Schubert: The Music and the Man [Paperback]

Brian Newbould (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0520219570 | ISBN-13: 978-0520219571 | Publication Date: April 12, 1999 | Edition: 1

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.

Editorial Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 465 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (April 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520219570
• ISBN-13: 978-0520219571
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,596,077 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The music, not the man, January 20, 2009

By 

Kirk McElhearn "Freelance writer and translator" (A town in the French Alps) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Schubert: The Music and the Man (Paperback)

While this is an interesting book about Schubert, it discusses the music much more than the man. You get little feeling for Schubert as a person, and little understanding of his everyday life from this book. On the other hand, Newbould spends a lot of time talking about the music. But his discussions are little more than what you get in liner notes of a CD, and require that you be familiar with the music in question (or have the time to take out all your Schubert CDs and listen to everything he discusses).

I'm a big fan of Schubert's works, and hoped, in this book, to get a better understanding of who he was, why he wrote his music, what he wanted to "say" through his music, but all of that is lacking. The biographical chapters - about half the book - are short, say little more than what music Schubert composed and when, and are fully of "maybes" and "possiblys". It's almost as though this were a bio of Shakespeare (about whom little is known). I don't know if there's a dearth of information about Schubert - Newbould doesn't say so - but reading this book one can get that feeling.

Since there are no other books about Schubert that say much more, this is probably worthwhile, if you can read scores (to grasp the musical examples). But I'd say there's a need for a _real_ bio of Schubert.

4 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Schubert..., February 11, 2007

By 

Sébastien Melmoth (Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Schubert: The Music and the Man (Hardcover)

.
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.
.