095 - Schubert vs. Richter: A Studio Class Listening Project

In a recent class with three intermediate students (8th-11th grade), we compared the music of Franz Schubert and Max Richter. Schubert was a prolific Austrian composer, writing at the end of the Classical period and the beginning of the Romantic period. During his brief life, he wrote over 1,500 works, including 600 songs (called Lieder), seven symphonies and one unfinished one, 14 piano sonatas, plus impromptus and other miscellaneous works, and chamber music.

He was known for his storytelling abilities: long, singing lines, dramatic mood swings, an improvisatory style that seems to wander at times, and emotional intensity.

Max Richter is a contemporary German-born pianist and composer known for blending classical techniques with electronic, ambient, and minimalist styles. He names J.S. Bach as a key influence, and famously reimagined Vivaldi's The Four Seasons in his album Recomposed. He has championed the works of minimalists such as Arvo Pärt and John Cage, and drew inspiration from Schubert’s Winterreise when creating his 2010 album Infra.

In this episode, I’m taking you behind the scenes of this studio class, sharing the repertoire I introduced to my students, the discussion questions that guided our conversation, and a composition activity that students didn’t want to end.