Symphony No. 9

The Symphony No. 9 in C major,  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. Composition and early reception For a long time, the symphony was believed to be a work of Schubert's last year, 1828. It was true that, in the last months of his life, he did start drafting a symphony – but this was the work in D major now accepted as Symphony No. 10, which has been realized for performance by Brian Newbould. It is now known that sketches for the 'Great' were largely composed in the summer of 1825and that it was indeed the work to which Schubert was referring in a letter of March, 1824 when he said he was preparing himself to write 'a grand symphony' (originally listed as Gmunden-Gastein symphony, D 849, in the Deutsch Catalogue). By the spring or summer of 1826, it was completely scored and in October, Schubert, who was quite unable to pay for a performance, sent it to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde with a dedication. In response, they gave him a small payment, arranged for the copying of the orchestral parts, and at some point in the latter half of 1827, gave the work an unofficial perfunctory run-through (the exact date and the conductor are unknown) – though it was set aside as too long and difficult for the amateur orchestra of the conservatory. A recent hypothesis suggests that the symphony may have received its first performance on 12 March 1829 in a Concert Spirituel at the of the Palais Niederösterreich in Vienna. The evidence for this hypothesis is slender, however, and it contradicts contemporary sources which prove that Schubert's Symphony No. 6 (also in C major) was performed at this instance. In 1836, Schubert's brother Ferdinand attempted to have the final movement performed, yet there is no evidence that a public performance ever took place.