As a result, Schubert had no choice but to turn to friends to print his works, but the royalties he could collect were barely enough for even one meal. Publishers were reluctant to print his works, because he was fairly unknown at the time. One of them only managed a mere 6 shows before it was forced to close down. The only two operas he composed were poorly received by the critics. Although syphilis was prevalent in Vienna at that time, the secondary effects of the disease were so stigmatizing that after his death, Schubert’s friends burnt his letters and diaries so that the true nature of his illness could never be officially announced.Īs a composer, Schubert’s work received little recognition during his lifetime. This may explain why, at the young age of only 21, he had contracted the sexually transmitted disease syphilis. Romance was hence difficult for the composer, and it is said that was why he turned to prostitutes. Standing at barely five feet tall, he was a shy, stumpy person whose facial features included a round nose, a long oval face and a deeply cleft chin, topped off by very severe short-sightedness. Schubert was also an introvert personality who was not considered very attractive. Hence began the battle with the illness throughout his life. He was subsequently admitted to Vienna General Hospital, where he wrote part of ‘Die schöne Müllerin’. The next year, his scalp began to itch so intensely, that he had his patchy head shaved and bought a wig. In 1822, Schubert began to suffer from headaches, intermittent fever and skin rash. Physically, Schubert’s life was haunted by varying periods of sickness. His condition became far more extreme during his mid-twenties, and his friends reported periods of dark despair and violent anger. Yet every day, the morning breaks into the pains of yesterday’s wounds.”įor most of his adult life, Schubert suffered from cyclothymia, a mental illness that resulted in severe mood swings that fluctuated between hypomanic and depressive episodes. Indeed, Schubert’s despair during his life is reflected in his own writing, “the brightest hopes have come to naught, to whom the joy of love and friendship can offer nothing but pain at most… Every night as I retire to my bed, I always hope that I would not wake up. Yet, a number of Schubert’s musical works such as ‘Winter Journey’, ‘the Unfinished Symphony’ and ‘Death and the Maiden’ are said to be filled with elements of death. Franz Liszt described him as “the most poetic musician who ever lived.” On his deathbed, Beethoven is said to have looked into some of the younger man’s works and exclaimed, “Truly, the spark of divine genius resides in this Schubert!” This was prolific for a man who only lived for 31 years. He had completed a tremendous collection of hundreds of lieder, symphonies, operas, and a large body of chamber and piano music that adds up to over 1000 works during his career. “I am the most unhappy and miserable person in this world… my health will never improve, and in such despair, things will only become worse instead of better…” – Franz SchubertĪustrian Composer Franz Schubert (1797-1828) is enshrined as the pillar of Romantic Western Classical Music who follows after Beethoven*.
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