and brought us a littlenearer to his essence. Anselm Huttenbrenner'ssharp, sympathetic face remains unforgettable; andthere remains something of the atmosphere inwhich these people arranged their simple, satisfiedand so unpolitical lives. Yes, this lack of politicshow enviably it surrounded Schubert's problem-free music. What a hard time he had, althoughthere is not a trace of it in his work. Beethoventore agony out of himself; but anguish only estab-lished Schubert the more securely in his spiritualisland. Do we know anything of his outward form?Can we guess, in spite of all the pictures, exactlyhow he looked, how he moved, how he spoke? Mustwe stick our noses into books again to experience(through the eyes of a leading veterinary) how itstood with him? Do we know whether this medicoobserved well and noted carefully? He describeshim anatomically: the form small but well-set,strongly developed, firm bones and tight muscles,more rounded than angular. Do you wish to hearmore of what Doctor Eckel says? An intensity that


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HIS LIFEcharmed people with more than any facial expres-sion or outward appearance. What was this ap-pearance? Eckel reports: Neck short and strong;shoulders, breast and back broad and well-arched;arms and thighs rounded ; hands and feet small ; thetread lively and vigorous; the head rather large andcrudely rounded, ringed with brown, luxuriantlygrowing curly hair. The face, in which the browand chin were prominently developed (this hardlytallies with the pictures) , showed features ratherless beautiful than expressive. The mild and, if Iam not mistaken, light-brown eye, which in ex-citement grew fiery, was deeply shadowed becauseof jutting arches and bushy brows; and frequentsquinting (a habit of short-sighted persons) madeit seem smaller than it really was. His nose, medium,stumpy, somewhat retrousse (this cannot be ob-served in the pictures) was bound by a gentlyconcave curve to the full and tight-closing mouthbelow which we see the so-called "beauty-dimple"in his chin. His face was pale but lively as is thecase with all geniuses. A quick play of feature ex-pressed the constant inward excitementsome-times in a deep frown or tightly closed lips, oftenin the soft light of the eye and the smiling mouthforeshadowing the presence of his creative genius.In its entirety, Schubert's form was the classic com-bination of strength and mildness that one associ-


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SCHUBERT, THE MANates with the Olympians. (In such phrases onerecognizes the level and worth of this description.).Even now he is becoming unreal to us. Smiling

compassionately, he looks down upon earth. "Soon,dear writer, your task will be ended," he thinks."Why do you wish to relate so much? Yes, I re-member, two years before my death everything wassad and desolate. All was over with the Esterhazys.My royalties were small. There was no response.Sickness weakened me. Have I not said that thedeepest springs issue from pain? It was the timeof the D Minor Quartette. There was never anyquestion of a public performance. It was playedprivately here and there. And my friends? Theymarried."My application for the position of Court

Kapellmeister? 'Your Majesty! all-bountiful Kai-ser! In deepest reverence the undersigned daresrespectfully to request the granting of the vacantpost of Second Kapellmeister and supports his at-tempt by citing the following reasons: (i) Hewas born in Vienna, the son of a schoolmaster, andis 29 years old; (2) He himself enjoyed your mosthigh protection for five years as one of the CourtSingers in the Imperial Convent; (3) He receivedcomplete instruction in composition from the thenCourt Kapellmeister Anton Salieri, by virtue ofwhich he is fitted to fill any position as Kapell-

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HIS LIFEmeisterwitness the enclosure (recommendationby Salieri) ; (4) His name is favorably known notonly in Vienna, but throughout all Germany, be-cause of his songs and instrumental compositions;(5) He has five masses ready to be played invarious churches in Vienna, completely arrangedfor small and large orchestra; (6) He occupies nopost, and hopes by this means to win security andreach his goal in art. He will never cease strivingto come up to your highest expectations.

" 'Your humblest servant,M 'Franz Schubert" 'Vienna, April 7, 1826/ "

All his efforts were unsuccessful. Equally unsuc-cessful was the appeal to Beethoven. We know thatBeethoven said: "Truly, in Schubert dwells a godlyspark." He said this when Schindler brought hima few songs for an opinion. Perhaps he might haveasked to see some of the operas and symphonies,but death overtook him. Blackness triumphed inthe only moment when Schubert was near. DidSchubert visit him as he lay dying? Did he see himfor the first time only when he was dead? Was thisthe moment, when, for the first and last time, heentered his dwelling? Beethoven was lowered intothe grave in the Wahringer Cemetery. Schubertand his friends foregathered in the Mehlgrube


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Schubert's stepbrothers, Andreas and Anton

Silhouette of Schubert in 1817


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HIS LIFEa few words He excused himself and vanished forgood. Fallersleben summed up the encounter withthis banal remark: "I wish I had never seen him.Then I would not have known how commonplaceand indifferent he was." So that incident is closed.

