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Franz Schubert – Life Milestones

 

Franz Schubert’s apartment in Vienna
The Vienna apartment where Schubert lived and worked during his final years, sharing the space with the poet Mayrhofer.

Franz Schubert was the twelfth of fourteen children in a schoolmaster’s household. His life was brief, financially unstable, and largely unrecognized by the broader public during his lifetime. Yet within a small circle of devoted friends, he composed with extraordinary constancy, reshaping the German Lied and expanding the expressive horizon of chamber and symphonic music.

1797

Born in Vienna.

1808

Admitted to the Imperial Chapel Choir and enrolled at the Stadtkonvikt, where he received formal musical training and encountered the symphonic tradition.

1812

Studies composition with Antonio Salieri, acquiring disciplined theoretical grounding.

1813

His voice breaks, and he leaves the Imperial School. Assists his father as a teacher while composing his First Symphony.

1814

Composes Gretchen am Spinnrade, a work widely regarded as a turning point in the evolution of the German Lied.

1816

Hosts the first of what would later be known as “Schubertiads” — informal gatherings where his music was performed among friends and admirers.

1817

Meets the baritone Johann Michael Vogl, whose advocacy proves crucial in promoting his songs.

1818

Gives his first public concert, attempting to reach a wider audience beyond his intimate circle.

1822

Begins the Symphony in B minor, later known as the “Unfinished.” Around this time he contracts syphilis, a condition that significantly affects his health and emotional state.

1825

Composes the Symphony in C major, later called the “Great,” notable for its expansive structure and rhythmic drive.

1827

Serves as torchbearer at Beethoven’s funeral, a symbolic moment reflecting his reverence for the composer.

1828

Dies on November 19 in Vienna at the age of thirty-one.

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  • Friends affectionately called him Schwammerl (“little mushroom”), a nickname referring to his short stature and stocky build — a sign of the familiarity and warmth within his circle.
  • When the “Great” C major Symphony was first performed in 1839 under Mendelssohn’s direction, its scale and orchestral writing reportedly puzzled members of the orchestra. Whether embellished or not, such accounts reflect how forward-looking the work seemed at the time.
  • The manuscript of Die Forelle (“The Trout”) bears a large ink stain. According to anecdote, the exhausted composer accidentally overturned the inkpot instead of the sand used to dry the page — a small but enduring image of his intense and often nocturnal working habits.
  • A close friend once observed that if you visited Schubert during the day, he would greet you briefly and then continue composing without interruption.
  • In his diary he wrote: “Man is the plaything of chance and passion — to some it is granted freely, while others must struggle for it.”

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