Discover the story behind Franz Schubert’s unfinished masterpiece symphony, his tragically short life, and enduring musical brilliance.
Franz Schubert, despite living a short and difficult life, produced over 1000 musical works and left behind an enduring legacy as one of classical music’s greatest composers. His Unfinished Symphony, which he was unable to complete before his premature death at age 31, remains one of his most famous and oft-performed works. This in-depth article explores the story behind the brilliant artist and his unfinished masterpiece.
A Musical Prodigy Overcoming Hardship
Franz Peter Schubert was born in Vienna, Austria in 1797 to a working-class family. His father Franz Theodor was a schoolmaster and his mother Elisabeth Vietz was a homemaker who took care of Franz and his many siblings. Young Schubert showed an early aptitude and passion for music that was quickly recognized by his parents and teachers.
By age 5 he had already learned to play violin and piano and was singing soprano in his parish church choir. His elder brother Ignaz gave him his first piano lessons and Franz would later teach his younger siblings music. Despite the family’s limited means, music permeated the Schubert household. Franz’s father played the zither after work while his brothers played piano and string instruments. His family quartet ensemble provided Franz with an early musical education and performance experience.
Despite showing immense promise, Schubert’s family could not afford professional music lessons for the boy. However, he was able to get free lessons from the choirmaster at his local church. Schubert composed his first pieces of music as an untutored child prodigy without any formal composition training.
According to a biography by Schubert’s friend, violinist Joseph von Spaun, the young composer was once overheard by his father working on his first string quartet. The elder Schubert wept with pride at hearing his son’s early musical gifts on display without any guidance.
By age 11, Schubert passed the stringent entrance exams for a spot at the Imperial and Royal City College. While this gave him access to advanced musical training, he still struggled financially being from a poor family. Throughout his youth and into early adulthood, Schubert endured chronic illness, poverty, and depression even as he prolifically composed music. He relied on wealthy patrons and publishers to fund his work so he could focus on composing. While his pieces were well-liked in small circles in Vienna, he remained relatively unknown and underappreciated during his lifetime.
The Mysterious Unfinished Symphony
In 1822, a 25-year-old Schubert began composing his Symphony No. 8, what would later become known as his Unfinished Symphony. He wrote an entire first movement of over 10 minutes and drafted a second movement before abruptly stopping for unknown reasons.
The unfinished symphony manuscript shows Schubert clearly planned for 4 total movements, leaving blank pages for the normal Minuet 3rd movement and rousing Finale 4th movement. Why he failed to complete these last two parts remains a mystery lost to history.
There is much speculation among music historians as to why Schubert never finished one of his most famous works. Some theories include:
- He fell severely ill towards the end of 1822, delaying the symphony’s completion. His sickness may have disrupted his plans to finish it.
- Schubert was known to be highly self-critical, unsatisfied with his drafts, and prone to leaving works unfinished. He may have abandoned this symphony by his own judgment.
- As an emerging composer, he did not have wealthy patrons funding the performance of his symphonies as Beethoven did. The lack of prospects for staging the work may have dimmed his motivation.
- Schubert simply moved on to other musical projects as his interests tended to wander. He was highly prolific, composing over 1000 works in his short life.
Whatever the reason, the symphony sadly went unfinished, leaving the musical world to wonder what might have been. Schubert set the manuscript aside and did not attempt to complete it in the final 6 years of his life.
A Prolific Output Despite Persistent Health Problems
Franz Schubert suffered from terrible health issues throughout his adult life which both disrupted his ability to work and also likely contributed to his early death. Some experts including music historian and Schubert biographer Christopher Gibbs believe the composer suffered from syphilis. The horribly debilitating disease was untreatable at the time and associated with immense social stigma.
In addition to venereal disease, Schubert endured hospitalization several times for typhoid fever, depression, and “nervous fever” as referred to at the time. Unfortunately, medical science has not yet advanced enough to properly treat these conditions. Doctors resorted to archaic and often harmful measures like bloodletting and mercury-based medicines which likely made Schubert’s illness worse in a vicious cycle.
Despite these setbacks which repeatedly disrupted his ability to work, Schubert maintained an incredible level of productivity up until his death at 31 years old. His output included over 600 songs for piano and voice, 7 complete symphonies, 5 masses, and 21 piano sonatas along with many other orchestral, chamber, and choral pieces.
Even in his final illness while hospitalized and anticipating his death, Schubert continued writing and produced haunting masterpieces like his String Quintet in C major. Spaun who was at his bedside remarked that “His love for Beethoven was unlimited. He always had the highest regard for Mozart…But it was only reluctantly and rarely that Schubert spoke about his own music.”