It is unnecessary to dwell on the rest of his life.Let us not count his visits and invitations, butrather his fatigue and despair. "Die Winterreise"(The Winter Journey) is the deepest expression ofthis gloom. He lived in the irony of the poet Miil-ler. He said: "Soon you will hear and understand.Come today to Schober's and I'll sing you a seriesof shattering songs. They have gripped me as noother songs have done." This was also the periodof the little piano pieces, in which he created theprototype of wordless lyrical expression for theinstrument. Here we see the very lips moving.And now that last year. Poor man! His step-

mother guarded in a stocking the proceeds of thecopy-books that his father sold in the school. Theson visited her Sundays: "Now lady mother, letme look about a bitperhaps you'll find a coupleof twenties in your stocking that you could giveme for a good afternoon." And she gave them.He loafed with Bauernfeld and Schwind. At night-fall they accompanied one another home, they tookturns sleeping at one another's houses. Schwind layin a leather coverlet on the floor. Hats, boots,

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SCHUBERT, THE MANcravats, coatsthey shared them together. Schu-bert received his royaltyand that day they livedluxuriously.As a final experience, there was the one concert

that Schubert gave, on the 26th of March, 1828.Concert? There was a movement from a string-quartette; Vogl sang a couple of songs; JosephineFrohlich sang the "St'andchen," with the femalepupils of the Conservatory; there was a new trio;someone sang "Auf dem Strom" (On the River),by Rellstab, with horn and piano; Vogl sang the* tAllmacht" (The Almighty), and, as a finale,the Battlesong for male voices. Schubert gave theconcert at his own risk. It was crowded and theproceeds were good, nearly eight hundred guldens.Schubert was called out countless times but thecritics killed him with silence. Dare he expect any-thing better? German publishers, for the first time,showed an interest of their own accord, but verylittle came of it. What came, from that little room,were the great C Major pieces, the Symphony, andthe Quintette. Then death looked at him. Mealsstood untouched. He moved from Schober to hisbrother Ferdinand. A requiem composed by Fer-dinand was produced in the district church at Her-nals. This was the last music Schubert heard. Wemay wonder whether it suggested to him his ownapproaching death. Nevertheless, he made his last

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HIS LIFEjourney to the theoretician Simon Sechter. It ispleasant to imagine that Schubert still wanted tolearn theory and arrangementperhaps for hischoruses in heaven. On November 12th, he wroteto Schober: "I am illfor eleven days I have eatennothing and drunk nothing. I wander wearily, andwobble from chair to bed and back again. Sendme reading matter, preferably J. Fenimore Cooper.Leave it in the coffee house with Frau von Bogner.My brother will fetch itor anything else. . . ."November 19th was the end. According to thestory he cried in agony: "It is not Beethoven wholies here!" For this reason he was laid next to Bee-thoven in the Wahringer Cemetery, and later hiscorpse was interred with Beethoven's in the Cen-tral Cemetery.The Court had to dispose of only his earthly

estate. There were three dress-coats, three frockcoats, ten pairs of trousers, nine vests, one hat,five pairs of shoes, two pairs of boots, four shirts,nine kerchiefs, thirteen pairs of socks, one sheet,two bed covers, one mattress, one bolster, one coveraltogether worth 53 guldens. His books, withthe exception of a few old music books, valued at10 guldens, were conspicuous by their absence.As I write this, 1450 gold marks have been paid

at an auction for one of Schubert's letters. Siccrescit gloria mundi.


