While some scholars believe Franz Schubert’s burgeoning illness—he contracted syphilis late in 1822, though he ultimately passed from typhoid fever in 1828—led him to abandon his Eighth Symphony, others believe Schubert’s work on No. 8 was paused when he was struck with inspiration for his Wanderer Fantasy (Fantasy in C Major, Op. 15) for piano. This theory suggests the composer passionately set pen to paper on his piano solo, intending to return to the symphony once the ink was dry on Op. 15. There is evidence to suggest this is likely the case and Schubert never intended to leave No. 8 unfinished, but regardless: the Unfinished Symphony, bathed in musicological mystique, blends lyricism and drama; it is a pivotal piece in closing the gap between Classical and Romantic periods of music history. 

Although he produced an extensive catalog of compositions, Franz Schubert was virtually unknown as a composer in his own lifetime. Schubert took violin lessons as a child and was a talented pianist, though he was recognized for his vocal talents. Having received a choral scholarship in 1808, Schubert enrolled in the Stadtkonvikt in Vienna where his musical world was expanded to include the orchestral works of Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and—of course—Ludwig van Beethoven. Schubert was mystified by orchestral writing and would emulate the Great Masters in his own symphonic scores, but clearly Schubert’s prowess as a vocalist influenced his composition greatly. He wrote over one-thousand pieces of music, and nearly half of them were Lieder. While his Unfinished Symphony is one of his most memorable works, his art songs are some of the most important and beloved works in the genre. In his Lieder, exemplary lyricism is on full display alongside astute text painting in the piano accompaniments; his most notable art songs include Gretchen am Spinnrade (1815), Erlkönig (1821), and Winterreise (1828). 

Lyricism motivates Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony. The brooding opening motif is simple but effective, serving as the basis for the melody soon to be presented by clarinets. Schubert flips the scoring when the celli present a hopeful second theme that is accentuated by clarinet syncopations. In Beethoven-esque fashion, rhythmic variance completely changes the tone: now aggressive and articulate due to a shortening of the dotted rhythm to one beat, marked staccato in the low strings. As the brass enter, the lyricism boils over and becomes an uber-dramatic statement, dissipating back into the anxious quality heard in the opening. Schubert has a keen ability to manipulate a seemingly simple theme; his scoring allows instrumental timbre to shine, coloring the melody in varied ways to achieve different musical atmospheres. 

The orchestral writing in Classical orchestras—symphonies composed by Haydn and Mozart, for example—employed smaller ensembles and relied on utilitarian scoring. Rather than for emotive function, lyrical passages were assigned to stereotypically “melodic” instruments (violins, flutes) while low instruments such as bassoons and low strings provided basso continuo functionality. At the turn of the nineteenth century, instrumentation began to change. Instruments evolved, providing more reliable intonation and richer quality of sound. With access to these instruments (and after having studied Beethoven’s innovative symphonies), Schubert orchestrated his Unfinished Symphony for instruments’ individual timbral qualities rather than just their score-order functions. Daringly, he utilized three trombones (echoing choral functions: alto, tenor, and bass) throughout both of his movements. Generally, trombones had been relegated to final bars of symphonies, or as embellishing effects. Schubert scores trombones not only functionally, but musically, in the Eighth; he would continue this trend in his Ninth, and ultimately set an orchestral precedent that continues today. The Unfinished Symphony is sometimes hailed as the first truly Romantic symphony, though it competes with Beethoven’s Eroica (1803) for this honor. 

Franz Schubert halted composition of No. 8 in 1822, six years before his death. His manuscript score was gifted to Anselm Hüttenbrenner in 1823 after Schubert received an honorary diploma from the Graz Music Society. Hüttenbrenner was a high ranking member in this musical society, and Schubert felt the manuscript was a fitting and obligatory “thank you” note. The first two movements were entirely complete. Two pages of an incomplete third movement, Scherzo, were also included; they were bound in the same leaf of manuscript paper. In 1823, a four-movement symphony would have been the norm; no musical sketches exist for a final movement but one would assume, musically, it would have returned to the home key, B-minor. Interestingly, passages of Schubert’s Rosamunde (1823) are in B-minor with identical instrumentation and very similar melodic forms as employed in his Unfinished Symphony. Scholars tend to believe that the Rosamunde material was first composed as part of Symphony No. 8, simply recycled into a new work after the composer parted with his two-movement manuscript. 

After receiving the manuscript from Schubert, Hüttenbrenner thanked the composer and promptly shelved the incomplete work. The Graz Music Society did not premiere the symphony (it is said Hüttenbrenner didn’t even notify them of the gift), and the manuscript was doomed to lay dormant until 1860, when Hüttenbrenner’s younger brother found the dusty pages. It would take another five years for the Unfinished Symphony to finally premiere. Since its posthumous premiere, though, Unfinished has become a hallmark of the orchestral canon. “A man is not taken away before he has said all he has to say,” said fellow composer Hugo Wolf upon Schubert’s death. Wolf was completely unaware that the posthumous notes would be Schubert’s final mark on the musical word thirty-seven years after his death.