'Light' Biographies
Introduction
These largely biographical works are categorised as 'light' based on their size, scope and content. In general, any book with less than 100 pages of biographical material will be categorised as 'light', as will slightly larger modern works. By 'light', I do not necessarily imply that the book is not serious, or not the result of considerable research (though in some cases they certainly are). Also includes what are fundamentally just 'picture books' with some biographical material.
| Author: | Herbert Antcliffe | Title: | Bell's Miniature series of Musicians. Schubert |
| Desc: | G. Bell and Sons, London.
1910. 72pp, inc list of works and bibliography. 5 plates. Kahl # 1130. |
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| Notes: | Short life and works biography of Schubert. | ||
| Author: | Richard Baker | Title: | Schubert a life in words and pictures |
| Desc: | Little Brown, London,
1997. 146pp, plus index. Many b&w and colour plates. Hilmar # 110 |
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| Notes: | A rather disappointing bicentenary release. Richard Baker, at the time a member of SIUK, is a well know broadcaster and erstwhile newsreader. He has previously produced an illustrated biography of Mozart. The text is perfectly readable, and fairly accurate, but there are some howling errors (Schubert is said to have read Heine in school, for example). The pictures seem to have been cobbled together by a picture editor with no interest in the subject. Many are late romantic representations when perfectly acceptable contemporary ones exist, and the captions are often misleading or plain wrong. | ||
| Author: | Ralph Bates | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Peter Davis, London,
1934. 162pp, plus glossary, bibliography, index. Frontispiece. Hilmar # 132 |
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| Notes: | A fairly short biography with a fairly unique style - you might call it colloquial, opinionated, almost vulgar (he thinks Schubert's father was oversexed, and calles Diabelli an "editorial thug"). So very different from, e.g. Flower, published just 6 years previously. Very readable, though he seems to believe in the wildest of old wives tales, including "Count Stefan". It is clear from their correspondence that Deutsch and Brown thought the book was awful. First American edition from Appleton in 1935. English reprint in 1938. | ||
| Author: | Bernhard Binkowski | Title: | Schubert Bilder aus seinem Leben |
| Desc: | Schreiber, Stuttgart.
1961. 64pp, 54 plates, notes. (in German) Hilmar #246. |
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| Notes: | Schubert pictures with notes and short biographical sketch | ||
| Author: | Eric Blom | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Novello, Sevenoaks; n.d.
(1938). 14pp. Not in Hilmar |
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| Notes: | By far the shortest book I'm likely to refer to. Part of the 'Novello short biographies' series, it runs to just 14 not particularly accurate pages. From Eric Blom, translator of the Deutsch Documents, and erstwhile editor of Grove's Dictionary. | ||
| Author: | José Bruyr | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | La Guilde du Livre. 1967.
191pp, 7 plates, plus quotes, works list, discography. (in
French) Hilmar # 449 |
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| Notes: | Short life and works biography of Schubert. In the Musiciens de tous les temps series. | ||
| Author: | Paul Bülow | Title: | Franz Schubert ein Deutsches Musikerleben |
| Desc: | Diesterweg, Frankfurt am
Main. 1928. 34pp, fronticepiece. (in German) Kahl # 2048 |
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| Notes: | Short centenary paperback biography, in German | ||
| Author: | George H. Clutsam | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Murdoch, Murdoch &
Co, London. Not dated (1912). 28pp, illustrated, musical examples.
Not in Kahl |
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| Notes: | Short biography from the Mayfair biographies series, by Clutsam, an Australian composer who made the arrangements for Lilac Time. There is a later (thought still undated) edition published by Chappell. | ||
| Author: | Ernst Ekker and Doris Eisenburger | Title: | Franz Schubert Ein musikalisches Bilderbuch |
| Desc: | Annette Betz, Vienna,
Munich. 1996. ISBN 3-219-10647-1. 26pp, profusely illustrated. (in
German) Hilmar # 995. |
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| Notes: | Musical picture book about Schubert. Appeared with or without a CD. | ||
| Author: | Franz Farga | Title: | Franz Schubert ein Lebensbild |
| Desc: | Humboldt Verlag, Vienna,
1947. 101pp. In German Hilmar # 1026 |
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| Notes: | Short, straightforward life and works biography. | ||
| Author: | Max Friedländer | Title: | Franz Schubert. Skizze seines Lebens und Werkens |
| Desc: | Peters, Leipzig, n.d.
