Biography of franz schubert symphony 9

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The Musical Times. Meanwhile the strings contribute their perky rhythmic figures. With great confidence the movement’s introductory horn theme is played out with the glory of the full orchestra.

2nd movement. It was during this trip that he was once assumed to have written the “Gastein Symphony,” long the subject of speculation as being the composer’s “lost masterpiece.” It is now widely assumed that there is no lost symphony at all: What we had been looking for all these years is actually the present “Great C-major” Symphony. 

It was probably early in 1826 that the “Great C-major” Symphony was finished.

The whole is moulded into a slowly-forming crescendo, until a phrase in A major given to the lower strings leads into the recapitulation. His friends referred to him as Schwammerl (“Little Mushroom”). This opens with strings playing the first theme. Would it be teaching, or an uncertain life of music? Calm is restored when the movement’s opening theme is reprised on clarinets and bassoons, accompanied by a rising and falling motif in the strings.

At first, we may feel a little uneasy because of the...

biography of franz schubert symphony 9

Lyrical, yet more sonorous, this theme is given to the bassoons, second violins and basses, with a syncopated counterpoint from the cellos.

Adding to the delight of this movement is Schubert’s unerring sense of modulation, and the “intermezzi” that link the various themes and episodes. Notably, the transition between the first and second themes in the recapitulation is extended and further developed, almost as if it is a development section in itself.

III.

Andante con moto

  • The second movement is in a modified sonata form without a development section characterised as P1 S1 P2 S2 (or A–B–A–B). Schulze. A feature throughout the movement is Schubert’s partiality for using strings in unison, or nearly so. charming variety of vital feeling... It not only acts as a unifying theme but, more importantly, it represents the whole essence of the symphony.

    Today, as we have become aware of the symphony’s extent and intensity, “Great” has become an accepted part of the work’s title.

  • Schubert - Symphony No. 9 Program Note

    Franz Schubert (1797–1828)
    Symphony No. 9 in C Major, D. 944 “Great”
    Composed 1825–1826
     

    When we hear Schubert’s Symphony No.

    9 in C Major referred to by its nickname, "The Great," it is safe to assume that it must be pretty good. The Andante continues to explore the themes and assembled rhythmic material. The theme is doubled in thirds and sixths, a harmony much favoured by Schubert throughout the symphony – simple yet effective.