On This Day in 1828 Franz Schubert died. #OnThisDay

Franz Schubert
image credit: Wilhelm August Rieder [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

When I was in the Lower 6th Form  in the late 1960s I had the opportunity to take ‘O’ Level Music in one year.

I’d already passed Grade 5 Theory and the music teacher thought that this would get me well on the way with the ‘O’ Level music syllabus.

And, it turned out, there was a considerable overlap between the two.

But not when it came to an in-depth analysis of certain pieces of music. We had to learn the ins and outs of one of the J.S. Bach French Suites and Schubert’s 5th Symphony. A considerable departure from the Theory Paper.

At the time, I wasn’t particularly familiar with Schubert’s music but came to love it.

Recently I’ve re-visited the 5th Symphony, amazed to find that the full score is available as a free download. And I’ve greatly enjoyed the re-acquaintance.

You can get the score here if you want to read it.

Schubert died before his 32nd birthday but he was an extremely prolific composer during his lifetime.

His output consists of over 600 secular vocal works (mainly Lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music and a large body of chamber and piano music.

I would guess that Schubert’s beautiful Trout Quintet is his most popular work.

Here’s the fourth movement:

With Barenboim, Du Pre, Perlman, Mehta and Zuckerman.

Lovely!

RIP Franz Schubert.

And here’s a couple of quotes attributed to Franz Schubert (1797 – 1828).

You believe happiness to be derived from the place in which once you have been happy, but in truth it is centered in ourselves.

No one feels another’s grief, no one understands another’s joy. People imagine they can reach one another. In reality they only pass each other by.

Thanks for reading my blog today.