# Back In Time...Music Style!!!



## 4/4player (Nov 17, 2006)

Hey everyone!

Imagine this scenario:
_You have been granted the ability to travel back in time. Which composer would you choose to visit and why?(Your visit will not affect the time itself/future)_

I'll be looking for some interesting responses by my fellow clever members!

4/4player


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## Topaz (Oct 25, 2006)

There can only be one answer to this for me: *Franz Schubert *(1797 - 1828).

This is because:


he lived in a city and culture of great musical achievement (Vienna), so this in itself would be worthwhile just to soak up the atmosphere at the time.
Schubert was an extremely fine and prolific composer, in my book the next best after Beethoven; even by the age of 19, he had written 3 symphonies plus some some very virtuous songs (Erlkonig). I find Schubert the greatest melody maker of them all, and his songs are superb; his later works especially are outstanding, in particular his song cycles and last piano sonatas and Impromptus. There is more substance to many of Schubert's works than the earlier Mozart (not all, I agree, as Mozart produced some extremely fine works), but this is a reflection of the fact that Schubert had already moved into a post-classical style verging on romantic. His later works are romantic.
he was a very modest and affable person who had time for other people; I reckon he would have been most charming and easy to speak to and would have done his best to make others feel at ease. On the other hand I suspect that Beethoven who would have appeared remote and stand-offish to outsiders, no doubt mainly because of his deafness, and his rather insular world.
he would hopefully invite me along to one of his "Schubertiads", i.e. evening social gatherings of his musical friends. I bet they were really good, with Schubert on the piano (he was an accomplished pianist) and friends swooning around listening his genius outpourings.
Schubert was not well known in his day, and relied very largely on friends to keep him going financially; he used to move around the city to take advantage of friends' hospitality; in this sense he was the first "Bohemian" composer. If we can't change things I guess it would be difficult to say anything to him, but it would be nice to let him know somehow that he would get high recognition in due course. Beethoven already knew that his own fete was sealed, but Schubert certainly didn't.
I'm being a bit cheeky because, whilst visting Schubert, I would very likely get a glimse or two of Beethoven who was active at the very same time and place as Schubert. Schubert's great focus of admiration was Beethoven whom he regarded as god-like. A discussion about Beethoven would be the icing on the cake. Schubert's dying wish was to be buried as close as possible to Beethoven, and that is exactly what happened, as Schubert died 20 months after Beethoven. Schubert's premature death is the one of the biggest musical sadnesses in history: what might have been?

Topaz


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