12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 16: Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 - IV. 'The Trout'

by Franz Schubert

Performer: European Archive

Directions

Study the musical selection for one week.

Over the week:

• Listen to the music daily.
• Read the synopsis.
• Review the vocabulary terms.
• Read about the composer.
• Complete the enrichment activities.
• Study the review questions.

Synopsis

The next tremendous composer for study is the Austrian Franz Peter Schubert, and the title of his story is 'The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Beautiful Songs' by Thomas Tapper. The first piece is 'Piano Quintet in A major, D. 667 - IV. Andantino – Allegretto.' The fourth movement offers variations on the melody, 'Die Forelle' or 'The Trout.'

Vocabulary

Quintet: A group of five musicians.
Trout: A fish closely related to salmon, distinguished by spawning more than once.
Andantino: Play lighter and usually quicker than andante.
Allegretto: Play rather fast and lively.

Composer

1. One might say of Schubert that he was born with a spring of melody in his heart and a song on his lips. See the music and lyrics for 'Die Forelle' or 'The Trout.' 'The Trout' is the featured music for this lesson. Can anyone make a melody lovelier than this?

2. Schubert composed many kinds of music, but his songs are most loved by everybody. They are sung all over the world. And just because he never let a song come from his lips that did not first come from his heart. Look at the lyrics to 'Wandering' below. Is not this a jolly one?

3. Schubert's full name was Franz Peter Schubert. He was born in Vienna, Austria on January 31, 1797, in a very simple house that looks quite old-fashioned. A sign on the house says: Franz Schubert's Birthplace [2].

4. At that time, the great American authors Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant were all boys. Once when Schubert was very ill a friend sent him some books by James Fenimore Cooper to read. They were 'The Last of the Mohicans,' 'The Spy', 'The Pilot,' and 'The Pioneer.' See a picture of James Fenimore Cooper.

5. You may not know so much about these American authors now, but someday they will be quite as good friends as any you will ever make. Even though these boys were a little older than Franz Schubert, let us always think of them together.
6. Then, of course, we should think of Schubert together with the composers who lived when he did. Here are some whose names you can remember very easily.
7. This is Carl Maria von Weber, who wrote operas and conducted them himself. He was born eleven years before Schubert.

8. This is Gioachino Antonio Rossini, an Italian composer of operas. He was born in 1792, five years before Schubert. Schubert's life was so short, however, that Rossini lived forty years longer than the great song writer.

9. Carl Czerny was born in the year 1794, and wrote many studies for the piano. How much older was he than Franz Schubert?

10. This is Gaetano Donizetti, an Italian opera composer. One of his well-known operas was 'Lucia di Lammermoor.' He was born in 1797, just as Schubert was.

Enrichment

Activity 1: Recite the Composition Information

• Recite the name of the composer and the composition.

Activity 2: Study the Music Timeline

Examine the music timeline to answer the following questions.

• What is the year of birth of the lesson composer?
• What is the year of death of the featured composer?
• How old was the composer upon death?
• Which composer (if any) directly precedes the studied composer by date of birth?
• Which composer (if any) directly succeeds the lesson composer by date of birth?
• Which other timeline composers were alive at the same time as the studied composer?

Activity 3: Map the Music

• Franz Peter Schubert was born in Austria.
• Find Austria on the map of Europe.

Activity 4: Study Facts About Franz Peter Schubert

• Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna.
• His birthday was January 31, 1797.
• He died in Vienna in 1828.
• When Schubert was born Beethoven was twenty-seven years old.
• Schubert was a schoolmaster.
• He had his first music lessons from his father, who was also a schoolmaster and who played the violin.
• His brother taught him to play the piano, and he studied singing so as to join the Emperor's Choir.
• Then he studied harmony with a famous man named Salieri.
• When Franz was thirteen, he composed two piano pieces, at fourteen he wrote two songs, and when he was sixteen, he wrote a symphony.
• When he was eighteen, Franz wrote more than a hundred songs.
• He composed The Erl-King when he was nineteen.
• In all, Schubert wrote over six hundred songs, lots of piano pieces, nine symphonies, and many other compositions.
• What other composer also wrote nine symphonies? Hint: He was the last composer we studied.
• Schubert made many good friends. With them and his music he found all his happiness.
• Once when he was very ill, he read some books by an American author. Do you remember the author's name?
• One of Schubert's most beautiful symphonies was called 'The Unfinished,' because he did not live to complete it.

Review

Question 1

Where was Franz Peter Schubert born?

1 / 4

Answer 1

Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.

1 / 4

Question 2

When was Franz Peter Schubert born?

2 / 4

Answer 2

Schubert was born on January 31, 1797.

2 / 4

Question 3

Name two American authors who were boys when Franz Peter Schubert was born.

3 / 4

Answer 3

When Schubert was born, the great American authors Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant were all boys.

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Question 4

Name a composer who lived at the same time as Franz Peter Schubert.

4 / 4

Answer 4

Composers who lived at the same time as Schubert include Haydn, Beethoven, Von Weber, Rossini, Czerny, and Donizetti.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. Where was Franz Peter Schubert born? Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria.
2. When was Franz Peter Schubert born? Schubert was born on January 31, 1797.
3. Name two American authors who were boys when Franz Peter Schubert was born. When Schubert was born, the great American authors Washington Irving, James Fenimore Cooper, and William Cullen Bryant were all boys.
4. Name a composer who lived at the same time as Franz Peter Schubert. Composers who lived at the same time as Schubert include Haydn, Beethoven, Von Weber, Rossini, Czerny, and Donizetti.

References

Tapper, Thomas. Franz Schubert - The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Beautiful Songs Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1915.

Photo: 'Wien Geburtshaus Franz Schubert' by Andreas Praefcke (CC BY 3.0). Wikimedia Commons. commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wien_Geburtshaus_Franz_Schubert.jpg. n.p.