The Enduring Influence Beyond His Years
While Schubert’s genius went underappreciated in life, his musical legacy has only grown over time. Everything from his gift for poignant and beautiful melodies to his rich harmonic language influenced later Romantic composers and songwriters.
Gustav Mahler, Anton Bruckner, Johannes Brahms, and many other major 19th-century composers were greatly inspired by Schubert’s symphonies. Mahler is said to have studied the manuscript of Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony for hours on end during his youth. He particularly admired the abrupt way Schubert ended his Symphony No. 8 without resolution. Mahler emulated this technique of ending a musical work suddenly without closure in several of his own famous symphonies.
Meanwhile, Schubert’s hundreds of expressive lieder (German art songs) established him as the father of that tradition which influenced everyone from Franz Liszt to Hugo Wolf down to 20th-century opera composers like Richard Strauss.
Clara Schumann, the great pianist and composer wrote of Schubert’s beautiful melodies:
“Truly, no one can sing so exquisitely as Schubert! In beauty and pure melody, he is truly seraphic. There is something so innocent and tender in his manner.”
Out of all of Schubert’s works, few have endured in popularity like his haunting Unfinished Symphony. Despite remaining a tantalizing fragment with only 2 completed movements premiered in 1865, conductors and orchestras have continued performing the 30-minute work for over 170 years. Audiences never seem to tire of the evocative first movement with its memorable French horn theme and atmospheric strings. Music scholar Leon Botstein describes the unfinished state of the work adding to its allure:
“Of all of Schubert’s works, none have had a more powerful influence than the haunting, beautiful melody and harmony that begins the B Minor symphony. More than any other piece of music, the B Minor symphony seems to represent the Romantic essence of Schubert: the lyrical magic of his melody, his major-minor ambivalences and ambiguities.”
There is something powerfully suggestive about the symphony being frozen in time, never realizing the grand finale its composer surely intended before his untimely end at 31. Music experts still debate what shape the missing half might have taken based on the extant manuscript and early drafts. Schubert left behind unusually large amounts of sketches and workings which allow historians to trace the possible trajectory for the Unfinished Symphony’s completion.
The Unfinished Symphony has also appeared widely in pop culture from children’s shows to rock songs to Hollywood films. Like Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony opening motif (da da da DUM), Schubert’s melodic Unfinished theme is instantly recognizable even to casual listeners. The use of the Unfinished Symphony in entertainment contexts has likely introduced Schubert’s music to wider modern audiences leading more people to explore his classical works.
Conclusion: A Brilliant Light Extinguished Too Soon
Franz Schubert overcame poverty and chronic health issues to become one of history’s most important composers. In his short 31 years, he produced over 1000 works, reinvented the German lied, and influenced generations of Romantic composers who followed him.
While his life was tragically cut short likely due to illness, Schubert’s musical legacy continues to impact the world. Performances of popular pieces like his poignant Unfinished Symphony connect modern audiences to the Vienna prodigy from 200 years ago. The unfinished state of the iconic work along with the mystery around it adds to its romantic allure.
Schubert’s story serves as a poignant reminder of artistic genius extinguished too soon. It leaves music lovers to wonder what further greatness he might have achieved if given time to fully develop his talents and perhaps even finish that fabled symphony. Nonetheless, the brilliant, beautiful music he left behind continues to inspire and endure as a monument to his creative spirit.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Franz Schubert best known for composing?
Schubert is best known for pioneering the German lied (art song) tradition, composing over 600 lieders for piano and voice. His Unfinished “Symphony No. 8” and “String Quintet in C Major” are also extremely famous works.
Why did Schubert never finish his 8th symphony?
It remains a mystery why he abandoned his haunting Symphony No. 8 after fully scoring the first 2 movements. Theories include creative dissatisfaction, struggling to find patrons or his worsening illness.
How much music did Schubert compose given his short life?
Despite only living to age 31, Schubert composed over 1000 works in his lifetime including symphonies, chamber music, piano pieces, choral works, and songs for voice and piano.
What illness did Franz Schubert suffer from?
Schubert suffered from syphilis, typhoid fever, depression, and other maladies that disrupted his ability to work. Treatments like mercury likely made his health worse.
Who did Schubert influence with his music?
Schubert greatly influenced later Romantic composers including Mahler, Bruckner, Liszt, and Brahms. They adapted elements of his harmony and melody.
Why does Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony remain so popular?
The haunting melody and abrupt ending frozen in time give the unfinished work a powerful romantic allure. Its recognizable theme also appears widely in pop culture.
