Franz Schubert was born on Jan. 31, 1797 and would go on to become one of the great romantic German composers of his time. 

He studied music from a very early age, studying with his father and older brother. But he soon exceeded their own abilities and by age 11 he was already studying at the Stadtkonivkt school. He studied with Salieri for some time and became a critical darling when he performed his works in 1828; it was the only time in his life that performed his own work. 

He died at age 31 in 1828, but his work lived on, growing in popularity in yuears after. In sum, he left 600 works across a wide range of genres, including opera, art song, symphonies, secular music, and chamber music. 

Signature Works

Schubert is not actually renowned for any particular opera. In fact, the operas that he did compose are barely performed around the opera world. But he does have a major impact on vocal artists as he is widely considered the King of Lied with many of his art songs forming the basis of song repertory. Such works as “Winterreise” and “Die Schöne Müllerin”are easily among his most famed works in this genre. 

Read More on Schubert

Four Operas By By Schubert

Watch and Listen

Below are performances of “Winterreise” and a rare Schubert opera.