The leadership identity dilemma: Franz Schubert and the Winterreise

This chapter is about the case of Austrian composer, Franz Schubert (1797-1828). It begins by introducing Schubert, his life, and the broader context in which he developed his music. It then identifies some of his greatest pieces of music and discusses more fully the Winterreisse (Winter Journey), a set of 24 songs by Schubert set to the poems of Wilhelm Muller. The final part of the chapter draws lessons and inspirations from the life of Schubert for contemporary educational leaders. Here we apply ideas from Harold Bloom’s (1973, 1997) The Anxiety of Influence thesis to understand how Schubert carved out a distinctive place for himself and his music in a context and age of musical composition unparalleled in the western landscape.