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Schubert's Family
Franz Schubert was born on January 31, 1797, in a small village outside of Vienna. He was a short, flabby little man, who wore glasses. Yet, he had a very magnetic personality, and had acquired many good friends. He father, who emigrated to Vienna from Morovia, was a parish schoolmaster, and his mother (maiden name: Elizabeth Vitz) was a cook. His parents ended up having a total of fourteen children, several of whom died young. Franz was the youngest of all the children, separated from his eldest brother, Ignaz, by twelve years. He was especially attached to his brother Ferdinand, who was three years older than Franz. Schoolmastering was a characteristic occupation among The Schubert family. Franz’s uncle, and his two brothers also became schoolmasters as soon as they were old enough.
The Schubert family did have quite a musical taste. Franz’s father was a violoncello player, and his two brothers were both violin players. The trio would often gather together in the home and make music together. Franz’s two brothers became his first teachers, and as soon as he had reached beyond their capacities, he was passed on to the parish choir-master, Michael Holzer, who taught him to play the piano and violin, as well as studying organ and harmony. Holzer was amazed by the young boy’s potential, and said afterwards: "If ever I wished to teach him anything new, I found he knew it already. I cannot be said really to have given him lessons at all; I merely amused myself, and looked on."
The truth of the matter was that Franz’s friends and family were hardly virtuoso musicians, and none of them knew what to do with him, and many people feel as though he could have been an ever more talented adult if he had been challenged more as a child. But at least it can be said that mechanical drilling and discipline could not have improved the sensitive impressionableneess which was the heart of his masterpieces; in fact it could have taken away some of his spontaneity and originality for the sake of "theoretically balanced" treatment.
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