Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian c… Read Full Bio ↴Franz Peter Schubert (31 January 1797 – 19 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works (mainly lieder), seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. His major works include the art songs Erlkönig, Gretchen am Spinnrade, Ave Maria; the Trout Quintet, the unfinished Symphony No. 8 in B minor, the "Great" Symphony No. 9 in C major, the String Quartet No. 14 "Death and the Maiden", a String Quintet, the two sets of Impromptus for solo piano, the three last piano sonatas, the Fantasia in F minor for piano four hands, the opera Fierrabras, the incidental music to the play Rosamunde, and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang.

Born in the Himmelpfortgrund suburb of Vienna, Schubert showed uncommon gifts for music from an early age. His father gave him his first violin lessons and his elder brother gave him piano lessons, but Schubert soon exceeded their abilities. In 1808, at the age of eleven, he became a pupil at the Stadtkonvikt school, where he became acquainted with the orchestral music of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. He left the Stadtkonvikt at the end of 1813 and returned home to live with his father, where he began studying to become a schoolteacher. Despite this, he continued his studies in composition with Antonio Salieri and still composed prolifically. In 1821, Schubert was admitted to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde as a performing member, which helped establish his name among the Viennese citizenry. He gave a concert of his works to critical acclaim in March 1828, the only time he did so in his career. He died eight months later at the age of 31, the cause officially attributed to typhoid fever, but believed by some historians to be syphilis.

Appreciation of Schubert's music while he was alive was limited to a relatively small circle of admirers in Vienna, but interest in his work increased greatly in the decades following his death. Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann, Franz Liszt, Johannes Brahms and other 19th-century composers discovered and championed his works. Today, Schubert is ranked among the greatest composers in the history of Western classical music and his work continues to be admired and widely performed.

Winterreise: Auf dem Flusse
Franz Schubert Lyrics

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Der du so lustig rauschtest
Du heller, wilder Fluß
Wie still bist du geworden
Gibst keinen Scheidegruß

Mit harter, starrer Rinde
Hast du dich überdeckt
Liegst kalt und unbeweglich

Im Sande ausgestreckt

In deine Decke grab ich
Mit einem spitzen Stein
Den Namen meiner Liebsten
Und Stund und Tag hinein:

Den Tag des ersten Grußes
Den Tag, an dem ich ging
Um Nam und Zahlen windet
Sich ein zerbrochner Ring

Mein Herz, in diesem Bache
Erkennst du nun dein Bild?
Ob’s unter seiner Rinde
Wohl auch so reißend schwillt?
Ob's wohl auch so reißend schwillt?

Mein Herz, in diesem Bache
Erkennst du nun dein Bild?
Ob’s unter seiner Rinde
Wohl auch so reißend schwillt?

Ob's wohl auch so reißend schwillt?
Ob's wohl auch so reißend schwillt?

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Franz Schubert's "Auf dem Flusse" (On the River) from the song cycle Winterreise explore themes of stillness, introspection, and the frozen state of the river. The singer addresses the river, which used to flow so joyfully and wildly but has now become quiet and motionless. The river is covered with a hard, frozen surface, lying cold and unmovable in the sand. The singer takes a sharp stone and inscribes the name of his beloved, along with the date and time, into the frozen surface. He references the day of their first greeting and the day he left. Wrapped around the name and numbers is a broken ring, symbolizing the fractured nature of their relationship or their separation.

The singer then turns inward, addressing his heart reflected in the river's surface. He wonders if his heart, like this river, is also turbulent and raging beneath its surface, hidden by the frozen exterior. The repetition of the final two lines reinforces this introspective questioning, as the singer seeks to understand the true nature of his own emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

Der du so lustig rauschtest
Oh, you who once flowed so merrily

Du heller, wilder Fluß
You radiant, wild river

Wie still bist du geworden
How quiet you have become

Gibst keinen Scheidegruß
No longer bidding farewell

Mit harter, starrer Rinde
Covered in hard, rigid ice

Hast du dich überdeckt
You have concealed yourself

Liegst kalt und unbeweglich
Lying cold and motionless

Im Sande ausgestreckt
Stretched out on the sand

In deine Decke grab ich
Into your frozen surface I carve

Mit einem spitzen Stein
Using a sharp stone

Den Namen meiner Liebsten
The name of my beloved