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Caitlin Schafer
TH 142-01
April 28, 2014
Analysis of Rckblick
From Franz Schuberts Der Winterreise
Franz Schubert was born in Vienna on January 31, 1797, the son of a schoolmaster who
was an amateur musician himself. Schubert first studied music from his father and brother. He
was later admitted into the Imperial and Royal City College as a choirboy, where he studied with
Antonio Salieri. Schubert proved himself to be a talented singer, pianist, organist, and violinist as
well as a composer. After leaving the college, he worked as a schoolmaster alongside his father,
however, he detested teaching and was determined to make it as a composer (Classical). In his
early years he would compose some of his most successful lieder, including "Gretchen am
Spinnrade", "Der Erlknig", and Die Forelle. Over the course of his life he would compose just
over a thousand pieces, including symphonies, operas, and piano works, as well as vocal works
for both choir and solo voices (Burrows). He discovered that he contracted syphilis at the age of
25, after which Schubert entered a very dark period in his life. In addition to being ill, he was
often depressed and nearly suicidal. He stayed with family or friends, unable to live on his own.
At the age of 32, Schubert died of syphilis in his brothers home on November 19, 1828, the
same year he finally was able to purchase his own piano (Bio).
The year 1827 was an eventful one. Schubert began working on Die Winterreise and
completed it by the end of the year. He was invited to meet Beethoven, and was a torchbearer at
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the composers funeral a week later (Classical). Coincidentally, the poet who wrote the text of
Winterreise, Wilhelm Mller, died this year as well (Baumann). Schubert himself would
succumb to his illness a year later. Der Winterreise is a set of twenty four poems which Schubert
set to music as a two part song cycle. The text tells the story of a young mans journey away
from a place where he was once welcome. The family that had once accepted him has turned him
away, and the maiden he loves has now been promised to a wealthier suitor. And so the young
man, who is often referred to as the Wanderer, narrates his long winter journey away from the
town and people he had grown to love, and all of the memories and emotional turmoil he faces
along the way. The somber, depressing mood of this work is a reflection of Schuberts poor
health and state of mind at the time as he suffered in the final stages of his illness. At first, his
friends were surprised by the bleakness of the work. To this shock, Schubert merely replied I
like these songs more than any, and they will come to please you too. And so they did (Burrows
179).
Rckblick or Looking Back is the eighth piece in the Winterreise song cycle. In the
text, the Wanderer narrates his haste to leave the town that once welcomed him. He describes
every stone on the ice covered streets making him stumble and the crows on the rooftops
showering him with snow. The syncopation throughout the piece paints a picture of running,
restlessness, and the Wanderers haste to leave town. This is also portrayed in the rapidly
alternating major and minor chords, most commonly i and V, leaving little room for the piano
accompaniment to breathe. The Wanderers mind begins to drift to how he viewed the town
before his love rejected him, how the birds sang, the stream sparkled, and how a beautiful
maidens eyes cast a spell on him. He expresses a desire to return to his loved ones door as he
recalls these happy memories. Schubert uses modal mixture, repeatedly flipping back and forth
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between g minor and G major, to portray the Wanderers despair interrupted by pleasant
memories. Quite often, Schubert omits or displaces the third of the chord, leaving the quality of
the chord open. One example of this can be found in measure 9, where there is a pedal tone on D
and A is present in the measure, but no F or F sharp to tell us if the chord is major or minor. This
could also possibly be a reflection of the Wanderers uncertain emotions.
The song is in ternary form. The A section lasts for 27 measures and is set in g minor. It
ends on a perfect authentic cadence in the parallel major key. The tone of this piece is desperate
and agitated, as the Wanderer narrates his escape from the town he once loved. The piano
introduction lasts for 10 measures, consisting of two sets of repeated phrases separated by one
independent phrase. Schubert plays a lot with repeated material, utilizing it multiple times in
each section with varying degrees of repetition. The opening measures are followed immediately
by a phrase that is identical to the first. There is a repetition of measures 11 to 13 beginning on
measure 14, with no musical variation aside from the text used. In the B section, Schubert creates
a parallel symmetrical period, complete with repeated text, which differs only in the last
measures of each phrase. The last four measures of the A section repeats a portion of text which
has already been repeated with different music. These are just a few of examples of repetition
that can be found throughout the piece.
Schubert also makes a lot of use of pedal tones; they exist in almost every measure, with
non-chord tones playing around them. An excellent example of this can be found in the first
measure. Here Schubert has written a pedal on D, the dominant of the key. Underneath, the notes
start on the tonic G and rush up chromatically to meet the dominant on the first beat in the
second measure. In this measure and the measures like it, the notes are identical for both the bass
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and treble clef, the differences being the rhythms creating syncopation and the octave they play
in.
The B section, now in G major, begins with a pickup to measure 28 and ends on measure
48 with a half cadence. This section contrasts with the frantic feel of the A section, though it still
maintains the syncopation. Here the Wanderer describes the town as he used to see it, and the
first few phrases are more wistful. As he remembers the eyes of the woman he loves, the music
takes a turn, and a series of secondary dominants lead deceptively to an imperfect authentic
cadence.
The piece then moves back to the parallel minor key for the reoccurring A section,
however moves back to G major from measure 59 until the end. The beginning harmonic
structure of the A section is very similar to that of the A section where the vocals come in. The
music retains elements from both of the previous sections, starting out agitated in g minor then
becoming more hopeful as it finishes in the parallel major. The entire piece cadences on a plagal
cadence in G major, the only cadence of its kind in this piece. Though the song begins frenzied,
the conclusion leaves the listener with a sense of stillness (Malin 100).
Through this piece, and the entire Winterreise song cycle, Schubert demonstrates his
ability to capture emotion and paint a scene. His use of syncopation and modal mixture clearly
illustrate for the listener a situation laden with angst derived from Schuberts own life.
Rckblick particularly draws in the listener in with its dramatic introduction and sweet and
contrasting middle section, inviting the audience to experience all of the obstacles and inner
turmoil a young heartbroken man faces on his winter journey.

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Works Cited
Baumann, Cecilia C. "Wilhelm Mller: The Poet of the Schubert Song Cycles." Penn State
University Press. Penn State University, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.psupress.org/books/titles/0-271-00266-2.html>.
Burrows, John, ed. Visual Reference Guides: Classical Music. New York: Metro, n.d. Print.
"Franz Schubert." Bio.com. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.biography.com/people/franz-schubert 9475558#impact&awesm=~o
CB1mfGaBpIGbz>.
"Franz Schubert." Classical Net. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.
<http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/schubert.php>.
Kaufmann, Jonas. Winterreise, D911: Rckblick. Sony, 2014. MP3.
Malin, Yonatan. Songs in Motion: Rhythm and Meter in the German Lied. Oxford: Oxford UP,
2010. Google Books. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.<http://books.google.com/books?id=TQ5G_sJH
35wC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false>.





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