An Austrian composer of extraordinary melodic gift, prolific across song, chamber and piano music.
Franz Schubert was born in Vienna and lived his whole short life there, dying at just thirty-one. In that brief span he produced an astonishing amount of music — well over a thousand works, including more than six hundred songs — much of it written for the circle of friends who gathered at the informal evenings that came to be called “Schubertiades.” A great deal went unpublished until after his death.
Schubert is treasured above all as a melodist: his gift was to make a tune feel both inevitable and deeply human. His piano music ranges from grand sonatas and the two sets of Impromptus to the waltzes, Ländler and Moments musicaux he wrote for dancing and for friends. The music sings first and dazzles second, so it rewards a warm, lyrical touch over display.
For a learner, Schubert’s shorter dances are a lovely place to begin — many of the waltzes and Ländler are genuinely approachable — and the Moments musicaux and Impromptus offer beautiful, achievable goals a little further on. Few composers give so much feeling in return for so little technical bravado.