Between 1815-1824, acclaimed house concerts took place in the large family apartment of Sonnleithner in Gundelhof, Vienna. Ignaz Sonnleithner had gathered a group of culturally interested citizens and soon came into contact with Schubert. These house concerts from Sonnleithner offered Schubert a great way to make his works known in Vienna.
The first documented event, which can be described in a narrower sense as a Schubertiade, took place on January 26, 1821 in the home of the Schober’s family. From 1822 on, Schubert used the term himself.
In the first Schubertiaden, Franz Schubert played piano and the baritone Johann Michael Vogl (or later Carl von Schönstein) sang his songs. Readings and witty fun and games, which were often themed, were also typically present among the evenings. These gatherings were a mixture of amicable meetings and literary and musical salons.
Frequent guests were Joseph Sonnleithner, Leopold von Sonnleithner, Fritz and Franz von Hartmann, Anton Doblhoff-Dier, Joseph Huber, Johann Baptist Jenger, Jacob Nicolaus Craigher, the painter Moritz von Schwind, Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld and Wilhelm August Rieder, the poet Johann Mayrhofer, Johann Gabriel Seidl and the composer and conductor Franz Lachner, as well as Schubert’s closest friends Joseph von Spaun, Franz von Schober, Karl Enderes, Joseph Witteczek, Joseph of Gahy and Eduard Bauernfield.
Besides Sonnleithner, Schubertiaden were hosted by the painter Ludwig Mohn, the Bruchmann family, the poet Franz von Schlechta, Eduard Bauernfield, and Schober’s uncle Joseph Derffel, administrator of the castle Atzenbrugg.
The last major Schubertiade during the composer’s lifetime took place on January 28, 1828 at Joseph von Spaun’s residence in the so-called Wiener Klepperställen (between Teinfaltstraße and Schreyvogelgasse). Shortly before this, in the fall of 1827, Franz Schober had hosted Schubert’s presentation and announcement with the words: “a circle of scary songs” – referring to the great song cycle, Winterreise. As evidenced by the previous and similar incidents, the Schubertiaden are also musicologically relevant.
Today, our Schubertiaden project maintains the essence of a culturally relevant and high quality musical event shared in an intimate atmosphere with family and friends that is made possible by a generous host.
