Of the Mozart fantasia there is not room to speak in detail. Note, however, the very clever modulatory treatment of the leading idea in the first two pages, and the entrance of the lovely slow melody in D major near the end of the second page. The latter is Mozart-like in the extreme.
CHAPTER VI.
SCHUBERT AND MENDELSSOHN.
FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT.
Born January 31, 1797, at Lichtenthal, near Vienna.
Died November 19, 1828, at Vienna.
Franz Peter Schubert, the great song-writer, was born, the son of a parish schoolmaster, at Lichtenthal, near Vienna. The family was musical, and the father and a few of his friends used to hold quartet parties every Sunday afternoon, at which the works for string quartet then current were played, also compositions by Haydn and other good composers. The boy very early showed such talent that his father taught him the violin, and occasionally allowed him to take part with the rest. He had a beautiful soprano voice, which, attracting the attention of the director of the music at St. Stephen's Cathedral, secured him admission to the choir and to the Imperial Convict, or school for educating the choristers for the Court-chapel, where, besides the usual branches of education, he was taught music thoroughly. This continued until his voice broke, whereupon he was turned out to shift for himself. For the three years next following he assisted his father in the school, teaching the lowest class in it, and proved himself, it is pretty certain, a very indifferent teacher. Later he resigned this position, and struggled on during his short life mainly by the assistance of friends, one of whom saw to it that the indefatigable composer was supplied with music paper; another shared his room with him, etc. Between 1818 and 1824 he spent his summers at the Hungarian estate of the great Prince Esterhazy, teaching the daughters music and arranging music for the household. Here many of his works were written. In Vienna he had an orchestra of school-boys for quite a long time, which probably played his works occasionally, as well as those of composers of less complicated works.
