听力原文：The Austrian composer, Schubert, was born in Vienna. His father, a schoolmaster,

听力原文： The Austrian composer, Schubert, was born in Vienna. His father, a schoolmaster, was his first music teacher. When he was 11, he was fortunate in being chosen to one of the Vienna Boy's singing group. There he received a free general education as well as music teaching. He began to compose in these years, mostly instrumental or orchestral compositions, but also a few songs. He spent more time in covering sheets of paper with these compositions than at 'his other studies.

After he left the singing group, Schubert became a schoolmaster to avoid being sent into the army, and he taught at his father's school for 3 years. When only 17, he wrote his first great song, and during the next 2 years he wrote many of his finest songs. After his 3 years' teaching, he lived with various friends, all as penniless as himself, composing all the time, sometimes writing eight songs in a day, and even sleeping in his spectacles in case he might have an idea for a song during the night. Although he hated teaching, he earned some money by giving piano lessons.

Schubert never became widely famous outside Vienna during his life. It was late in his short life, and only after much persuasion, that publishers began to print and sell some of his compositions; and Schubert received very little money for these. He had been able to be happy and free to compose, though extremely poor. But a cloud of sadness hung over in his late years. In 1827 he wrote his song-cycle for voice and piano. "The Winter Journey" and its sadness reveals his own state of mind. In the autumn of 1828 he fell iii for the second time in his life and died. Almost all his last words were of Beethoven, whom he loved and admired above all other composers. He was buried beside him.

Although Schubert died when only 32, he wrote a great amount of music. He had little academic training but a very sure musical instinct. Much of his finest work he never heard performed.

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