17 Aug 2015

Schubert's Chamber Music

From Composer of the Week, 9:00 am on 17 August 2015

Watercolor of Franz Schubert by Wilhelm August Rieder PD
Watercolor of Franz Schubert by Wilhelm August Rieder (1825)

Chamber music in the later 18th century was composed with private performances in mind. In Vienna anyone with the slightest pretension of being cultivated threw himself into the business of domestic music-making with all the energy and resources at his disposal.

Schubert's family was no exception. His father, Franz Theodor, a school teacher, was a keen amateur musician and his children all received early musical training. Schubert received his first piano lessons from his older brother Ignaz, and had violin lessons from his father. During his school holidays from around 1811 Schubert took on the role of viola player in the family quartet and his first foray into the composition of string quartets grew directly out of his experience playing in the family quartet.

Music Details:

SCHUBERT: String Quartet in D minor – Hyperion CDA 67585
SCHUBERT: Quartet in C, Adagio – Allegro con moto – Upbeat URCD 126
SCHUBERT: String Quartet in D minor – Hyperion CDA 67585
SCHUBERT: Octet in F – Hyperion CDA 67339
SCHUBERT: Piano Trio in Bb, D898 – Capriccio 71102
SCHUBERT: String Quintet in C – Capriccio 10788