Once upon a time, Schubert’s music was exclusively played at intimate house soirees, famously known as Schubertiaden. Today the composer’s concerts are very much intact, whether in alpine scenery, or a more underground setting.
by Marsa Kindl-Omuse and Marietta Steinhart
„Mozart and Beethoven reach heaven - Schubert comes from there.” (Oskar Werner, Austrian actor)
Once upon a time, Schubert’s music was exclusively played at intimate house soirees, famously known as Schubertiaden. As shy as Schubert may have been in public, the more sociable he was among friends. People would dance, sing, play charades, drink, and read poetry, while the music man was sitting at the piano, playing his latest work.
Today, the composer’s concerts are very much intact, whether in alpine scenery, or a more underground setting.
"One evening I invited Schubert over to me because I ... had received several bottles of red wine ... After we had emptied the noble Sexarder down to the last drop, he sat down at my desk and composed the wonderfully lovely Lied ‘Die Forelle.’ "
"Die Forelle" is also a charming Lied that serves as an example of music tailor-made for Schubertiade evenings. Its storyline is about life and death, and its title character, „a happy little trout,” is killed by a heartless fisherman.
It is said that one night, Schubert performed this new song, when someone in the audience said: „You know, Franz, the accompanying topic reminds me very much of Beethoven's Coriolan Overture.” Schubert apparently replied: „Well, then it's nothing new, get rid of it!” and wanted to tear up the sheet of music. Luckily, he could be persuaded, to not irrevocably destroy what today is one of his most famous songs.
„Mozart and Beethoven reach heaven - Schubert comes from there.”
Today, the term Schubertiade still refers to intimate concerts and festivals. The most well-known and experience-worthy is the Schubertiade Festival in Austria's Alpine region Vorarlberg.
Despite this festival’s world-class atmosphere, it is not a place to see and be seen. Picturesque hills, charming villages and towns, friendly people, and music fans from all over the world make up the unique, tranquil vibe of the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg and Hohenems.
It is all about keeping this festival at an intimate character, peacefully listening to top-quality music, and enjoying a good conversation about it at dinner afterwards with like-minded friends.
Schubert would probably have loved it!
If you had asked passers-by in the narrow alleys of Vienna in the mid-19th century about the importance of Franz Schubert, many of them would probably have replied with a fair-minded frown, ‘Franz who?’ Today, this son of Vienna is world-renowned and his Kunstlieder its own genre in the classical music world.
Music is a tradition that Austrians uphold and continue with great enthusiasm. No other country can claim such an impressive history of major composers who either come from or made their mark in Austria. The following is a list of world-class festivals that celebrate this musical heritage.
