12 Tremendous Composers 12 Composers    

Lesson 17: Piano Sonata no. 21 in B-flat major, D. 960

by Franz Schubert

Performer: Paul Pitman

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

Written in the last months of this life, 'Piano Sonata no. 21 in B-flat major, D. 960' was part of the trio of compositions by Franz Schubert known as 'Schubert's Last Sonatas.' This sonata consists of four movements: 1) Molto moderato, 2) Andante sostenuto, 3) Scherzo: Allegro vivace con delicatezza - Trio, and 4) Allegro ma non troppo – Presto.

Vocabulary

Molto Moderato: Play at a moderate tempo.
Andante sostenuto: Play at a moderately slow tempo, with the notes played in a prolonged manner.
Scherzo: Play in a light and playful manner.
Allegro vivace con delicatezza: Play in a quick and lively manner, but gently.
Allegro ma non troppo: Play in a quick and lively manner, but not too much so.
Presto: Play in a very quick tempo.

Composer

1. Franz Peter Schubert's father was a schoolmaster, and so was Franz himself for three years. He taught the little children of Vienna their A-B-C's, and how to do sums. Of course, he helped them to learn to read. Sometimes we find it quite hard to take one piano lesson or violin lesson a week. But from the time when Franz Schubert was a very little boy, he had lessons every week for violin, voice, and piano.
2. A little later he began to study harmony with a very famous man who knew Mozart. His name was Antonio Salieri.

3. With so many lessons and with school work just as we have it, Franz must have been a very busy boy. He was quite poor and often very hungry; but in spite of that he was always good natured and full of fun. At eleven years of age he became a singer in the chapel of the Emperor. It was here that Salieri was director.
4. Franz sang in the choir until he was nearly seventeen. Then he became a schoolmaster, because, of course, he had to earn his living. Wherever he was Franz was thinking music and composing it. Once he wrote a song called The Serenade at a table outside an inn. An artist has made a picture of this.

5. Once Schubert was seen by his boyhood friends busily writing a new song. So quick did he write that the ink was hardly dry on one sheet before the next one was done. He was writing the music to a beautiful fairy poem by the great German poet Goethe. The poem is called The Erl-King, and tells how the fairy Erl-King chases a father who is rushing on horseback with his dying child in his arms. Finally, just as the father reaches his courtyard the child dies. It is a beautiful song sung by the greatest singers.
6. Goethe, the great poet, is not known to have met Schubert. He paid little attention to his music. Here is his picture.

7. Sometime you will learn about Joseph Haydn, who died in Vienna when little Franz was twelve years old. Papa Haydn, as he was called, was music master in a famous family called the Esterhazys. Let us put a picture of Joseph Haydn here just to remember that he was an old man of seventy-seven when little Franz was a boy of twelve.

8. Well, Franz Schubert also lived for a time with the Esterhazy family. He was piano teacher to the children of Count Johann. Franz was then twenty-one years old.

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 the world.

Activity 4: Write a One-Page Paper About Franz Peter Schubert

Read these facts about Franz Peter Schubert and write a one-page story out of them, using your own words.

• 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

What was the occupation of Franz Schubert's father?

1 / 4

Answer 1

Franz Schubert's father was a schoolmaster.

1 / 4

Question 2

Who taught Schubert harmony?

2 / 4

Answer 2

A famous man named Antonio Salieri taught Schubert harmony.

2 / 4

Question 3

Give the name of a famous song by Schubert.

3 / 4

Answer 3

Famous songs include 'Erl-King' and 'The Unfinished.'

3 / 4

Question 4

Which famous musician died in Vienna when Schubert was twelve years old?

4 / 4

Answer 4

Haydn died in Vienna when Schubert was twelve years old.

4 / 4

❮ ❯

1. What was the occupation of Franz Schubert's father? Franz Schubert's father was a schoolmaster.
2. Who taught Schubert harmony? A famous man named Antonio Salieri taught Schubert harmony.
3. Give the name of a famous song by Schubert. Famous songs include 'Erl-King' and 'The Unfinished.'
4. Which famous musician died in Vienna when Schubert was twelve years old? Haydn died in Vienna when Schubert was twelve years old.

References

Tapper, Thomas. Franz Schubert - The Story of the Boy Who Wrote Beautiful Songs Philadelphia, PA. Theodore Presser Co., 1916.

'Schubert's last sonatas.' Wikipedia. Wikipedia.org. n.p.