Schubert is different from most other great composers. Unlike Mozart,
Beethoven and especially Wagner, Schubert is not aware of his genius. It
is
only in the last years of his life he realizes the importance of writing
down all that he has composed.
In his youth he had listened a lot to the famous composers, attempting,
and often succeeding, to write in their styles. His early symphonies
are made in the true spirit of Beethoven, the famous Fifth in the magic
of
Mozart, but here Schubert starts to use some of his own ideas making many
key changes in the symphony. Schubert's Eighth symphony is written in his
own genius style and is recognized by many people as the peak of his
symphonic writing. This manner of making music is never seen before or
after Schubert. He composed Romantic music in a Classical way.
The music of Schubert's early years is often very happy, whereas the
music of his last years is often more melancholic. But if you listen
carefully in
these pieces you nearly always find something positive at the end. This
was
Schubert's feelings during his last five years. At that time he was
suffering from a bad venereal disease. It took much of his strength.
Schubert believed that he would meet something better after his
death. This can, in my opinion, be seen in his music.
Schubert very seldom had the chance to hear his works by a full orchestra
and by professional artists. Therefore, he wrote a lot of piano music,
music for string quartets and of course all his songs, the german
"lieder". Even if Schubert wasn't old when he died, he had written down
an enormous treasure for future generations. I don't think his output
would have been much greater had Schubert lived another ten years,
because in his last years he produced an immense amount of work. He knew
he was going to die soon and he wanted to have printed down everything he
had composed. Just like Mozart, Schubert got his melodies right into his
head and thought that it was very boring to print it. We should be very
grateful that Schubert left behind this great work for us.
Kristofer Andréasson 1997-2003
Sources: Naxos booklet CD 8.550476, CD 8.550555, CD 8.550259,
Decca booklet CD 430 425-2 and Linz booklet CD 48087
Marcheron, Annamaria, and others: De stora kompositörerna. Kungälv 1991
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or suggestions