A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Schobert
SCHOBERT—or Chobert in Mozart's orthography[1]—a player on the harpsichord, whose sonatas were the delight of our great-grandmothers. His Christian name does not appear, and little is known of his biography. He is said to have been born and brought up at Strassburg. He settled in Paris before 1761, in which year his first works were published there, where he was in the service of the Prince de Conti. On the occasion of his death, Aug. 1767, Grimm, no mean judge of music, inserts in his 'Correspondance' a very high eulogium on his merits as a player. He praises him for 'his great ability, his brilliant and enchanting execution, and an unequalled facility and clearness. He had not the genius of our Eckard, who is undoubtedly the first master in Paris; but Schobert was more universally liked than Eckard, because he was always agreeable, and because it is not everyone who can feel the power of genius.' This is the description of a pleasant brilliant player who never soared above the heads of his audience. He left 17 sonatas for PF. and violin; 11 for PF., violin and cello; 3 quartets for PF., 2 violins and cello; 6 'sinfonies' for PF., violin and 2 horns; 6 PF. concertos, and 4 books of sonatas for PF. solo.[2] These seem to have been originally published in Paris, but editions of many of them appeared in London between 1770 and 1780. The particulars of his death are given by Grimm. It was occasioned by eating some fungi which he gathered near Paris, and which killed his wife, his children, a friend, the servant, and himself.[3] Schobert and Eckard are alike forgotten by modern musicians. A Minuetto and Allegro molto in E♭ have been reprinted in Pauer's 'Alte Meister,' other movements in the 'Maîtres du Clavecin,' and a Sonata, so-called, in the Musical Library. These pieces are tuneful and graceful, but very slight in construction, the harmonies consisting chiefly of alternations of tonic and dominant, seldom in more than three parts, often only in two. Burney (Hist. iv. 591, 597) remarks that his music is essentially harpsichord music, and that he was one of the few composers who were not influenced by Emanuel Bach. It is incredible that Fétis can have discovered any likeness between Schobert and Mozart.
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