World History Project: Two Scoops of Schubert

A Lack of Perspective:

After having tackled Ludwig van Beethoven (hey, that sounds funny, but he did get into a street fight with his brother over money, so...) last year, I figure it's time for another edition of WHP.

I wasn't sure who to dig into next so I started reading about some of the composers who followed after LVB. It turns out there was this guy who actually served as one of his pallbearers. Last name Schubert... 

And it caused a reaction usually reserved for the Susquehanna Hat Company. Why you might ask? Well, after months of intensive therapy, a memory was unearthed.

Sometime after The White Album came out, I read a critic's quote, stating that Lennon and McCartney were the greatest composers since Schubert. Now, a normal person would have appreciated this affirmation of the value of pop music in general and the Beatles in particular.

But, my eleven-year-old brain's reactions were:

1. Okay, he's in the ballpark, but... 
2. No, they are the greatest composers OF ALL TIME.
3. And who the f*ck is this guy Schubert, anyway??

At that age, we all had our lists of greatest whatever of all time. Here's mine (sorry, Kanye!):

• Band: Beatles
• Guitar: Eric Clapton
• Bass: Jack Bruce
• Drums: Ginger Baker (Hey, those guys should form a band!)
• Keyboards: Nobody cares.

Some Perspective:

It all sprang from a defensiveness about rock music built up over a childhood full of adults telling me how bad it was.  My reaction - borne of my "how can I be more of an asshole?" adolescence was to strike back with the brilliant riposte: Oh yeah? MY music is not only GOOD. It's THE ALL- TIME GREATEST and YOUR music (with everyone wearing suits in black and white movies and not a guitar in sight) SUCKS, and so forth.

It hadn't yet occurred to me that my time on Earth made up an exceedingly small part of "all-time", so some stuff actually happened before I was, you know, born.

So how the hell would I know?  Plus, that Schubert guy did write "Ave Maria"...

And legend had it there were other songwriters, too. Names like Ellington, Gershwin, Porter, Berlin, and a few others kept popping up.

I knew the time would come when I'd have to, uh, face the music. (Sorry.) Which I did for a lot of those names. 

Now it was time to give Franz a chance.

Piano Guy: 

Schubert played and wrote for the piano. If you went to a party with him and there was a piano in the room, god help you. He'd sit down and just start making things up as he went.

Advice: Always sit near the door.

Schubert: Piano Sonata in B Flat and Fantasia in C, Alfred Brendel, Piano

But his stuff was Pretty, Pretty Good.

Fantasia is quite nice with a lot of flourishes of melody and movement, but the real find here is the Sonata. 

Now, concertos and symphonies are great, but they also have lots of other instruments and it all can get rather busy. I'm a small combo guy, so I prefer sonatas, which are typically just one instrument. How do I remember which is which, you ask? With the following mnemonic device: S'not a lotta that extra bullshit.

And this one doesn't disappoint. While it's got the usual fussy parts, it also stretches out into some quiet, soulful territory, which is my sweet spot. Highly recommended.

A-

"Piano Sonata in B Flat"

Lieder of the Pack

But since this whole thing started as a comparison of songwriters, I knew I'd have to listen to, you know, actual songs. Or as Schubert insisted on calling them, lieder.

And given the way he cranked them about - about 600 - I didn't know where to start. And then the good old internet came through with an article on where to start.

But even that was too much, so I put on my consumer cap and looked for how to get the biggest bang for the buck. 

Schubert: Three Song Cycles: Die Schone Mullerin, Winterreise, Scshwanengesang - Dietrich Fischer Dieskau, Gerald Moore

And it's quite the bang. Fifty-eight songs and nearly three hours worth. I really could have only gotten one but by getting all three I'm actually saving money.  What was I supposed to do, not get it?

While I waited for it to arrive, I tried to not keep a picture of sound in my head regarding what to expect. The main thing I wanted was some sweet melody and relaxed singing. Not some stuffed shirt huffing and puffing like he was ordering panzers into Poland.

And for the most part, that's what I got. Sure, it takes a bit of getting used to and there are moments when things get awfully...formal - I feel I have to change out of my pajamas before putting it on - but overall it's about the beauty. And there's a lot of it. There are parts that aren't great but at least I can hear what Franz is going for.

Of the three, I give Winterreise the edge.

A-

"Gute Nacht"

More Perspective:

And through the wonders of the internet - which has done so much to bring us all together by spreading accurate information - I found the following in a Wikipedia article about the White Album:

In The Observer, Tony Palmer wrote that "if there is still any doubt that Lennon and McCartney are the greatest songwriters since Schubert", the album "should surely see the last vestiges of cultural snobbery and bourgeois prejudice swept away in a deluge of joyful music-making".

Wow, that Tony Palmer really knew his shit.