Uploaded May 2012 | Updated September 2026, 3 hours ago
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor (sometimes renumbered as Symphony No. 7[1]), commonly known as the "Unfinished Symphony" (German: Unvollendete), D.759, was started in 1822 but left with only two movements known to be complete, even though Schubert would live for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano score but with only two pages orchestrated, also survives. It has long been theorized that Schubert may have sketched a finale which instead became the big B minor entr'acte from his incidental music to Rosamunde, but all the evidence for this is circumstantial.[1] One possible reason for Schubert's leaving the symphony incomplete is the predominance of the same meter (three-in-a-bar). The first movement is in 3/4, the second in 3/8 and the third (an incomplete scherzo) also in 3/4. Three consecutive movements in exactly the same meter rarely occur in the symphonies, sonatas or chamber works of the great Viennese composers (one notable exception being Haydn's Farewell Symphony).The complete movements form a convincing unity; masterful in harmonic organization and orchestration, they are expressive without being diffuse, a criticism often levelled against passages in Schubert's earlier works.
The work is often referred to as the first romantic symphony (alluding to classical music's romantic period, about 1790 to 1910) because of its emphasis on expressive melody, vivid harmony, and creative combinations of orchestral tone color. To this day, musicologists disagree as to why Schubert failed to complete the symphony, but there is wide agreement that the work offers a compelling vision unprecedented in classical music.
Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor (sometimes renumbered as Symphony No. 7[1]), commonly known as the "Unfinished Symphony" (German: Unvollendete), D.759, was started in 1822 but left with only two movements known to be complete, even though Schubert would live for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano score but with only two pages orchestrated, also survives. It has long been theorized that Schubert may have sketched a finale which instead became the big B minor entr'acte from his incidental music to Rosamunde, but all the evidence for this is circumstantial.[1] One possible reason for Schubert's leaving the symphony incomplete is the predominance of the same meter (three-in-a-bar). The first movement is in 3/4, the second in 3/8 and the third (an incomplete scherzo) also in 3/4. Three consecutive movements in exactly the same meter rarely occur in the symphonies, sonatas or chamber works of the great Viennese composers (one notable exception being Haydn's Farewell Symphony).The complete movements form a convincing unity; masterful in harmonic organization and orchestration, they are expressive without being diffuse, a criticism often levelled against passages in Schubert's earlier works.
The work is often referred to as the first romantic symphony (alluding to classical music's romantic period, about 1790 to 1910) because of its emphasis on expressive melody, vivid harmony, and creative combinations of orchestral tone color. To this day, musicologists disagree as to why Schubert failed to complete the symphony, but there is wide agreement that the work offers a compelling vision unprecedented in classical music.
