O N T H E N U M B E R I N G O F S C H U B E R T ’ S S Y M P H O N I E S In tonight’s program, the Symphony in C major D. 944 is numbered as Schubert's Symphony No. 9, but that was not always the case. When Schumann discovered the work, the "Unfinished" Symphony was yet to be discovered, and thus "The Great" was numbered as Schubert’s Seventh. As the "Unfinished" Symphony was discovered in 1865, it was numbered as Schubert’s Eighth. This was also the numbering in the Breitkopf & Härtel Edition of Schubert’s symphonies, with Johannes Brahms as key editor. Later editions decided on a new numbering that better reflects the time and style differences between Schubert's two mature symphonies. The "Unfinished" was still numbered as the Eighth Symphony, while the "Great" was numbered the Ninth. Number 7 was given to the Symphony in E major, D 729, which is actually piano sketches completed by musicians other than Schubert. This is the numbering best known today, except for in the German speaking world, where the "Unfinished" is catalogued as number 7, the "Great" as number 8, and the E major sketches are unnumbered. The program of the Israel Philharmonic's first performance of Schubert's "Great" Symphony, April 1938, then still numbered as Symphony No. 7.
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