Schubert

An insightful biography of the great composer, revealing Schubert’s complex and fascinating private life alongside his musical genius   Brilliant, short-lived, incredibly prolific—Schubert is one of the most intriguing figures in music history. While his music attracts a wide audience, much of his private life remains shrouded in mystery, and significant portions of his work have been overlooked.   In this major new biography, Lorraine Byrne Bodley takes a detailed look into Schubert’s life, from his early years at the Stadtkonvikt to the harrowing battle with syphilis that led to his death at the age of thirty-one. Drawing on extensive archival research in Vienna and the Czech Republic, and reconsidering the meaning of some of his best-known works, Bodley provides a fuller account than ever before of Schubert’s extraordinary achievement and incredible courage. This is a compelling new portrait of one of the most beloved composers of the nineteenth century.

Author Biography

Lorraine Byrne Bodley is professor of musicology at Maynooth University. Internationally renowned as a Schubert and Goethe scholar, her previous books include Schubert’s Late Music, Rethinking Schubert, Goethe and Zelter, and Schubert’s Goethe Settings.