(1928). 43pp, tipped in frontispiece. In German Kahl # 2204 |
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| Notes: | A short biography which is, I understand, a revised version of his dissertation from 1887. | ||
| Author: | Ernst Hilmar | Title: | Franz Schubert in his Time |
| Desc: | Amadeus Press, Portland,
1988. ISBN 0-931340-07-1. 114pp plus 44 pages of chronology, notes,
bibliography and index. A few b&w plates. Hilmar # 1555 |
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| Notes: | Translated from the German by Reinhard Pauly. Part biography, part background information. A short book by the Chairman of the IFSI, trying to place Schubert in his time, and debunk a lot of the traditional views of Schubert as a Biedermeier man, or a starving Bohemian slaving away in his attic. | ||
| Author: | Ernst Hilmar | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Akademische Druck-und
Verlagsanstalt, Graz, 1996. 214pp. Many illustrations. (in
German) Hilmar # 1571 |
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| Notes: | A pictorial biography of Schubert. Lots of interesting pictures, including serious and less serious subjects. First published in 1989. | ||
| Author: | Ernst Hilmar | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Rowohlt, Reinbek bei
Hamburg, 1997. ISBN 3-499-50608-4. 160pp, many illustrations, time
line, quotes, comprehensive bibliography. (in German) Hilmar # 1622 |
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| Notes: | Fairly short life and works biography of Schubert, but with good selection of pictures and appendices. | ||
| Author: | Karla Höcker | Title: | Wege zu Schubert |
| Desc: | Bosse, Regensberg, 1940.
200pp, many illustrations, facsimile. (in German) Hilmar # 1684 |
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| Notes: | Short biography of Schubert, with letters and other documents. | ||
| Author: | William H Humiston | Title: | Little Biographies - Schubert |
| Desc: | Breitkopf, New York,
1925. 32pp, illustrated, works list. Kahl # 1279 |
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| Notes: | Small biography. Reprinted by Associated Music Publishers, New York, in 1928, who managed to spell him 'Shubert'. | ||
| Author: | Stephen Jackson | Title: | Franz Schubert An essential guide to his life and works |
| Desc: | Pavilion, London; 1996.
ISBN 1-85793-987-5. 110pp including bibliography, list of works,
recommended recordings, index. Hilmar # 1810 |
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| Notes: | A book in the Classic FM Lifelines series. Relatively short, 110 pages including an index, list of complete works, short bibliography and (very sensible) list of recommended recordings. Very little on his life, and there are several errors in what is included, and lots of flowery prose about the works. | ||
| Author: | Wilhelm Klatte | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Siegel, Leipzig, 1907.
