This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1913 Excerpt: ...written in 1815. A mass, performed in 1814 in the Lichtenthal church, excited much enthusiasm, and was followed by an Schubert opera, another mass, and other large works. After three years he resolved to set out by himself upon a strictly musical career, and accordingly took lodgings with a friend in Vienna. In such Bohemian surroundings his remaining life was passed. His retiring and modest disposition prevented him from attracting much attention, and the sales of his works brought a scant income. A few friends appreciated his abilities, notably the singer Vogl, who performed his songs and gave him practical advice; but numerous rebuffs from the public and publishers wounded his sensitive nature. Beethoven recognized his genius only when too late to be of any assistance; and Schubert died in poverty and neglect. 147. Character. Schubert had a kindly disposition. He was content to remain in a narrow circle, and was always cheerful and free from jealousy. He has been called the least schooled of the great musicians, and his melodic facility seems to have constrained him to throw aside the prescribed limits of structure, especially in his larger works. Yet this very freedom enabled him to indulge in a wealth of intimate melodic expression which has sometimes been characterized as possessing "heavenly length," and of which the occasional diffuseness was redeemed by emotionalsincerity. Everything tends toward the simple utterance of feeling. Possessed by a given mood, he often repeats passages, sometimes with slight alterations; wavering between major and minor, as if revelling in the melody he has evoked. Schubert wrote with great rapidity, sometimes completing several songs in a single day. This rapidity of thought, however, made him averse to revis...