1. Franz Schubert  One of the few composers who made his living entirely from composing  Became a choir boy at age eleven in the court chapel  Composed while teaching at his father’s school.  Loved poetry, which led him to compose art song

2. More Schubert  Composed his first great song Gretchen am Spinnrade when he was 17  In the next year, we wrote 143 more songs  When he was nineteen, he wrote 179 works, including two symphonies, an opera, and a mass

3. Even more Schubert  Associated with a group of Viennese poets and artists  Turned out pieces very fast  Spent evenings at “Schubertiads”  Did not associate with aristocracy  Two most important symphonies, the Unfinished and the Great C, not performed in his lifetime  Died at 31 from complications from syphilis

4. Schubert’s Output  600 songs, or lied  Nine symphonies  Liturgical music, including six masses  Pieces for solo piano and four-hand piano  Longer pieces often quote his own pieces

5. What is art song?  Music written for voice and piano  Piano is a partner to the voice, often helping with interpretation  Poetry and art song are intimately connected  Filled with images of love, nature, supernatural images  German word is lieder

6. Forms of art song  Strophic- repeats the same music for each stanza  Through-composed is new music for each stanza  Modified strophic- one or more of the stanza is set to different music  Song Cycle- A collection of art song with a unified story or theme

7. Erlkönig by Franz Schubert  Based on a poem by the poet Goethe  Written when Schubert was 18  Tells of a father riding on horseback with a sick child in his arms  Child is having visions of the Erlking, the king of the elves who symbolizes death

8. Features of Erlkönig  Rapid triplet rhythm in the piano evokes a horse galloping  Each time the boys cries out “Mein Vater” is gets higher to show the boy’s terror  Song is in minor, but the Erlking sings in major to show him trying to entice the boy to follow him  When the father and song arrive home, the galloping stops.