112pp, many illustrations, facsimiles and musical examples. (in
German) Kahl # 1018 |
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| Notes: | Small, nicely illustrated, life and works biography. Has, amongst other things, a reproduction of the sketch of the 3rd movement of the Unfinished Symphony. There seem to have been several printings with slightly different adverts, bibliography, contents pages, etc. | ||
| Author: | Herwig Knaus | Title: | Franz Schubert vom Vorstadtkind zum Compositeur |
| Desc: | Löcker, Vienna,
1997. ISBN 3-85409-272-5. 147pp, illustrated, bibliography. (in
German) Hilmar # 1975 |
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| Notes: | Biographical book with lots of background material, covering the period up to about 1818. With chapters about Schubert interspersed with background information about the times. | ||
| Author: | Karl Kobald | Title: | Franz Schubert [Der Meister des Deutschen Liedes Franz Schubert] |
| Desc: | Österreichischer
Schulbüchverlag, Vienna, 1922. (in German) Kahl # 1568 |
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| Notes: | Short Schubert biography, which, despite the publisher, does not look like a children's book. Was reprinted for the 1928 bonanza by Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst, Vienna & Leipzig, when the title was changed to Der Meister des Deutschen Liedes Franz Schubert. | ||
| Author: | Georg Richard Kruse | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Velhagen & Klasing,
Bielefeld & Leipzig, 1924. 64pp, with 65 illustrations. (in
German) Kahl # 1651 |
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| Notes: | Short pictorial biography. Nicely illustrated. Second edition in 1928. | ||
| Author: | La Mara (Marie Lipsius) | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Breitkopf & Härtel,
Leipzig, 1912. 71pp including list of works and few adverts. (in
German) Kahl # 274 |
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| Notes: | Small biography, originally printed in La Mara: Musikalische Studienköpfe, Leipzig, 1868. | ||
| Author: | Joseph August Lux | Title: | Franz Schubert ein Lebensbild aus deutscher Vergangenheit |
| Desc: | Flemming & Wiskott,
Berlin, 1922. 152pp. Kahl # 1571 |
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| Notes: | Works and life biography of Schubert, in German | ||
| Author: | Dr. Alfred Orel | Title: | Franz Schubert 1797-1828 Sein Leben in Bildern |
| Desc: | Bibliographisches
Institut AG, Leipzig, 1939. 40pp plus 63 plates.(in German) Hilmar # 2673. |
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| Notes: | Short biography of Schubert with many plates, in German | ||
| Author: | Richard Petzoldt | Title: | Franz Schubert Leben und Werk |
| Desc: | Breitkopf & Härtel,
Leipzig, n.d. [1947]. 80pp, 4 plates, musical examples, with
Gesamtausgabe list, bibliography, list of recordings, family tree
and time line.(in German) Hilmar # 2761 |
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| Notes: | Small life and works biography, in German | ||
| Author: | Richard Petzoldt | Title: | Franz Schubert: Sein Leben in Bildern |
| Desc: | Verlag Enzyklopädie,
Leipzig; 1953. 40pp of notes, plus 78 brown and white pictures. (in
German) Hilmar # 2762. |
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| Notes: | Not the 'life in pictures' book (see Deutsch) but a thin volume of 78 pictures, with a brief biography. Most of the pictures are very familiar, one or two are just padding, but there are a few that are uncommon, notably what purports to be the Schubert's house in Neudorf. | ||
| Author: | Herbert F Peyser | Title: | Schubert and his work |
| Desc: | Grosset & Dunlap, New
York, 1946. 48pp, 6 illustrations. Hilmar # 2765. |
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| Notes: | Short life and work biography, presented by the New York Philharmonic Symphony Society. First appeared in paperback, and was reprinted in hardback in a new edition with a few more pages and illustrations in 1950. | ||
| Author: | John Reed | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Faber and Faber, London,
1978. ISBN 0 571 10327 8. 106pp, many illustrations and music
examples. Hilmar # 2902a |
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| Notes: | A very basic biography with lots of pictures and music examples. Part of the Great Composers series. Too short to call a good biography, but accurate because of the writer. The abundance of musical examples seems strange in a book which is otherwise superficial. | ||
| Author: | Mark Rowlinson | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Everyman-EMI, London,
1997. ISBN 1-85715-605-6. 182pp. Many illustrations, notes, texts,
chronology, index. Hilmar # 3022 |
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| Notes: | Basic, though adequate, life and works biography. From the Everyman-EMI Music Companions series, it comes packaged in a slipcase with 3CDs from EMI classics, which contain a very sensible selection of Schubert's works across all genres. The book is nicely produced and lavishly illustrated: all in all the package is much better than you might expect from the format. | ||
| Author: | Marcel Schneider | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Solfèges, ?Paris?,
1957. 191pp, many illustrations, chronology, list of works,
bibliography, discography. Hilmar # 3110 |
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| Notes: | Illustrated life and works biography. About 100 pages on the life, less on the works. Lots of poorly reproduced illustrations. First published in French. A German edition was published in Hamburg in 1958, and an American edition was published by Grove Press, New York, in 1959. | ||
| Author: | Karl Schönewolf | Title: | Franz Schubert, ein großer Volkskünstler |
| Desc: | Schubert-Ausschuß,
Berlin, 1953. 120pp, illustrated, suggested concert programmes. (in
German) Hilmar # 3117 |
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| Notes: | Works and life biography. | ||
| Author: | Hans Sittenberger | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Rascher, Zurich, 1928.
