Product Description

Of all the great composers, none, not even Mozart, has been so dogged by myth and misunderstanding as Schubert. Since the 1920s, when the musical Blossom Time hit the stage, the notion of Schubert as a pudgy, love-lorn Bohemian schwammerl (mushroom) scribbling gemülich tunes on the back of menus in idle moments has never been quite eradicated. But in this major new biography (the first comprehensive work on Schubert in over fifty years) Brian Newbould lays to rest the stereotype of the composer plucking melodies out of the air, relying on instinct more than well-honed craft. Instead he paints a vivid and compelling portrait of a man who was compulsively dedicated to his art, a composer so prolific that he produced roughly one thousand works in an eighteen year period.
Gifted with an intuitive know-how, coupled with a Mozartian facility for composition, Schubert combined the relish and wonder of an amateur with the discipline and technical rigor of a professional. He moved quickly and comfortably among genres, and sometimes composed directly into score; but many pieces required painstaking revision before they satisfied his growing self-criticism. Examining afresh the enigmas surrounding Schubert's religious outlook, his loves, his sexuality, his illness and death, Newbould offers above all a celebration of a unique genius, an idiosyncratic composer of an astonishing body of powerful, enduring music.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #503411 in Books
• Published on: 1999-04-12
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 465 pages

Amazon.com Review
Brian Newbould brings together the biographical data of Schubert's life with the music that he composed. The book is both readable and informative, the work of a professor of music at the University of Hull in Britain whose biographical data describes him as a composer, conductor, pianist, and lecturer. Newbould has been so bold as to finish the Unfinished Symphony and other of Schubert's uncompleted works, and he has a deep understanding of the man and his music.

From Library Journal
Among what will certainly be a flood of monographs on the life and works of Franz Schubert during this bicentennial year of his birth, this contribution is a significant event. Newbould (music, Univ. of Hull) has long been at the forefront of Schubert scholarship, having published a previous work on the composer in England and completed several of the composer's unfinished works. The subtitle of this volume tells it all: Newbould's interest is primarily in the music itself. The text is peppered throughout with musical examples, yet the analysis is in a readable, jargon-free prose that will engage scholars and nonscholars equally. Biography is not ignored, however. Newbould presents a thorough, cautious accounting of Schubert's life, dealing sensitively and soberly with such controversial issues as the composer's self-destructive behavior and his ambivalent sexuality. Highly recommended for all libraries.?Larry A. Lipkis, Moravian Coll., Bethlehem, Pa.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
For the bicentenary of Schubert's birth, Newbould delves deeply into his music, of which there are some 1,000 complete pieces and fragments. Just mentioning the important details of Schubert's life--born to a schoolteacher, attended the Stadtkonvikt for his musical training, involved in a circle of poets and artists, forwent marriage because of meager earning power, and contracted syphilis (see McKay's Franz Schubert for more)--Newbould writes primarily about Schubert the innovative, creative, speedy composer for voice, small ensembles, piano, and orchestras. Schubert's legacy of music is rich, and one can only surmise what would have come from his pen had he lived twice as long. His music is a bridge between the classicism of Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven and the romanticism of Liszt and Brahms. Newbould presents an analysis of most of the major works, showing how Schubert matured during his 18 years of composing and helping listener and performer understand and increase their pleasure in the music. Alan Hirsch

Customer Reviews

Good Schubert...
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Newbould's reading of Schubert's life and art is about the best book currently available. Combine with John Reed's out of print Schubert.
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