Classical Music Piggies and Piggy Pianists! It's a Happy Wheeking Birthday for composer Franz Schubert! 🐹 🎂 💙 🤍 💙 🎼 🎹 🥕

Wheeked to the tune of Ständchen (“Serenade”) from Schwanengesang D 957

"🎵 Soft-ly | wheek, | my | gen-tle | pig-gy
Through | the | night | to | me.

Down | from | the | deep-est, | green-est | hay | pile,
Dear | pig, | come | to | me!

Franz Schubert (or as his friends might have called him, “Schub-wheek”) was a gentle but astonishingly prolific composer whose music overflowed with melody, emotion, and an alarming quantity of handwritten, slightly nibbled sheet music! Where others thundered, Schubert sang — producing tender melodies, soulful wheeky sighs, and tunes so memorable you continue to mindlessly whistle them all the way from the water bottle to the hay rack.

Known for his small stature, soft, slightly untidy Romantic fluffy and scruffy appearance, spectacles for near sightedness, and thoughtful expression, Schubert preferred heartfelt feeling over dramatic displays.

Born in Vienna on Jan 31, 1797, he showed early musical talent and soon began composing at an astonishing pace! Some years he produced hundreds of works, including songs, piano pieces, symphonies, chamber music, and dances for nearly every social occasion imaginable. He would sometimes compose several pieces a day!

Schubert was especially beloved for his art songs (Lieder) —over 600 of them—in which he matched poetry and music with extraordinary sensitivity. He took inspiration from many poets, including: Goethe, Müller, and Heine as well as Shakespeare amongst others.

His beautiful melodies were often shared at informal gatherings known as Schubertiades, where furry friends enjoyed music, conversation, and his latest pieces. Lettuce and other simple nibbles were often served.

Despite his talent, Schubert struggled financially throughout his life and never held a secure musical position. He admired Beethoven deeply and lived in his shadow, even as he quietly forged a musical language of his own—one that also bridged the Classical and Romantic worlds with warmth, lyricism, and emotional honesty.

Schubert died in 1828 at the age of 31, possibly from typhoid, believing he had not achieved true success. Today his music—including the Unfinished Symphony (composed with only two movements instead of the usual four), Ständchen (Serenade), Ave Maria, Winterreise, the Trout Quintet, and countless beloved piano works—remains treasured for its humanity, beauty, and gentle emotional power.

In guinea pig terms: a short rather unfinished life, an enormous heart, and enough melodies to wheek forever. 🐹 💛 🎶

See comments for his posthumously titled "Unfinished Symphony"(guinea pig fanciers and musicologists have found evidence of ideas for a 3rd movement, but they suspect the 4th movement may have been nibbled whole by guests at a Schubertiade gathering).

Wheek! Wheek!