Franz Schubert: Popularity, Mediality, Regionality

Among the artist myths of the 19th and 20th centuries, that of Franz Schubert occupies an exceptional position. His myth is characterised by a legendary and anecdotal quality that cannot be found elsewhere in this form and density. Reason enough to examine this in a research project and to trace the composer's medial incarnations and their traditions. Thereby, the aim is not so much to deconstruct the Schubert myth as to analyse the significance of his afterlife and its role as an object of projection.

Results of our research have already been discussed in public events such as the Schubert-Szenen as well as in the exhibition catalogue Schubert am Land. Der Komponist und Atzenbrugg. A further volume of outcomes will be devoted to the Dreimäderlhaus in its theatrical and cinematic manifestations. Research on Schubert’s filmic construction will also be published in 2025 in a comprehensive monograph on the subject of composer melodramas.