Annual Review of Schubert's Life
Introduction and Acknowledgements
These annual reviews are not intended to be a full biography, but to provide a brief narrative, noting something of the main events in the life of Schubert, in the hope of placing the music that he wrote in the broader context of his life.Standard reference material has been used in preparing the notes, especially those recent Schubert biographies by John Reed and Brian Newbould, and the sharp of eye will recognise that much reliance has also been placed on the work of Elizabeth Norman McKay (Schubert: A Biography). Mrs McKay is perhaps unique in building an almost week-by-week account of the composer's life.
It should be noted that any views expressed in the notes should not necessarily be assumed to be the views of these authors; and of course, authorities do not always themselves agree. Reed for instance viewed 1825 as a year of ill-health and poor spirits and possible re-hospitalisation, whilst McKay sees this as a year of generally renewed health and optimism.