Franz Schubert
MUSIC HISTORY
Over 600 Lieder: a school of text, simple line and voice-piano intimacy, essential for the art-song singer at CALYP.
Source Adeline Toniutti · Vocal coach, founder of CALYP
Schubert biography at a glance
Franz Schubert (1797-1828) was born on 31 January 1797 in Lichtental, a suburb of Vienna, and died on 19 November 1828. Twelfth child of a schoolteacher and amateur cellist, he wrote more than 600 Lieder, major cycles (Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise), nine symphonies and essential chamber works. For the art-song singer at CALYP, he remains the school of text, simple line and voice-piano intimacy.
Viennese childhood, Imperial Chapel and training
A happy childhood steeped in music: piano, organ, violin and singing. His early gifts recall Mozart. In 1808 he joined the Imperial Chapel as a choirboy and the Stadtkonvikt, a conservatory linked to the university. He stayed five years: first works, first horizons.
In 1813 Salieri steered him toward Italian theatre; Schubert preferred Haydn, Mozart and above all Beethoven. At his father's insistence he tried schoolteaching in 1814 and failed. 1815 was among his most fertile years (144 Lieder). He met the singer Johann Michael Vogl, who spread his songs. A plan to marry Therese Grob failed: her family refused a second assistant teacher.
Bohemian life, Schubertiades and Beethoven's shadow
In 1817 he left the family home: he hoped to make something of himself, yet asked who could still do anything after Beethoven. He stayed with Franz von Schober. Friends supported him; he repaid them in evenings that became famous as Schubertiades.
In 1818, as music master to Count Johann Esterhazy in Hungary, he fell out with his father. Ignaz von Sonnleithner opened Viennese salons, but publishers hesitated: long sonatas, Impromptus and Moments musicaux were out of fashion. Of more than a thousand works, only about a hundred appeared in his lifetime. Opera (The Twin Brothers, The Magic Harp, then Rosamunde in 1823) denied him glory and money. Ill from 1823, he walked among the thirty-six torchbearers at Beethoven's funeral in 1827. On 19 November 1828 a typhoid-like illness took him. His wish to be buried near Beethoven was granted.
Over 600 Lieder: master of the genre
Schubert is the true creator of the German Romantic Lied. More than 600 pieces between 1814 and 1828 (127 in 1814, 144 in 1815, including 29 in August). "When I have finished one lied, I begin another." Almost improvisatory spontaneity: a weak poem can still spark the sensitive string.
Standalone landmarks: Gretchen am Spinnrade (1814, Goethe), Erlkönig (1815, Goethe), Der Tod und das Mädchen (1817, Claudius), Die Forelle (1817, Schubart). Forms: strophic (Heidenröslein), strophic with variants, or free (durchkomponiert) for drama. Cycles: Die schöne Müllerin (1823, Müller), Winterreise (1827, 24 poems: wandering, winter, solitude), Schwanengesang (1828, Heine, Rellstab, Seidl). For the singer: German text diction, clear line, voice-piano nuance. See also articulation.
Symphonies, piano and chamber music
His symphonic output runs from 1813 to 1828: nine of ten begun survive. The first three stay Classical; the fourth "Tragic" is dark; the fifth and sixth touch the Rossini style then fashionable in Vienna. The seventh is incomplete. The eighth, the Unfinished (only two movements, rediscovered in 1864), and the ninth in C major ("Great") show his personal style after 1822. Only the fifth was played in his lifetime, by an amateur orchestra.
Piano: about 300 dances, 22 sonatas, Wanderer Fantasy in C (1822), 6 Moments musicaux, 11 Impromptus (1827). Chamber: Trout Quintet (1819), Death and the Maiden Quartet (1824-26), piano trios in B-flat and E-flat, String Quintet in C (1828). Classical forms, singing themes, bold harmony: Romanticism transformed from within.
Timeline and key works
- 31 January 1797: born in Lichtental (Vienna).
- 1808-1813: Imperial Chapel and Stadtkonvikt.
- 1814-1815: Gretchen am Spinnrade, Erlkönig; extremely fertile 1815.
- 1817-1818: Schubertiades; Esterhazy stay in Hungary.
- 1819-1823: Trout; Die schöne Müllerin; opera failures; illness.
- 1827: Winterreise; Beethoven's funeral.
- 1828: Schwanengesang, Great Symphony, String Quintet; death on 19 November.
Over a thousand works; about a hundred published in his lifetime. An admirer of Beethoven, Schubert transformed music without inventing new forms.
Schubert and the voice at CALYP
At CALYP (Centre d'Art Lyrique de Paris), Schubert shapes art-song study: text first, clear line, intimate voice-piano duo. Adeline Toniutti, singer, teacher and author of Anatomy of Singing (Marabout / Hachette, 2024), links this repertoire to technique: posture, breath, registers, diction. The historical relay also runs through Schumann, admirer of Schubert and master of the 1840 Lied year.
Music history is not decoration: it clarifies the style expected in singing lessons, masterclasses and on stage.
FAQ about Schubert
When was Franz Schubert born and when did he die?
Schubert was born on 31 January 1797 in Lichtental near Vienna and died in Vienna on 19 November 1828, aged 31, of a typhoid-like illness.
How many Lieder did he compose?
More than 600 Lieder between 1814 and 1828, including the cycles Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang.
What is the Unfinished Symphony?
The eighth symphony has only two movements (Allegro and Andante). It was rediscovered only in 1864 and remains one of his most performed works.
Why does Schubert matter for singers?
He fuses poem and music in an intimate voice-piano duo: diction, simple line, nuance and feeling, the foundation of the Lied and art-song singer.
What is a Schubertiade?
A friendly musical evening where Schubert's works were played and sung among his Viennese circle, including the singer Vogl.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Sing Schubert with solid landmarks
Connect Lied and art song to vocal technique with the CALYP team.