122pp.(in German) Kahl # 2935 |
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| Notes: | Short centenary biography of Schubert, in German. Also has an appendix with a few letters, diary entries, etc. | ||
| Author: | H. J. Taylor | Title: | The Life of Schubert |
| Desc: | Weeks, London. n.d. [ca
1910-20]. 21pp with portrait, summary of works and 90 questions on
Schubert, plus adverts. Hilmar # 3436 |
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| Notes: | Very short biography, part of the 'musical booklets' series that included other biographies and general background on music. | ||
| Author: | Barrie Carson Turner | Title: | Franz Schubert |
| Desc: | Exley, Watford, 1995.
ISBN 1-85015-494-5. 64pp, many illustrations, time line, index.
Not in Hilmar |
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| Notes: | Short pictorial biography of Schubert. Nicely produced, but very basic. | ||
| Author: | Joseph Wechsberg | Title: | Schubert his life, his work, his time |
| Desc: | Rizzoli, New York, 1977.
ISBN 0-8478-0122-5. 219pp plus bibliography, index. 12 pages of
colour plates, many b&w illustrations. Hilmar # 3624 |
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| Notes: | A pictorial biography, which, whilst it makes no pretence to be a scholarly work, is actually quite a bit better than first appearances would suggest. Stuffed full of pictures, and not just the usual ones, so there is less text than you would expect from over 200 pages. Also appeared in German. | ||
| Author: | Felix Weingartner | Title: | Franz Schubert und sein Kreis |
| Desc: | Orell Füssli Verlag,
Zurich, 1928. 12pp plus 12pp of notes and 68 pictures. (in
German) Hilmar # 3624 |
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| Notes: | Short description of Schubert's circle, and lots of pictures, in German. | ||
| Author: | Heinrich Werlé | Title: | Franz Schubert ein Leben im Werk |
| Desc: | Brandstetter, Leipzig,
1942. 28pp. Hilmar # 3674. |
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| Notes: | Small biographical booklet. Second improved edition in 1944. | ||
| Author: | Peggy Woodford | Title: | Schubert his life and times (reprinted as Schubert Illustrated Lives) |
| Desc: | Midas Books, London,
1978. 159pp, many illustrations. Hilmar # 3771. |
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| Notes: | A perfectly acceptable, though rather superficial biography of Schubert with lots of illustrations, including virtually all the 'usual' pictures, many of which are very badly reproduced. More often seen in the reprinted edition by Omnibus (1984), part of the 'Illustrated Lives of the Great Composers' series. | ||
| Author: | Percy M Young | Title: | Schubert |
| Desc: | Benn, London; White, New
York; 1970. ISBN 0 510-13732-6. 78pp, illustrated, with music
examples. Hilmar # 3810 |
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| Notes: | A very short basic biography, with horrible drawings, part of the 'Masters of Music' series. Very opinionated, sometimes quoting as facts things that are just opinions, and thus not always accurate. Amusing to read because of it! | ||
| Author: | Fritz Zoder | Title: | Franz Schubert der große Wiener Tondichter und Liederfürst |
| Desc: | Pichlers Witwe &
Sohn, Vienna, 1928. 31pp, illustrated. (in German) Kahl # 3121 |
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| Notes: | Short pictorial centenary paperback biography, in German | ||