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Perspectives in the Arts and Humanities Asia

Abstract

Excerpt: In March 1827, Beethoven died, a colossal figure—or rather a hero-musician—whom Franz Schubert greatly admired. “Secretly, in my heart of hearts,” he had told his friend Joseph van Spaun, “I still hope to be able to make something out of myself, but who can do anything after Beethoven?” It seemed as though Schubert was unable to escape the shadow of his idol, but in the eighteen months around the time of Beethoven’s death Schubert reached the peak of his creative productivity. During this period, 1826–27, he completed the Winterreise, the C Major symphony, his last three piano sonatas, and the C Major String Quintet, among other works. He was set to soar to greater heights, but he died of an illness in Vienna on November 19, 1828. He was thirty-one years old.

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