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PIANO MUSICI come now to the works themselves. I shall notconsider them in chronological order. It is pos-sible, of course, to trace a development from thesimple to the complicated, from the superficial tothe profound, but I prefer to outline his system(the system of his entire work) from the musicalpicture he left us. Fate broke the thread of his lifeand work. To imagine how the latter may have'developed, we need only to examine the elementswhich compose it. I shall not make a comprehensivesurvey; I shall examine only the things which theworld knowsor should know. Let us begin withthe smallest works, the piano pieces, and go on tothose of a more complicated nature. No attemptwill be made to supply erudite notes; I shall merelyexplain and appraise certain favorites and give rea-sons for their appeal.As a first example, let us consider the four Im-

promptus (opus 90), those small pieces introducedinto piano literature by Schubert. Beethoven'sBagatelles mark a preliminary state, being merelyuncompleted sonata movements, sketches of anidea. Here is conscious completion. These smallpieces might easily have been arranged into so~C43


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SCHUBERT, THE MANtheme, which spreads over the keyboard. Havingdescended, in fluttering figures, the theme re-mounts from the bass and rests in a lulling A FlatMajor. The poet returns to the first form of thefolk-tune, decks it richly in triplets, sublimates it,tries it in sixteenths, caresses it with stretchingfingers, draws the theme back into triplets, thenfurther back into fourths, until it dissolves in abreath and ceases to exist.The second Impromptu presents quite another

picture, with its fleeting runs in E Flat Major, itsstaccato middle movement in B Minor, revolvingwith pianistic sensitivity suggestive of Chopin, asSchubert seldom is. His piano pieces, which some-times retain traces of virtuosity, reach their mostindividual expression in cadences, in velvet har-monies and soft refractions, rather than in fortesforced to reveal a sudden impulse.The third piece is wholly an expression of

tenderness. It is said that Schubert conceived it stillmore ethereally in G Flat Major, but finally choseG Major to make it easier for the performer. Asong, sung from the depths of his romantic soul,expands in infinite length and breadth above abroken accompaniment; sometimes against a coun-terpoint of the second theme played in the bass.The piece is the very measure of Schubert's gifts.With indescribable delicacy the fingers draw from

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SCHUBERT, THE MANthe keyboard the breath of the soul itself. Thebreast rises and falls with emotion.The fourth piece has the character of a light

improvisation with a sharp change in the middlepassage. Schubert often chose this traditionalmethod when he wished to create an effect by con-trast instead of by simplicity.The other four Impromptus are, as a whole, in-

ferior. Nevertheless, the legato movement of thesecond (A Flat Major) is unforgettable. One is al-ways freshly surprised at the unexpected profusionof his inventiona pre-Schumann romanticismthat flowers in the "Rosamund" variations. Let usexamine the final movement in the last, the FMinor. The capricious beginning is negated by adull middle section. It is a relief to see that evenSchubert could have his weak movements. Other-wise the perfection of his genius would be almostunbearable.The "Moments Musicals" are six pieces of in-

credible variety. A C Major bursts from the stringslike a trumpet-blast. It is given contour and colorby happy chords. It broadens perceptibly, dimin-ishes to the call of a cuckoo, and finally becomesa figure uniting itself with the theme. Here is thevery play of Romanticism. Then, back to the be-ginning, to the trumpet call; since structure isparamount. A motive in A Flat Major is punctu-


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PIANO MUSICabruptly to C Major, a charming piano device.And once more we return to the hummingand dancingand a light "Thank-you" at theend.The well known "Wanderer" fantasy (Opus

15) is developed from the theme of the immortalsong, especially in the middle movement, where thedark mood is condensed. But the Wanderer Fan-tasy is not gloomy, and the resemblance is onlysuperficial. It is, by the grace of the piano, an in-dividual work. There is, on the whole, not muchmore left of the theme qua theme than the Schu-bertian movement of the hand, so often employedby him in a succession of one quarter and twoeighth notes. It would be false to call this program-music, reflecting the sentiments of the Wanderer:"Joy is always in the place where one doesn't hap-pen to be." Quite the contrary. Joy is here; itexists in pure sensuousness. The theme is detachedfrom the song, translated in sheer tone, reflectingjoy in its unwavering treatment. If it were not forthe accompanying sentiment, one might almost saythat the treatment is artificial. Even if it were ar-tificial, it is pleasant to see Schubert sitting at thepiano, freeing himself from his visions in the moodof the moment, always finding a way back to hisspiritual self, apart from mere sensation. Is it pos-sible to accept a descriptive expanding of a theme


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PIANO MUSICa whirlpool in the bass, a rolling up to the thirty-seconds. The theme mysteriously returns to its line,decorates it above heavy chords, sings itself freeinto C Sharp Major, develops into an intricate CSharp Minor, returns heavily to C Sharp Major,and at last resolves in an ethereal play of sixty-fourths that rush, crying wilder in sevenths, andgive the effect of an almost toneless tremolothedark background on which the silver motive still

