The Life of Schubert (Musical Lives) (Paperback)

~ Christopher H. Gibbs (Author) "Schubert had an image problem..." (more)
Key Phrases: three piano sonatas, instrumental works, piano trio, Franz Schubert, Ferdinand Schubert, Major Symphony (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Franz Schubert is a singularly undocumented composer. Direct accounts of his life are scarce, incomplete, and contradictory; even the memoirs of his closest friends, mostly written long after his death, reflect the writers more than the subject. His own surviving letters and diaries are often poignant, but sparse; it is in his music that he truly revealed himself. No wonder he has been the victim of endless speculation and rumor, leaving his image encrusted in fantasy, sentimentality, and condescension. Numerous serious, conscientious biographies have attempted to rectify this. Christopher Gibbs's excellent, informative, generously illustrated new study is a welcome addition. Gibbs has written and lectured widely on Schubert; his style is lucid, scholarly but not pedantic, and except for a stiff, ponderous beginning, flows with natural ease.

Gibbs focuses on some relatively unexplored areas, notably Beethoven's profound influence on Schubert, both personal and musical, though they never met. He also demolishes several popularly held misconceptions, showing, for example, that Schubert took an active part in promoting his own career, enjoyed frequent successes, and lived to see his fame begin to grow. Gibbs demonstrates that Schubert was by no means a "natural," untutored composer who simply shook melodies out of his sleeve, and that it was not his untimely death that caused so many works to remain "unfinished." Some of these refutations have already been offered by previous writers, but are well worth repeating. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, in his splendid book On the Trail of the Schubert Songs, points out that Schubert's self-criticism often drove him to compose the same text several times, though unlike Beethoven he left no "sketchbooks that resemble battlefields." Hans Gál, in his Franz Schubert and the Essence of Melody (a beautiful book despite the clumsy title), suggests with a composer's empathetic insight that Schubert may have abandoned a work, like the C-major Piano Sonata, because he had modulated himself into a corner or hit a snag in the development, going on to something else while hoping for future inspiration.

Gibbs deserves special gratitude for attacking the credibility of the most recent Schubert scholarship, which claims to have uncovered evidence of heavy drinking, debauchery, and unbridled sensuality, both hetero- and homosexual, born and bred from Vienna's depraved climate, Schubert's hedonistic circle of friends, and his own allegedly immoral nature. These assertions reveal more about our own times and attitudes than about Schubert and his world. --Edith Eisler

From Library Journal

Here, Gibbs (music, SUNY at Buffalo; editor, The Cambridge Companion to Schubert) focuses on the relationship of Schubert's music to his brief life (he died at 31 of unknown causes) and vice versa, with background on friends, teacher Antonio Salieri, and the social scene in 18th-century Europe. Along the way, he analyzes the copious biographical material on Schubert, acknowledging some of the more sensational issues (his sexual orientation) and critical evaluations (superficiality of his output). But rather than take sides, Gibbs carefully assesses the evidence, and, for the most part, allows the reader to make judgments. The organization is more or less chronological, paced by the compositions. Explorations of individual compositions rarely resort to technical analysis; instead, Gibbs is more interested in discussing each work's aesthetics and relating it to Schubert's life. Although clearly a fan, he does not gloss over Schubert's human frailties. The net result is a well-researched, warmly written, and refreshing new look at the Austrian composer. [Other recent books on Schubert include Elizabeth Norman McKay's Franz Schubert (LJ 10/1/96) and Brian Newbould's Schubert: The Music and the Man (LJ 3/15/97).DEd.]DTimothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toront.
-DTimothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 228 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press (April 28, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521595126
• ISBN-13: 978-0521595124
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #737,020 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Bringing clarity to a misunderstood composer, November 1, 2000

By	Jeff Abell (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

Poor Schubert! The Viennese-born composer was little appreciated in his day, even by the circle of close friends who periodically sponsored programs of his songs and chamber music. Despite the fact that several of his friends were writers, none seem to have thought to record their memories of the composer until decades later. After his death at age 31, the composer was turned into a Romantic symbol, a sentimentalized ideal of the tragic genius who's life was cut short, etc. In more recent times, Schubert has been the subject of intense scholarly debates about issues like gender, which also want to idealize the composer (as gay icon). Christopher Gibbs acknowledges all these issues and provides a clearly written and frequently insightful study of the composer's life, without taking sides in any of the academic debates that have consistently misinterpreted his significance. For example, Gibbs notes that 19th century writers often said (selfishly) "Alas, we have been denied more glorious examples of Schubert's work." Instead, Gibbs suggests that the real loss was that Schubert died just before he gained the popularity his music deserved, and before he had the chance to clearly distinguish between mature works and juvenalia. You will gain a sense of Schubert as a real flesh-and-blood artist with desires and problems (he sometimes drank too much, it seems), rather than as a romanticized image of "doomed youth." A very welcome addition to the literature!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Introductory Biography of the Composer, March 15, 2005

By	L. Young "palmtree2000" (West Orange, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

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This is an excellent and concise introductory biography of Schubert for the general reader. Gibbs debunks many of the Schubert myths that have arisen since his tragic early death, and explores Schubert's social mileu. Of primary importance in Schubert's life is his circle of male friends. In addition he tackles some of the recent research concerning the composer's possible homosexuality, and explores some of the rudimentary evidence that exists about Schubert's relationships with women. What is lacking in this book is more analysis of Schubert's oeuvre.

9 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars equivocal, halting, and awkward, February 14, 2001

By A Customer

I'd cut this more slack if it were the only biography of Schubert ever written. Obviously it is not, so how does it distinguish itself from the others? It was more recently published, and that, I'm afraid, is it. It is always hedging, it wants desparately to offend nobody, and manages in this way to offend at least me.