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Period: to
Schubert, Franz
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Franz's birth
Schubert was born in Himmelpfortgrund (now a part of Alsergrund), Vienna on January 31, 1797. His father, Franz Theodor Schubert, was a parish schoolmaster; his mother was Elisabeth Vietz. -
Schubert began receiving musical instruction
At the age of six, he began taking basics lessons of violin and piano. Later, Schubert began receivng lessons from Michael Holzer. Schubert wrote many of his early string quartets during these years. -
Stadtkonvikt
In October 1808, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt (Imperial seminary) through a choir scholarship. At the Stadtkonvikt, Schubert was introduced to the overtures and symphonies of Mozart. -
Franz's mother dies
He wrote an octet for wind instruments to commemorate the 1812 death of his mother, a cantata for guitar and male voices in honor of his father's birthday and his first symphony. -
He entered his father's school as teacher
In 1814, he entered his father's school as teacher of the youngest students. For over two years, the young man endured the drudgery of the work, which he performed with very indifferent success. There were, however, other interests to compensate. He continued to receive private lessons in composition from Salieri, who did more for Schubert’s musical training than any of his other teachers. -
One of Schubert's most prolific years
One of Schubert's most prolific years was 1815. He composed over 20,000 bars of music, more than half of which was for orchestra, including nine church works, a symphony, and about 140 Lieder. -
"Unfinished Symphony"
In the autumn of 1822, Schubert embarked suddenly on a work which more decisively than almost any other in those years showed his maturing personal vision, the "Unfinished Symphony" in B minor. -
Ave María
In this year, Schubert wrote his work "Ave María" -
Spring of 1828
In the spring of 1828, he gave, for the first and only time in his career, a public concert of his own works, which was very well received. -
Franz Schubert's death
In the midst of this creative activity, his health deteriorated. The cause of his death was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever, though other theories have been proposed, including the tertiary stage of syphilis. At the beginning of November he again fell ill, experiencing headaches, fever, swollen joints, and vomiting. Schubert died in Vienna, at age 31, on November 19, 1828. The last musical work he had wished to hear was Beethoven's String Quartet No.14 in C sharp minor.
