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Franz Peter Schubert (1797-1828)
Overture No. 2 in the Italian Style, D.591, C Major
In Vienna, Schubert had been trained to follow his father's profession as a school teacher. Honoring his father's expections, he taught school for three years. But Schubert viewed his profession as stifling and he quit his job. Following his abrupt career departure, Schubert began to compose nearly non-stop. In 1815 alone, he produced 144 songs or Lieder. Some of his most memorable Lieder are from 1814-1815 and the song cycles include Gretchen am Spinnrade and Erlkönig. During this period he also produced the Symphony No. 2 in B Flat, D.125, Symphony No. 3 in D, D.200, and Symphony No. 4 in C Minor, D.417.
Besides his expertise in the larger symphonic form, he also revealed his expressive compositional genius in his chamber music and piano literature. Two Lieder from this period were later incorporated into his chamber works. In 1817, Schubert composed the song "Die Forelle" (The Trout); the music was written to compliment a poem by C.F.D. Schubart. Later in 1819, "The Trout" melody was used as a theme and variation movement in the Piano Quintet in A Major (D.667). In 1817, the Lieder "Der Tod und das Mädchen", D.531 (Death and the Maiden) was composed. The "Death Theme" was used again in 1826 in the famous String Quartet in D Minor, D.810, which is known as "Death and the Maiden." Both chamber works are highly imaginative and programmatic. These chamber pieces reveal Schubert's superb and memorable melodic lines which are blended with his sincere emotional expression.
In the middle of these materpieces lie two Overtures in the Italian Style, D.590 and D.591. The Overture in D Major D.590 is a product of the thematic sketches later heard in the incidental music of Rosamunde. In 1823, Schubert received a commission to compose the music that was intended for the play Rosamunde, Princess of Cypress. The text of the play has not survived to this day; however, Schubert's Rosamunde has remained a favorite with audiences. The Overture in C Major D.591 is in the style of Italian opera, which was largely influenced by the works of Rossini. Rossini fever had swept Vienna and his music was foremost in the minds of the Viennese audiences. The Overture in C Major begins with a slow at stately introduction and blossoms into a playful and sparkling Allegro, not without the characteristic Rossini-like surprises.
-- program notes by Laurien Jones