WANDERER FANTASY IN C MAJOR, OPUS 1TTSBaaDeterfanfafie OSuCop. 15

glistensand suddenly the Presto seizes us. Themotive exists only as an illusion of a Scherzo. Itdances, springs, masks itself, and suddenly jumpsinto D Flat Major and creates a little song, perhapsDO


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PIANO MUSICtwines itself through the related keys ; the left handtakes it, outlines it, shades it, as if it were an im-provisation of the fingers that do not want to touchthe keys more than is necessary to bring out thesubtlest implication. How the structure rises!What curious syncopation! The measure growsbashful. It draws back. Then it resumes its beat asthe melody describes a new circle, a mystical ten-derness. The mild air moves softly, in an illusion ofsong, whispered from lip to lip. The captivatingmodulations are a hint of communication. It is asthough all schools and traditions were transcendedby his felicity of repetition and decorations, afelicity that scarcely allows one to perceive itsmethod. The melody repeats and varies itself, be-comes richer and fuller, more embracing, andloses itself in a whispered descent.The Scherzo is a joyful madness. Flowery waltz

movements, punctuated with three-fourths notes;the great urge of the dance. The tenderness of thebroadly suspended Schubert harmonies are insertedas middle movements. In the last Rondo, however,there is a playful cadence, not quite unified, as ifone had overtired oneself. Springing figures, on apounding bass, loosely multiplied; when they re-turn, they are interrupted by playful exercises inwinged, fugitive melodies. A hushand they aregone.

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SCHUBERT, THE MANregions in the history of music. They sprang fromthe people. Art had already heard them, but froma distance. One catches glimpses of them, some-what shamefaced, in the old symphonies, in thetrios of Scherzi, but they are hidden; the Viennesewaltz was not yet recognized by the Muse. Schu-bert did not hesitate. The Landler and waltzesdropped like pearls from his fingers. He discoveredthem in quantities and wrote them down in longlines, sometimes helter-skelter, sometimes boundtogether by a mood. What he intuitively discoveredWALTZ FOR THE PIANO, OPUS 9, VOLUME 2, NO. 1

& SftftefSBWffer op. Ttft 2 3*r. 14

became the fashion of his time: the domination ofpure melody. Lanner continued this tradition; sodid the Johann Strausses, father and son; it be-

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PIANO MUSICcame one of the most pleasurable occupations ofthe world. For the first time, music of the dancewas admitted into the temple without reservations.The unbelievable happened. To conduct a mel-

ody over lightly moving harmonies in three-fourths time became not only an act of imagina-tion but also a triumph of craftsmanship. Love ofsong joined the love of the dance. Schubert ex-pressed an endless variety of moods by the simpledevice of developing a natural and fluent melody,based on the most rudimentary musical laws, andproceeding from direct inspiration. These newcreations attain inexhaustible charm and rejuvena-tion by being held in a rhythm that has neverceased to delight. The motive power of this in-vention found expression in maintaining a unityof contrast: melody set against rhythm and har-mony. Schubert exhausted every possibility of thesecharming devices. He perceived and expressed,throughout its entire range, the flowering aestheticof the Viennese waltz.

I have played them a thousand times, writtenabout them almost as many. In the whole field ofmusic, nothing lies so close to me as these dis-tinctive simplicities. They are as fresh as the dayI first discovered them. My tattered copy ofSchubert Dances is a witness to my love. For dec-ades it has stood on the music-rack and has with-


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PIANO MUSICThere are endless changes. "Viennese Ladies

Landler": hesitate on the first beat; dance on thesecond and third; developing, broadening; and theuntiring play of the small figurations goes on intheir masquerade between dainty rococo and sen-timental Biedermeier. "Valses Nobles": grandeurof carriage; large hewn figures; tense chords; theright hand in long-drawn-out six-eighths melodies;octaves, strong fingers, vigorous dance-tunes, rus-tic well-being; and, in between, a light dallying, asof the picking of a guitar, and a soupgon of sad-ness.What did Liszt do? He picked these blossoms,

and with them he decorated his "Soirees deVienne." The flowers died. They had stood in God'sfree air, knowing nothing of the triumphs of avirtuoso. Painted and enamelled, these countryflowers were placed before a public which, in thebrilliance of the concert hall, was supposed to for-get their origin. For God's sake! Keep your handsoff such "adaptations" that betray Nature! Thosewho cannot understand such an art in its puritycannot understand it at all.Hitherto I could entertain myself at the pianoalone. Now the ensemble begins. I lose myself in theSchubert ensemble. The duets demand a coupling.You must join me. Will you take the right or theleft hand?


