Replies

The poet, actor and general wastrel Franz von Schober was the kind of guy who spent his entire life getting other people into trouble. But when it came time for the bill to be paid, he was always on the other side of town. Schober was not so much bisexual, as omni-sexual. A ripe melon would not have been safe in the same room with him. He ran through several fortunes – of other people’s money.

He helped Franz Schubert get away from his father, who was a megalomaniac and a monster. He and Schubert are now believed to have been gay lovers, but Schober had no problem taking his friend to a whorehouse or two, with devastating results for Schubert. It was secondary syphilis combined with typhoid that killed Schubert at age 31. Schober managed to die in bed at age 86 surrounded by grieving great-nieces and great-nephews.

Schubert set a number of Schober’s poems to music, and some of those songs are exceptional. This is one of the best, a song that describes my own attitude toward music.

At her final recital, Elizabeth Schwarzkopf chose this as her valedictory piece, but she broke down at the next-to-last line, and the pianist finished without her. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

The video has both German and English translations.

Schubert: “To Music” (sung by Felicity Lott)