Today we celebrate the birthday of Franz Schubert. One of the great melody writers and innovators of the use of harmony, he wrote some of the truly great pieces of music that exist today. So tonight we have a nice little selection of music that I hope will help illuminate just a little of what he achieved. In addition, all of tonight's music has never been heard on the Galaxy, so far as I can remember. So we call all sit back and enjoy the meisterwerke of this great composer.
The use of the term "Schubertiad" refers to the little parties, held in Vienna, that Schubert frequently enjoyed and wrote music for. Not a huge formal occasion, maybe just 50 people, all friends and acquaintences. There would always be musicians present, and Schubert wrote a great many light chamber pieces intended for performance at such parties. Given the scope of the occasion, his chamber music, such as the great "Trout" Quintet, the equally great Octet, some of the music we are playing tonight, were meant to be equally enjoyed by the listener watching the performance, and by the musician performing. (Note: this isn't the last time we see music being written for the pleasure of the performance: take note of Satie's habit of writing little humorous notes on his scores, meant only to be read silently by the performer while playing his music). Thus, we are blessed with beautiful music by people who truly took pleasure in performing the music, and wrote as such.
Composer's name is listed where notable (i.e. Classical Performance, Jazz Performance).
Links are to Artist's Home Page, if one exists, or to a quality source of information. Otherwise, link is to Yahoo Search for information about the composer, performer, or other related information.
| Composer | Performer | Title | Genre | Label | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828) for more information, look here, here, or here. |
Kolner Kammer Choir, Peter Neumann, con., Eric Schneider, p | An die Sonne (D 439) | Classical, Romantic Era | Westdeutscher Rundfunk, 1997 | Composed in 1816, considered his most productive year as far as writing went |
| Murray Perahia, p | Impromtus D. 935, Op. 142 (a set of 4, written in F Minor, A Flat Major, B Flat Major and F Minor) |
CBS Masterworks, 1983 | Written in 1827, not published until 1839 | ||
| Grumiaux Trio: Arthur Grumiaux (violin), Georges Janzer (viola), Eva Czako (cello) |
String Trio in B flat, D. 581 | Phillips Classics, 1993 (recorded in 1969) | Written in 1815 | ||
| Andre Watts, piano | Fantasy in C, D. 760, "Wanderer-Fantasie" | Phillips Classics, 1999 (recorded in 1973) |
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Last Update: January 31st, 2005
Email: saxman@siu.edu