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SCHUBERT, THE MANWhatever you say.Very well, then, I'll take the right hand, to

keep the lead. Schubert's music is better observedfrom this position. With Beethoven the opposite istrue. Here melody is all. Even the harmony imag-ines itself a melody, a true sign of the Romantic.

FANTAISIE FOR FOUR HANDS, OPUS IO3.12. Fantaisie tiietf)anb\$ op. 103

Allegro molto moderato primo


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SCHUBERT, THE MANtreated. Accompaniment and melody are nowabove, now below; it is a true ensemble as of twoinstruments. Lovely the way one overlaps the other.Now D Major.Now minor again. I have a new theme. Itmounts. It crosses over to you.Now I have it. We sing it together. Howsweetly it distributes itself in the many voiceswhich we are allowed to govern. Look out! Nowwe are at the beginning again and once more thesecond motive, but in major. And now, watch out:crescendo, F Major; suddenly F Sharp Minor. TheLargo begins.We work in a canon; first you, then I, in thesefine, strong attacks, and now in this singingmelody. Suggestion of the cornet, eh?That is true. But still it is genuine. It sounds.Quiet yourself; we are again in the vigorousmarked passages. Allegro vivace. Quicker! Ah,that's lovely! It plays itself. It rocks and balancesand hurries on.The trio sounds almost Chopinesquelight,delicate.And the main portion again, so like Schu-mann. Stop! Tempo I. First theme again. Nowmajor, now minor. Notice the large fugato on thesecond theme. Lovely, isn't it, how the theme


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enCT"- t1^" Ph 'G o ^3


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Pencil sketch of Schubert, by Kupelwieser, 1821


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PIANO MUSICstretches, builds up, reverses, harmonizes itself. Weare at the beginning againand we are at the end.Now, shall we play the C Major Sonata? Iremember Joachim once instrumented it. It is likea symphony.Yes. If you listen closely, you can almost dis-tinguish the instruments. How greatly it is con-ceived. How comprehensive its architecture. Let usbegin moderate. Fine, don't you think, this sud-den pianissimo in E Major. Good, these thirds,always progressing, always quicker, E and C. Sud-denly C Sharp Minor. We simulate an orchestra.Do you hear the clarinet? Now you have thesecond motive in A Flat.I play the 'cello. Now take it on the violin.I play all the instruments. Romantic! Wagner

popularized this suspension. We are reminded ofWeber now. All the great masters appear beforeus. Do you hear the rhythm of Weber? Do youhear the imitation of Schumann? For once, let'snot talk. Let us enjoy the imaginative elabora-tion. . . .Ending in thirds. Suspended cadence. Indeed,quite Weber.We'll play the Andante without much reflec-tion. It is so individual in melody, so graceful, notquite rococo, but still ornamented with bows and

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PIANO MUSICselves. We'll take the loveliest. Open the book toOpus 144, that most characteristic Allegro whichthe publishers called "Life's Storms." It is short.Here is the first vigorous theme, and the secondlyrical one. I never tire of it. It has a breath thatonly Schubert's melodies possess.Also this choral-like theme sounds marvel-lous. Soon it will be transposed in figurations. Andthere rises a motive. Of what does it remindyou?I think of Barak in "Die Frau ohne Schatten."Strauss must have given him this archaic costumeon purpose.Now we'll try the Hungarian divertissement.How often I played it as a child. How this firstswinging Andante loses itself in the harmonies. Andthen this fortissimo and tremolo. They were myfirst naturalistic impressions. And these Hungarianfinales here in E Flat Major. Always the repetitionsof the rhythm, running through every key, andthe echoing accompaniment and the rhapsodicstrides. How pleasant to land back in Tempo I.And this lovely descent in sixths. All childhoodrises before me. I have not played it for so long.Today I understand the sudden fortes and pianosmuch better, and the national major cadence. Andnow the march. Again with new and yet similar

