From Publishers Weekly
For the music lover who wants a straightforward biography of Franz Schubert, without complicated technical or psychological analyses, this will be useful. Drawing heavily on Otto Erich Deutsch's "documentary biography" as well as on Schubert's own diaries and letters, and quoting copiously from the composer's contemporaries, Osborne depicts a complicated man and artist, euphoric and melancholic in turn, sometimes within the same composition. Chapters alternate between descriptions of Vienna's politics, society and culture and the personal, professional and creative life of a genius who transformed a world of poetry into music. Osborne wrote The Complete Operas of Verdi, The Complete Operas of Mozart, etc. Illustrations not seen by PW. November 11
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
In this excellent popular biography, Schubert's life and major compositions are deftly covered in a readable, nontechnical manner. Perhaps appropriately, the music receives greater emphasis than the less-than-dramatic details of Schubert's personal life. This new book then nicely complements George Marek's Schubert ( LJ 12/84), which focuses more on the composer's life. As the title implies, special attention is given to the Viennese society in which Schubert lived in the early 19th century. While no substitute for Otto Erich Deutsch's Schubert: a documentary biography (Da Capo, 1977) or Alfred Einstein's classic Schubert: a musical portrait (1951), this new biography can be commended for its conciseness, balance, and polished style. Bryan Stoneburner, Univ. of Hawaii Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.
