Examines the career, music and reception of one of the most misunderstood and elusive composers.This volume explores the culture in which the composer Franz Schubert (1797SH1828) lived and worked, and provides a basic outline of his life examined in relation to the most persistent myths and legends. Schubert's music is then explored according to genre, a chapter on his songs, another on his symphonies, and so forth. The final section looks at the reception of Schubert's music, primarily during the nineteenth century, and considers the performance tradition of his music.This volume explores the culture in which the composer Franz Schubert (1797SH1828) lived and worked, and provides a basic outline of his life examined in relation to the most persistent myths and legends. Schubert's music is then explored according to genre, a chapter on his songs, another on his symphonies, and so forth. The final section looks at the reception of Schubert's music, primarily during the nineteenth century, and considers the performance tradition of his music.This volume explores the culture in which the composer Franz Schubert (1797SH1828) lived and worked, and provides a basic outline of his life examined in relation to the most persistent myths and legends. Schubert's music is then explored according to genre, a chapter on his songs, another on his symphonies, and so forth. The final section looks at the reception of Schubert's music, primarily during the nineteenth century, and considers the performance tradition of his music.Notes on the contributors; Chronology; Note to the reader; Acknowledgments; Introduction: the elusive Schubert Christopher H. Gibbs; Part I. Contexts: Musical, Political, and Cultural: 1. Realism transformed: Franz Schubert and Vienna Leon Botstein; 2. 'Poor Schubert': images and legends of the composer Christopher H. Gibbs; 3. 'The passion for friendship': music, cultivation, and identity in Schubert's circle David Gramit; 4. Schubert's inflections of Classicl)