The Life of Schubert

Library Journal

Here, Gibbs (music, SUNY at Buffalo; editor, The Cambridge Companion to Schubert) focuses on the relationship of Schubert's music to his brief life (he died at 31 of unknown causes) and vice versa, with background on friends, teacher Antonio Salieri, and the social scene in 18th-century Europe. Along the way, he analyzes the copious biographical material on Schubert, acknowledging some of the more sensational issues (his sexual orientation) and critical evaluations (superficiality of his output). But rather than take sides, Gibbs carefully assesses the evidence, and, for the most part, allows the reader to make judgments. The organization is more or less chronological, paced by the compositions. Explorations of individual compositions rarely resort to technical analysis; instead, Gibbs is more interested in discussing each work's aesthetics and relating it to Schubert's life. Although clearly a fan, he does not gloss over Schubert's human frailties. The net result is a well-researched, warmly written, and refreshing new look at the Austrian composer. [Other recent books on Schubert include Elizabeth Norman McKay's Franz Schubert (LJ 10/1/96) and Brian Newbould's Schubert: The Music and the Man (LJ 3/15/97).--Ed.]--Timothy J. McGee, Univ. of Toronto Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.\

April Dammann

...the latest book in Cambridge's excellent series of short, non-specialist Musical Lives...[an] intelligent treatment...
—Times Literary Supplement

Kirkus Reviews

paper: 0-521-59512-6 A splendid and admirably concise biography of a tragically short-lived genius. The first biography of Franz Schubert (1797-1828) did not appear until nearly 40 years after his death, `an inconceivable lapse of time for any other leading nineteenth-century composer,` notes critic and academic Gibbs (Music/SUNY Buffalo). In the interim, all kinds of myths arose about Schubert, many persisting to this day—the gist of them being that Schubert, dismissed by the Viennese cultural elite, lived a lonely life of wrenching poverty and died in obscurity. Gibbs, in quiet but elegantly persuasive prose, refutes these notions with convincing evidence to the contrary, consisting largely of contemporary music reviews as well as letters by Schubert's many friends. Most of these friends were well placed in Viennese society and vigorously championed his music, often effectively. Because of their efforts, by the time of Schubert's early demise, he was quite well known and respected in musical circles and was posed for a brilliant career. Gibbs quotes critics of respected musical journals holding up Schubert's late large works (i.e., string quartets and piano sonatas) against those of the recently deceased Beethoven. He also clears up the much discussed mystery of the lost `Gastein` Symphony by arguing that it was never lost at all, but is one and the same as the Ninth ("Great") Symphony. Gibbs also gives strong evidence that Schubert, irrespective of earlier biographers' accounts, was acutely aware of his gifts and aggressively promoted his own cause until unexpectedly cut down, probably a result of his health being damaged by an earlier bout with syphilis. Gibbsalsodeals with claims made in the last decade by musicologist Maynard Solomon and others concerning Schubert's homosexuality: he does not deny it but notes that the evidence for the speculation is extremely skimpy. The meager basis of the rumors (gushing pronouncements of love in letters to and from his male friends) is, in Gibbs's view, simply a misunderstanding of the 19th-century European male's expression of friendship. This slender volume, crammed with good research, should be the paradigm for the contemporary biography.

From the Publisher

"...timely and valuable." "Mr. Gibbs, with his solid grounding and balanced view, packs a great deal into a small space and supplies a corrective still sorely needed." --New York Times, June 19, 2000

"One of the best concise depictions of the man Schubert." Alan Hirsh, Booklist

"A well researched, warmly written, and refreshing new look at the Austrian composer." Timothy J. McGee, Library Journal

"This slender volume, crammed with good research, should be the paradigm for the contemporary biography." --Kirkus Review, Apr. 1, 2000

"Gibbs, with his solid grounding and balanced view, packs a great deal into a small space and supplies a corrective still sorely needed..." James R. Oestreich, International Herald Tribune

"...excellent, compact, and readable biography....it better presents a wide range of issues in more informal, yet compelling, language. Recommended for all academic and public collections." Choice

"Christopher H. Gibbs's slim volume, "The Life of Schubert," in Cambridge University Press's series Musical Lives, is therefore timely and valuable. Though terse, it brings all those matters up to date in an eminently readable manner." Books of the Times