Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Schubert Symphony No. 7

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    The answer is a rather complicated one.

    The symphonies nos. 1 to 6 don't give any problems in their chronology (1812-1818). Only a rather tiny earlier fragment from 1810 (Deutsch catalogue of Schubert's works [referred to as "D."] 2B), predates this series. Then there is the "Unfinished" Symphony No.8 (D.759), dating from 1822. So far so good. But there is a Symphony no.9 in C, "Great C-major" D.944 as well, dated 1824, and here the problems start.

    First: Very confusingly in the German speaking countries this Ninth Symphony is still well known as "No.7" as well. In the English speaking countries "No.7" was skipped and the symphonies were numbered 1-6 and 8-9.


    Secondly: until quite recently it was assumed that Schubert wrote a grand symphony between the nos.6 and 8. Although no trace could be found, it was numbered No.7 and named "Gasteiner" or "Gmunden" Symphony after the place where Schubert stayed during the assumed composition of this work. It even is catalogued as D.849. As no trace of the orchestral score was found, it was assumed by Joachim as early as 1855, that Schubert's Grand Duo for piano four hands (D.812) was a piano reduction of this" Gastein Symphony". Accordingly it was orchestrated and published as such: the first Symphony No.7 therefore (recorded by Naxos a.o.).


    Thirdly: Between No.6 and No.8 Schubert actually started but eventually left unfinished THREE other symphonies: one (in D) of which parts of two movements survive in short score (D.615), another in D with parts of four movements (D.708A) and a third in E, D.729. This last symphony basically has been finished in short score by Schubert himself, and is relatively easily orchestrated. The conductor Felix Weingartner was one of the first ones to try such a completion (in 1934), but in the seventies two more were published, one by Gülke in East Germany and one by Brian Newbould in Britain. This symphony now is generally called "Symphony No.7 in E D.729". as well.

    But this is not the end of the story. In the last weeks of his live Schubert sketched extensively a symphony in D in apparently three movements. This symphony in D is now known as "Symphony No.10 in D D.936a" in it's completion by -again- Brian Newbould, and available on CD too. And Luciano Berio used the torso of Schubert's "Tenth" as vehicle for his "Rendering", a work written to commemorate the Centenary of the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in 1988. From all the mentioned works (with exception of D.2B)CD-recordings exist

    Comment

    Working...
    X