A busy public, that insists upon labeling every genius with a single superlative, likes to peg Beethoven as the "greatest orchestral composer," Schubert "the greatest song writer." Both were German contemporaries, both suffered cruel affliction, neither married. With that the similarity ends. Where Beethoven, the austere, cried out in the music of every man's sorrow, Schubert, the gentle, preferred a lyrical opiate. Where Beethoven, the Master, died amidst reverence in a thunderstorm, Schubert, the unknown, passed away in ignominy. It is said that they met on one occasion when Schubert, struggling...
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