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A short-lived, astonishingly prolific German composer of songs, symphonies, piano and chamber music who is perhaps the true link in the tradition from Beethoven and Mozart to Liszt and Wagner. Schubert's splendid sense of melody and drama testify to the developing romantic ideals in his music; his harmonic palette is essentially that of Beethoven. Winterreise, completed on his deathbed, is regarded as his best song cycle. The quartets, octet, and quintets incorporate many elements of his songwriting styles (and even some of the music, as in his Quartet in d: the variations movement on "Der Tod und das Madchen" ["Death and the Maiden"]). The piano music (sonatas and impromptus) and especially the symphonies show Beethoven's influence and the melodic line becoming longer, perhaps more graceful, in the romantic style. ~ "Blue" Gene Tyranny