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SCHUBERT, THE MANLIFE S STORMS FOR FOUR HANDS, OPUS 144

l\Z.j4hin$ft&tme ein&t0 op. 144

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PIANO MUSICthemes. They have accompanied me through life.Once the last movement was very difficult, withits marked attack and the pace and the harmonieswhich exhaust the piano in a great crescendo. It af-fects me even today, this infinite abundance ofmarch and song motives, this unbelievably passion-ate rhythm of syncopated harmonies, this intoxica-tion of keys, and the unbridled play of musical fig-ures. True, it is a popular piece. But it remainsimmortal.Now that you've had your pleasure, let mehave mine. Do you know what I propose? We'llrun through all the stirring marches that he wrotefor four hands.Not all. There are a couple so exquisitethat if you don't mind, we'll repeat them once or

twice.I agree heartily. Besides, one shouldn't try toabsorb too much Schubert at one time. We are notwriting a book. We are filling ourselves with hisspirit. Begin here; the March in G Minor. Alwaysstaccato. Quite dryly, and then joy springs up, themore vividly by contrast. Lord, how beautiful!Can I ever describe it? I can only play it. Of course,let us play all the "repeats"; we can never haveenough of them. Are these still marches? They arepiano pieces which he never surpassed. How thatsounds! This personal magic of the duets, these


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SCHUBERT, THE MAN

MARCHES FOR FOUR HANDS, OPUS J I, NO. I15. 3ttarf$e t>ierf)anM3 op. 5\ $r. 1

Allegro vivace

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Esterhazy mansion in Zelesz, Hungary

Michael Vogl. Lithograph by Kriehuber, 1830


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SONGSHe hears the brook gurgling and represents thiswith a melody which has all the easy flow of Schu-bertian imagination, glides easily through all theharmonies, finds new shapes with every new turn,yet still retains the perfection of structure. Thelively part for the voice has a contrasted, ratherformal piano accompaniment. The voice of thebrook is given in rocking triplets, gurgling, ris-ing and falling, chattering along, without end. Themill appears first in the piano, with a phrase thatturns like one of its own wings. Gradually thevoice is introduced welcoming the mill in a partic-ularly sweet and peaceful manner. Schubert en-ters into every detail of the picture; the frameremains firm, only the drawing is changed. Ingleaming contours the voice depicts shining win-dows, brilliant sunlight, sky. The piano answerssmilingly, tenderly sounding the graceful chro-matic transitions with which Schubert loves tocolor his melodic line. Was it so intended? "Was itso intended" are the first words of "Dankgesang"(Hymn of Thanks). The piano gets busier. It be-labors a phrase which seems to turn on its own axis.The atmosphere is less cloudy while the piano playsa prelude. There are chords, runs, then the voiceshapes contented melodies in an ordered calm. Nowwe have the peace of the evening and retrospec-

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SCHUBERT, THE MANtion. The music is differentiated. The master millerspeaks to the accompaniment of heavy chords, al-most in recitative; the structure seems to be dis-solved into sounds that are borne along by thevanishing day. Though formality tries to prevail,the voice is triumphant in a solo, singing dreamilyand contemplatively, with the piano faithfullyfollowing its lead; thus a small epic of mood hasbeen created. Now Schubert's workmanship growsmore skilful. The "Neugierige" (The CuriousOne) seems to begin like a simple song, gracefulof introduction, soulful in melody; but already inthe middle part, where the rhythm is changed andthe melody expanded, when the words "yes andno" are the import of the text, a long breath istaken and, freed from all rules, voice and handreach out in broad parallel chords following onlythe inspiration of the moment. The beginning isnot repeated nor does the frame of the picture mat-ter when the changed measure gives entire libertyto the heart's need of expression.In this song the height of Schubert's creativepower is reached. "Ungeduld" (Impatience) is amasterpiece of invention and structure. Schubertagain repeats the verses, with the same melody; butthe manner in which he has conceived and con-structed this song has been the model for hun-dreds of musicians. Fast triplets on the piano,


