Schubert
The Music and the Man
Schubert: The Music and the Man By
Brian Newbould. University of California Press.
Price: Paperback $22.00
We often refer to the first Viennese School as consisting of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven.
Schubert is overlooked partly because many musicologists classify him as a Romantic
composer and not a member of the Classical school. The problem, Schubert is both
as in many ways, as was Beethoven.
Newbould makes a good case that in either category, Classical or Romantic, Schubert
is a major composer on par with the three greats of the Classical Era. Much debate
in recent years has been around Schubert about his sexual preferences and the what
I consider the creation of idiosyncracies appearing as major personality and morality
traits. Newbould gives this the appropriate length, about two pages out of four hundred
and ten. Newbould sticks to what we know about him, his music and genius behind it.
It may appear that I am defending this book. I am. A great biography without all
the National Enquirer rumors. It avoids all the "reading into" Schubert
that is popular today, and that makes it the Schubert book to have.
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