Unfinished symphony

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An unfinished symphony is a fragment of a symphony that is left incomplete. The reason as of why and the state of the sketches themselves can vary considerably. The death of the composer is the most common cause for a symphony to be left unfinished, but it can also be abandoned due to lack of progress, frustration or changes in style, among other issues. Even when a symphony is complete, parts of it may be lost later on, thus technically making the work "unfinished" even if the composer actually finished it. Sketches can range from a few notes and motives, to complete works in short score or unorchestrated manuscripts. When a symphony is left unfinished, it may remain in that state or be completed through various means.

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In some cases, another composer may try to finish it, but how depends on case to case. Some attempt to reconstruct the composer's original ideas or follow their style, while others do not. Parts from previous compositions may be reused to complete the work, or the material may be rearranged without adding new music. Some composers expressed their desire for these fragments to be destroyed or hidden from public view. Some symphonies are unfinished but performable, and are simply played in their incomplete state. The archetypal unfinished symphony is Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8. Other widely known unfinished symphonies are Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 10 and Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 9.

List of unfinished symphonies

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franz Schubert</span> Austrian composer (1797–1828)

Franz Peter Schubert was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a vast oeuvre, including more than 600 secular vocal works, seven complete symphonies, sacred music, operas, incidental music, and a large body of piano and chamber music. His major works include the art songs "Erlkönig", "Gretchen am Spinnrade", and "Ave Maria"; the Trout Quintet; the Symphony No. 8 in B minor (Unfinished); the Symphony No. 9 in C major (Great); the String Quartet No. 14 in D minor ; the String Quintet in C major; the Impromptus for solo piano; the last three piano sonatas; the Fantasia in F minor for piano four hands; the opera Fierrabras; the incidental music to the play Rosamunde; and the song cycles Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 2 (Mahler)</span> Symphony by Gustav Mahler

The Symphony No. 2 in C minor by Gustav Mahler, known as the Resurrection Symphony, was written between 1888 and 1894, and first performed in 1895. This symphony was one of Mahler's most popular and successful works during his lifetime. It was his first major work to establish his lifelong view of the beauty of afterlife and resurrection. In this large work, the composer further developed the creativity of "sound of the distance" and creating a "world of its own", aspects already seen in his First Symphony. The work has a duration of 80 to 90 minutes, and is conventionally labelled as being in the key of C minor; the New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians labels the work's tonality as C minor–E major. It was voted the fifth-greatest symphony of all time in a survey of conductors carried out by the BBC Music Magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 10 (Mahler)</span> Final Symphony by Gustav Mahler

The Symphony No. 10 in F-sharp major by Gustav Mahler was written in the summer of 1910, and was his final composition. At the time of Mahler's death, the composition was substantially complete in the form of a continuous draft, but not fully elaborated or orchestrated, and thus not performable. Only the first movement is regarded as reasonably complete and performable as Mahler intended. Perhaps as a reflection of the inner turmoil he was undergoing at the time, the 10th Symphony is arguably his most dissonant work.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piano Concerto No. 1 (Brahms)</span> Piano concerto

The Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor, Op. 15, is a work for piano and orchestra completed by Johannes Brahms in 1858. The composer gave the work's public debut in Hanover, the following year. It was his first-performed orchestral work, and his first orchestral work performed to audience approval.

The Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34, by Johannes Brahms was completed during the summer of 1864 and published in 1865. It was dedicated to Her Royal Highness Princess Anna of Hesse. As with most piano quintets composed after Robert Schumann's Piano Quintet (1842), it is written for piano and string quartet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 9 (Schubert)</span> Symphony by Franz Schubert

The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D 944, known as The Great, is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. It was first published by Breitkopf & Härtel in 1849 as "Symphonie / C Dur / für großes Orchester" and listed as Symphony No. 8 in the New Schubert Edition. Originally called The Great C major to distinguish it from his Symphony No. 6, the Little C major, the subtitle is now usually taken as a reference to the symphony's majesty. Unusually long for a symphony of its time, a typical performance of The Great lasts around one hour when all repeats indicated in the score are taken. The symphony was not professionally performed until a decade after Schubert's death in 1828.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 8 (Schubert)</span> 1822 incomplete symphony by Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8 in B minor, D. 759, commonly known as the Unfinished Symphony, is a musical composition that Schubert started in 1822 but left with only two movements—though he lived for another six years. A scherzo, nearly completed in piano score but with only two pages orchestrated, also survives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 9 (Bruckner)</span> Symphony by Anton Bruckner

The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, WAB 109, is the last symphony on which Anton Bruckner worked, leaving the last movement incomplete at the time of his death in 1896; Bruckner dedicated it "to the beloved God". The symphony was premiered under Ferdinand Löwe in Vienna in 1903.