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SONGSing flow of the melody to have it repeated fourtimes; but, nevertheless, the same feeling occursin every verse, always with slight variations. Inthe "Morgengruss" (Morning Greeting) he mighteasily have given us the four verses composed dif-ferently one after the other; a new mood wouldhave been given in each one. But he preferred torepeat the simple tune. The same thing might besaid of the "Miillers Blumen" (The Miller's Flow-ers). Though the content shows a progressive ac-tion, he is not disturbed by that but retains thebeautiful tune, four times in succession, and, atthe close, harmonizes the cadence in a most grace-ful way, first in straight then in curved lines, onthe refrain. In the "Tranenregen" (The Rain ofTears) we have partly this, partly the othermethod. The melody, like that of one of the earlynocturnes, unfolds gently, stretching over twoverses, interrupted by the chatter of the piano.But in the fourth verse, at the words "my eyesfilled with tears, the mirror was clouded, she said,'the rain is coming, farewell, I am going home/ "the tune dutifully turns to sadness and is trans-posed to the minor key, modestly rememberingthe major, but regains the minor with the dexterityof Schubert's passage from one key to the other.

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SCHUBERT, THE MAN1 8. THE MILLER'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER NO. II,

MY OWN1$. >te fcpne SRftlfetin

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Here we Have an exquisite piece, portraying notonly a climax in the young miller's emotions butshowing no less what heights the invention of thecomposer could attain. He writes it with the risingand falling curve of life itself. But according toSchubert's judgment the eagerness of the youngfellow was much greater than the joy of posses-


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SCHUBERT, THE MANpiano and is reflected in the voice, full of anxiouspresentiments. How unbound by formal require-ments, this conception. This reminiscence of thepangs of love becomes in turn the prelude to newsongs and is expanded beyond the confines of theverse into a pure expression of the overflowingheart, though this heart belongs only to the miller.The green band becomes a tiny Baroque episode.Green points the way to the hunter, but the colorsymbolisms of the text are of no real value to themusician. He has other means to color his art.He takes the sound of horns, transposed to thepiano, to introduce the hunter. The jealous milleragain takes up the sixteenths of the brook motive.He makes Schubert's task harder by telling thebrook what should not be told to the miller'sdaughter. The "not" alters the significance of themelody, for it must be negative. Schubert ties asmall knot, does away with the "not" and retainsthe grace of the melodic line by emphasizing allthe more playfully the "yes" after the "no." "Tellher," he pipes in fine tunes and dances for thechildren, "Do tell her." And how does he treatthe colors? Green breathes the fragrance of ro-mance, as long as the milleress is amiable. Whenshe is angry, then green implies the ominous. "Diebose Farbe" (The bad color) is a powerful mo-ment of hatred projected upon Nature. The flour-


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SONGSdusted man despises himself. He has violent visions;helpless cries splinter the air; pale accents of de-spair, noisy horns, cursed farewells, fluttering greenbands mingle in his tormented dreams. This pieceexpresses a tragic irony and is a masterpiece ofchanging moods. This little shifting of no and yeshas created a cosmic picture of noble suffering.How poor the colors of the poet by comparison!19. THE MILLER'S BEAUTIFUL DAUGHTER NO. 1 8,

DEAD FLOWERS19. te f$5ne TCUerin

Sir. 18 Srodene SSIumenZiemlich langsam

fie mltgafc, eu# foil manle tgen mif tnir tn'3ra&

The deep peace of maturity remains after thestruggle. The time has come for one of the most


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SCHUBERT, THE MANgripping of all the melodies that Schubertwrote. Here we have the melancholy transpositionfrom minor, over a delicate step, into major andback to minor; passing on to the second sectionwith a wonderfully hesitating pointed rhythmreminiscent of her, and denoting a renewed hopeof May. But at last there is the resigned descentinto minor. The time has come for the poet to givethe death blow to the miller. The latter addressesthe brook, sweetly, simply. The brook answers himfrom its ordered rushing with heavenly grace. Hepicks up the sixteenths of the brook's motive andspeaks to it again in the delicate emotional flow ofthe melody. And the brook intones a cradle songfor him, an indescribable dream expressed in per-fect music. A rocking tune, childlike, pious, won-derfully interwoven with the piano and repeatedfive times, like an ancient folk-song, until it sinksto rest in blessed peace. Now, however, the oceanencompasses the brook, the whole ocean, the wholeof life. And Schubert touches his keys, his veryownquarters and eighthsharmonies tensed be-tween the tonic and the dominant, raised to theninth and suspended, never touching the earth; anoble and eternal song that reaches the very heightsof "Tristan." The good miller in his brook hasbeen sacrificed to one of the most essential inspira-tions of the composer.


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Oscar Bie - Schubert the Man

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