How did Franz Schubert Die
Emma Valentine
Published Apr 17, 2026
Schubert died young. Really young. Younger than almost any other famous composer—younger than Mozart, Chopin, or Mendelssohn. He contracted syphilis at 25 and died at 31, which limited his life in many ways but also drove him to be an incredibly prolific composer.
What disease did Franz Schubert have?
Included among the latter are 21 complete sonatas, eight impromptus, Wanderer-Fantasie, dances and piano duets. When he was 26 years old he contracted syphilis and was given the conventional treatment at that time, mercury, which caused him a great deal of problems in the years that followed.
Which composer died of syphilis?
The Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797 to 1828) is believed by many historians to have died from syphilis, although the official cause of death was typhoid fever.
Was Schubert famous while he was alive?
Although he was never rich, the composer’s work gained recognition and popularity, noted for bridging classical and romantic composition. He died in 1828 in Vienna, Austria.Was Franz Schubert married?
Like Beethoven, Schubert was never married. His elder brother, Ferdinand, a schoolmaster-musician like the rest of the family, and a minor composer, was one of his most devoted supporters, and deserves recognition as such.
Did Schubert commit suicide?
Schubert died in Vienna, aged 31, on 19 November 1828, at the apartment of his brother Ferdinand. The cause of his death was officially diagnosed as typhoid fever, though other theories have been proposed, including the tertiary stage of syphilis.
Did Schubert know he was dying?
But one thing is clear: in September of 1828, Schubert had not the faintest idea that he had only two months to live. We read that he had “premonitions of death” but, in fact, they were no worse than the premonitions he’d been having for the nearly six years since his diagnosis.
Why did Schubert go to Hungary?
Why did Schubert go to Hungary? Schubert quit teaching in 1818 to tutor the daughters of Count Esterhazy. List some of the things that German Romantic poets liked to write about. The beauty of nature and the sorrows of love.Did Schubert wear a wig?
In 1822, Schubert began to suffer from headaches, intermittent fever and skin rash. The next year, his scalp began to itch so intensely, that he had his patchy head shaved and bought a wig. … As a composer, Schubert’s work received little recognition during his lifetime.
What is Schubert most famous piece?Franz Schubert is best remembered for his songs—also called lieder—and his chamber music. He also created symphonies, masses, and piano works. His most notable works included Erlkönig, written in 1815 and based on a poem by Goethe; Ave Maria!, written in 1825; and the Symphony No. 9 in C Major, begun in 1825.
Article first time published onWas Schubert a good pianist?
Schubert and his keyboard style A good but not brilliant pianist, Schubert wrote in a style which did not make huge technical challenges. His piano music is highly original, with some of the finest pieces in the piano duet repertoire.
What animal did syphilis come from?
Syphilis also came to humans from cattle or sheep many centuries ago, possibly sexually”. The most recent and deadliest STI to have crossed the barrier separating humans and animals has been HIV, which humans got from the simian version of the virus in chimpanzees.
What US president had syphilis?
Abraham Lincoln told his biographer, friend, and law partner of 18 years, William Hearndon, that he had been infected with syphilis in 1835 or 1836.
How did Hugo Wolf get syphilis?
Wolf was notoriously intractable. … The cause of Wolf’s insanity and early death was syphilis, probably contracted on a visit to a brothel when he was 17 – a customary Viennese initiation. The love of his life was Melanie Köchert, married to Wolf’s benefactor, the Viennese court jeweller.
How long was the career of Schubert?
During a career lasting less than 20 years, Franz Schubert (1797-1828) produced a torrent of work, including operas and symphonies; 600 songs; overtures and masses; string quartets, quintets and an octet; 20 piano sonatas; and some 50 choral works. Here are 20 essential facts about the great man.
How old is Schubert?
January 31, 1797 – d. November 19, 1828), is considered to be the last grandmaster of the Viennese Classical school of music, as well as one of the earliest proponents of Romanticism. Although Schubert died at the age of 31, he is counted among the most gifted composers of the 19th century.
Is Beethoven deaf?
Beethoven first noticed difficulties with his hearing decades earlier, sometime in 1798, when he was about 28. By the time he was 44 or 45, he was totally deaf and unable to converse unless he passed written notes back and forth to his colleagues, visitors and friends. He died in 1827 at the age of 56.
How did Schumann get syphilis?
It is widely accepted that Robert Schumann died of the effects of tertiary syphilis, a disease he contracted while very young, possibly from his father’s household maid.
Was Chopin influenced by Schubert?
However, Chopin was on a par with this in his own way, since much of his music is fundamentally vocal in conception. While Schubert based his work on the German lieder, Chopin was inspired by Italian opera from the early 19th century. … For Schubert, the piano was one of many ways in which he expressed himself musically.
What was Robert Schumann's illness?
His diagnosis was dementia praecox, an illness soon renamed schizophrenia. Previously most commentators had repeated the diagnosis of Franz Richarz, Schumann’s doctor at the Endenich mental asylum, who reported that Schumann had died of progressive paralysis brought on by overwork and exhaustion.
Was Mozart Amadeus deaf?
Mozart was neither blind nor deaf. The worst experience he had with this was as a child, when he contracted smallpox and his eyesight was temporarily…
Which composer died the youngest?
Ludwig van BeethovenBornBonnBaptised17 December 1770Died26 March 1827 (aged 56) ViennaOccupationComposer pianist
Which classical composer died the youngest?
Franz Schubert (died aged 31 years, 9 months) And besides his chamber music and symphonies, the 20th century brought about a new appreciation of his extensive sequence of piano sonatas. Yet, like Mozart, Schubert when he died was still a phenomenally gifted young composer with a developing style.
Why did Beethoven not wear wigs?
But Beethoven was a rebel – “a kind of a punk rock rebel,” he adds. “He realized he didn’t want to fit in and abandoned the wig, and sort of single-handedly changed fashion styles.”
Did Schubert believe in God?
SCHUBERT’S RELIGIOUS LIFE If we examine the songs that Schubert composed to devotional texts, however, there is evidence that he retained his Christian faith throughout his life. Early religious experiences in his family and school laid a foundation of belief that affected him throughout his life.
Did Schubert play guitar?
The composer and publisher Anton Diabelli, who published many of Schubert’s early works (some of which were initially published as transcriptions for voice and guitar) was a professional guitarist.
Were known as the Russian Five and they formed a true?
The Five, also called The Russian Five or The Mighty Five, Russian Moguchaya Kuchka (“The Mighty Little Heap”), group of five Russian composers—César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov—who in the 1860s banded together in an attempt to create a truly national school of …
Who was Schubert's idol?
Once a stern critic of German music, Franz Schubert became passionate devotee of Beethoven later in life, so much so that he asked on his deathbed to be buried with his idol.
Who was considered as the last classical composer and the first romantic ones?
Medieval(500–1400)Baroque(1600–1760)Classical(1730–1820)Romantic(1815–1910)Modernist(1890–1950)
How many kids did Schubert?
The Schuberts, Franz Theodor (23), Elisabeth (30) now had three children: Ignaz (2), Elisabeth (1) and the newcomer, Karl. This family bliss did not last long – it rarely did in these times – and 1788 turns into the family’s annus horribilis.
Who is the best Schubert pianist?
Great performers Great Schubert pianists include Artur Schnabel, Rudiolf Serkin, Alfred Brendel, Radu Lupu, Mitsuko Uchida and András Schiff, who has also performed the sonatas on a piano of Schubert’s time.