Schubert

When this much acclaimed biography was published ten years ago, Eric Sams welcomed it as `a model of critical biography ... an essential vade mecum for all Schubertians'. In the intervening years, however, Schubert's public image has changed considerably. He has, since the 1860s, been the favourite composer of the man in the street, but the view from the academic lecture room has not always been equally attractive. Now the Ph.D. theses flow from the university presses, and 1997, when...
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When this much acclaimed biography was published ten years ago, Eric Sams welcomed it as `a model of critical biography ... an essential vade mecum for all Schubertians'. In the intervening years, however, Schubert's public image has changed considerably. He has, since the 1860s, been the favourite composer of the man in the street, but the view from the academic lecture room has not always been equally attractive. Now the Ph.D. theses flow from the university presses, and 1997, when Schubert's bicentenary is celebrated is likely to see many more. Modern scholarship in the meantime has destroyed many of the familiar hagiographic images of Schubert the man, the impoverished Bohemian, the eternal youth, the reluctant lover, the genius in the garret, and has even dared to bring Schubert's sexuality within the compass of critical discussion. This has made it necessary to revise thoroughly the main text of the book as well as the four detailed appendices which serve as a useful reference section to the book. Its aim remains the same: to provide a readable, authoritative, and reliable guide to Schubert's life and works for the student, the musician, and the general reader.