No subsequent year of Schubert's life witnessed so great a number of
compositions as 1816. For the next year eighty-six compositions are given
in Sir George Grove's list. Of these fifty-two are songs, including many
of those set to Mayrhofer's words. The two songs to Schober's words, above
mentioned, came in this year. Special mention should also be made of the
"Gruppe aus dem Tartarus," to Schiller's words, and of "Lob der Thränen"
and "Die Forelle." "The Pilgrim" and "Ganymede" also belong to this time.
Of large compositions for piano there were the sonatas in E minor; B, Op.
147; A minor, Op. 164; F minor; and A flat; besides the sonata in A, Op.
162, for piano and violin. There were also the variations for piano on a
theme of Hüttenbrenner's; an adagio and rondo; two scherzos, and seventeen
dances for piano; a set of polonaises for violin; and a string trio. The
sixth symphony, in C, was written or finished in November, 1817, and
performed by the amateur orchestral company above described. There were
also three overtures, of which two, written in the Italian style, remind
us that 1817 was the year in which Rossini's operas, newly introduced to
Vienna, were received with wild enthusiasm. Schubert was altogether too
far above Rossini's plane of thought to feel such interest in his work as
he felt for the masterpieces of polyphonic composition. But he appreciated
highly the Italian's gift of melody, and with the assimilative power which
is wont to characterize great genius, he took hints from him which are
apparent not only in the two Italian overtures, but perhaps also in the
sixth symphony. Or in other words, as all creative work is influenced by
its environment, there was a discernible Rossini tinge in the atmosphere
which Schubert was for the moment breathing, and it has left its slight
traces upon a few of his compositions for that year, as upon the work of
less potent creators it left many and deep impressions.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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