“Der Lindenbaum” (“The Linden Tree”), poem by Mueller is a poignant poem of unhappy love. It is the fifth song in the cycle Die Winterreise (1827).
“Staendchen” (“Serenade”), poem by Rellstab. This is probably one of the most famous love songs ever written. It is the fourth song in the cycle Schwanengesang (1828).
“Der Tod und das Maedchen” (“Death and the Maiden”), poem by Claudius (1817). This dramatic song consists of a dialogue between a young girl and Death, the words of death appearing in a solemn melody while that of the girl in a breathless entreaty. Schubert used this melody for a set of variations in his string quartet in D minor (1824).
Like Beethoven and Mozart Schubert wrote a considerable amount of popular dance music for solo piano, and also for orchestra: German Dances, Laendler, and Waltzes. All have a vigorous peasant rhythm and with melodies reminiscent of Austrian folk music. Schubert’s waltzes are of particular interest since he was one of the first composers to unite several different waltz tunes into a single integrated composition. The Schubert waltzes, each a delight, are found in Valses sentimentales, op. 50 (1825) and Valses nobles, op. 77 (1827). Liszt adapted nine of the more popular of these waltz melodies in Soirées de Vienne for solo piano. The 20th-century French Impressionist composer, Maurice Ravel, was inspired by these Schubert waltzes to write in 1910 the Valses nobles et sentimentales in two versions, for solo piano, and for orchestra.
Marche militaire (Militaermarsch) is a popular little march in D major originally for piano four hands, the first of a set of three marches gathered in op. 41. This is one of Schubert’s most popular instrumental numbers. Karl Tausig transcribed it for solo piano, and it has received many other adaptations including several for orchestra, in which form it is undoubtedly best known.
Moment Musical is a brief composition for the piano. It is in song form and of an improvisational character, and is a genre of instrumental composition created and made famous by Schubert. He wrote many such pieces, but the one always considered when this form is designated is No. 3 in F minor, a graceful and lovable melody, the very essence of Viennese Gemuetlichkeit, although it is subtitled “Russian Air” (Air Russe). Fritz Kreisler transcribed it for violin and piano and it is, to be sure, familiar in orchestral adaptations including one by Stokowski, as well as versions for cello and piano, string quartet, clarinet quartet, four pianos, and so forth.
The incidental music to Rosamunde (1823) includes an often played overture and another of Schubert’s universally loved instrumental numbers, the Ballet Music. When Rosamunde was introduced in Vienna on December 20, 1823 it was a failure, but this was due more to the insipid play of Helmina von Chézy than to Schubert’s music. The overture heard upon that occasion is not the overture now known as Rosamunde. The latter is one which Schubert had written for an earlier operetta, Die Zauberharfe. A dignified introduction is dominated by a soaring melody for oboe and clarinet. The tempo changes, and a brisk little melody is given by the violins; a contrast is offered by a lyric subject for the woodwind.
The Entr’acte No. 2 in B-flat major from Rosamunde is one of Schubert’s most inspired melodies, whose beauty tempted H. L. Mencken once to point to it as the proof that God existed. Schubert himself was fond of the melody for he used it twice more, in his String Quartet in A minor (1824) and for a piano Impromptu in B-flat major (1827).
There are two musical episodes in Rosamunde designated as Ballet Music. The famous one is the second in G major, a melody so sparkling, infectious and graceful—and so full of the joy of life—that once again like the Moment Musical in F minor it embodies the best of what today we characterize as Viennese. Fritz Kreisler’s transcription for violin and piano is famous.