Franz Schubert – Sheet Music & Scores

“Anyone who loves music can never be completely unhappy.” Franz Schubert (1797–1828)

Come immerse yourself in the musical world of Schubert. Take a winter’s journey to the beautiful miller’s wife, listen to the wanderer’s fantasy, and serenade the Erlking! Browse our sheet music and scores, and discover more about Schubert today!

From “little mushroom” to star of the Schubertiade

Franz Schubert was an Austrian composer of the Romantic Period. His friends called him “Schwammerl”, which means “little mushroom”, because of his small, chubby stature. His response however was simple, “take people as they are, not as they should be”, and that is exactly what the people did in 1821, when they organised the “Schubertiades” in his honour, a series of highly acclaimed salon concerts in Vienna, in which his works (especially his songs) were showcased, and in with Schubert himself played the piano. Even today, the term Schubertiade is widely used to describe a series of concerts or music festivals.

From bearing the torch, to immortality

For a long time, Schubert lived in the shadow of Ludwig van Beethoven, whom he greatly admired, and in whose Vienna neighbourhood he lived for a short while, although at the time, the two composers never actually meet. Schubert said of his role model: “I think I could become something... but who can do anything after Beethoven?” They finally met in 1822, and a great mutual respect and admiration grew. When Beethoven passed in 1827, Schubert was one of the torchbearers at his funeral. Schubert himself died just a year later, much before his time, but through the abundance and wealth of his work, he and his music were quickly viewed along with Beethoven as immortal.

One of the greatest song composers… and much, much more

His composition “Gretchen am Spinnrade”, Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel, is often called the birth of Art Song. He set over 600 poems to music, including the famous song cycles Winterreise and Die schöne Müllerin, based on poems by Wilhelm Müller. Some of the most renowned recordings of Schubert’s songs were made in the 1960s by Fritz Wunderlich (tenor) and Hubert Giesen (piano).

But Schubert was much more than just the sum of his songs, he wrote numerous works for piano, many symphonies and masses, and he also tried his hand at opera. His symphonies are divided into six early works, and two late works that were not discovered until after his death, the Unfinished Symphony in B Minor and “The Great” Symphony in C Major, D944.

A few more of Schubert’s highlights are the Forellenquintett or Trout Quintet for Piano and String Quartet, the Schubert Impromptus, and the Moments Musicaux by Schubert for Piano.

A few more links for Schubert

• Art Song by Franz Schubert
• Piano Works by Franz Schubert
• String Trios by Franz Schubert
• String Quartets by Franz Schubert
• Sacred Music by Franz Schubert
• Masses by Franz Schubert
• Choral Music by Franz Schubert
• Symphonies by Franz Schubert
• Operas by Franz Schubert
• Books about Franz Schubert
• Sheet Music Downloads by Franz Schubert