This well-written, inspirational book might interest adults more than children, but youngsters studying Schubert’s piano pieces could also appreciate it children would benefit from hearing the master’s music after listening to or reading this title. By the time Schubert died at age 31 in 1828 (a year after the death of his idol, Ludwig van Beethoven, at whose funeral he’d been a torchbearer), he’d produced 1,000 musical works, including lieder-lyrical songs-some set to friends’ poems. These allies promoted Schubert’s vast accomplishments, enabling him to present impromptu concerts from which he earned a stellar reputation and ardent admirers, though no income he gave only one paid public concert during his lifetime. However, friends encouraged Schubert to follow his passion, and, in early adulthood, he joined them in pursuing a life devoted to the arts. His father discouraged his musical ambition, citing its risky financial future. Narrated by “we,” in the voice of his (mostly) unnamed, devoted friends, this lighthearted, informative biography discusses the brief life and career of the quiet Viennese prodigy. Franz Schubert, dubbed “Our Little Mushroom” by friends because he was small and rotund, adored music from childhood.
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