Some 20th-century commentators described the young Schubert as an amateur for flouting musical rules in his Second Symphony, and Johannes Brahms advised against performing these early symphonies.
Composer Biography
Franz Schubert wrote his opera Des Teufels Lustschloss at the age of sixteen, shortly after completing his First Symphony.
Compositional Technique
In his Second Symphony, Schubert often preserves the identity of his themes and motifs, allowing them to explore different tonal and instrumental colors rather than reworking or varying them.
Composition History
Schubert's opera Alfonso und Estrella of 1821-22 was an early example of through-composed opera, preceding Carl Maria von Weber's Euryanthe.
Recording & Production
This recording is part of a complete recording of Franz Schubert's symphonies with the Basel Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Heinz Holliger.
Historical Context
The assassination of German writer August von Kotzebue, whose dialogue was used in Schubert's opera Des Teufels Lustschloss, triggered the repressive Carlsbad Decrees in 1819.
Compositional Technique
The second movement of Schubert's Second Symphony is the only variation movement in his entire symphonic output.
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