Birth of Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert was born on 31 January 1797 in Himmelpfortgrund. An Austrian composer of the early Romantic period, Schubert was a Viennese who wrote around six hundred songs, among them Erlkönig, Gretchen am Spinnrade and the cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise. He also composed symphonies, including the Unfinished and the Great C major, as well as chamber works such as the Trout Quintet and Death and the Maiden quartet, and a large body of piano music. He earned little in his short life and was known mainly within a circle of friends who gathered at musical evenings called Schubertiads. Much of his work was published or performed only after his death at 31, and he is now counted among the supreme masters of the art song.

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