The Classical Music Minute

Franz Schubert & The Psychological Narrative

December 27, 2021 Steven Hobé, Composer & Host Season 1 Episode 35
The Classical Music Minute
Franz Schubert & The Psychological Narrative
Show Notes Transcript

Description
Franz Schubert died at the early age of only thirty-one. For a number of years, he suffered from the crippling effects of syphilis, coupled with the effects of highly toxic mercury treatment. Yet, despite this, he composed three final solo piano sonatas which are said to reflect his psychological journey of isolation and alienation. Join me, as we take a minute to get the scoop!

Fun Fact
It is said that Schubert’s place in the history of music is equivocal, for he stands between the worlds of Classical and Romantic music. He can, however, be considered as the last of the great Classical composers. His music, subjectively emotional in the Romantic manner, poetically conceived, and revolutionary in language, is nevertheless cast in the formal moulds of the Classical school—with the result that it has become increasingly apparent that Schubert more truly belongs to the age of Haydn, Beethoven, and Mozart than to that of Schumann, Chopin, and Wagner.  (Maurice J.E. Brown. Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Last Updated: Nov 15, 2021)

About Steven
Steven is a Canadian composer living in Toronto. He creates a range of works, with an emphasis on the short-form genre—his muse being to offer the listener both the darker and more satiric shades of human existence. If you're interested, please check out his website for more.

A Note To Music Students et al.
All recordings and sheet music are available on my site. I encourage you to take a look and play through some. Give me a shout if you have any questions.

Got a topic? Pop me off an email at: TCMMPodcast@Gmail.com 

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Franz Schubert died at the age of only 31 in 1828. He had been ill for some time, suffering from acute symptoms of syphilis, coupled with the effects of highly toxic mercury treatments.

Remarkably though, between spring and autumn of that year, he managed to compose his final piano sonatas, D958, 959 and 960.

These follow a psychological narrative, portraying “...a protagonist going through successive stages of alienation, banishment, exile, and eventual homecoming.”

Each sonata presents contrasting psychological states, such as reality and dream, home and exile. These conflicts are further deepened in the ensuing slow movements and then tonally resolved with the harmonic suggestion of reconciliation and acceptance. 

It has been suggested that Schubert wrote these compositions as an autobiography of sorts and a form of therapy. A means of conveying his feelings of loneliness and alienation.