<i>Andante and Finale</i>

The Andante and Finale is a composition for piano and orchestra that was reworked by Sergei Taneyev from sketches by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky for the abandoned latter movements of his single-movement Piano Concerto No. 3 in E-flat, Op. 75.

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's Symphony in E-flat was commenced after Symphony No. 5, and was intended initially to be the composer's next symphony. Tchaikovsky abandoned this work in 1892, only to reuse the first movement in the single-movement Third Piano Concerto, Op. 75, first performed and published after his death in 1895. Two other movements were reworked for piano and orchestra by Sergei Taneyev as the Andante and Finale, which was published as Tchaikovsky's Op. posth. 79 in 1897.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony No. 10 (Schubert)</span>

Schubert's Symphony No. 10 in D major, D 936A, is an unfinished work that survives in a piano sketch. Written during the last weeks of the composer's short life, it was only properly identified in the 1970s. It has been orchestrated by Brian Newbould in a completion that has subsequently been performed, published and recorded.

The Symphony No. 4 in C minor, D 417, is a symphony by Franz Schubert completed in April 1816 when Schubert was 19 years old, a year after his Third Symphony However, it was not premiered until November 19, 1849, in Leipzig, more than two decades after Schubert's death. The symphony was called the Tragic by its composer.

Brian Newbould is an English composer, conductor and author who has conjecturally completed Franz Schubert's Symphonies D 708A in D major, No. 7 in E major, No. 8 in B minor ("Unfinished"), No. 10 ("Last") in D major, Piano Sonata in C major, D 840, Quartettsatz, D. 703 and String Trio, D. 471. He was educated at Gravesend Grammar School, and earned a BMus degree with top honors from the University of Bristol.

Rendering is a 1989/1990 composition by the Italian composer Luciano Berio. Cast in three movements for full orchestra, it takes as its structure the fragmentary score of Schubert's uncompleted D major symphony, D 936A.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Symphony, D 708A (Schubert)</span>

Schubert's Symphony in D major, D 708A, is an unfinished work that survives in an incomplete eleven-page sketch written for piano solo. It is one of Schubert's six unfinished symphonies. It was begun in 1820 or 1821, with initial sketches made for the opening sections of the first, second, and fourth movements, and an almost complete sketch for the third movement. He abandoned this symphony after this initial phase of work and never returned to it, although Schubert would live for another seven years. British conductor and composer Brian Newbould, an authority on Schubert's music, has speculated that the symphony was left incomplete due to problems Schubert faced in orchestrating the sketch.

Schubert's Symphony in D major, D 615, is an unfinished work that survives in an incomplete four-page, 259-bar sketch written for piano solo. It is one of Schubert's six unfinished symphonies. It was begun in May 1818, with initial sketches made for the opening sections of the first movement and finale. He abandoned this symphony after this initial phase of work and never returned to it, probably due to dissatisfaction with it, although Schubert would live for another ten years. Although conductor and composer Brian Newbould has made a performing version of the fragments, a full completion has not yet been attempted.

The Austrian composer Anton Bruckner composed eleven symphonies, the first, the Symphony in F minor in 1863, the last, the unfinished Ninth symphony from 1893 to 1896.

Franz Schubert began thirteen symphonies, of which up to ten are generally numbered, but only completed seven; nonetheless, one of his incomplete symphonies, the Unfinished Symphony, is among his most popular works. Four of the six incomplete symphonies have been completed by other hands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerd Schaller</span> German conductor (born 1965)

Gerd Schaller is a German conductor, best known for his performing and recording rare works, including the first full recordings of Bruckner's output.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sketch (music)</span> Musical term

In music, a sketch is an informal document prepared by a composer to assist in the process of composition.

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