In 1838, after a decade in Leipzig, 28-yearold Robert Schumann felt that he had arrived at a dead end in his personal life as well as in his musical career. He and Clara Wieck were in love and wished to get married, but Clara’s father, Friedrich, did not give them his blessing. Schumann composed some of his most wonderful piano works in Leipzig, but he had not yet written a single piece in a genre in which he was to be one of the greatest composers of all time - the art song. Moreover, apart from an unfinished attempt in 1832, he did not compose any orchestral work either. Like many other composers of the time, he felt that he could not write a symphony that would meet the high standard set by Beethoven’s nine symphonies without being a pale imitation of the great master. Schumann thought that in Vienna, the city of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, he could find the answers to all his questions. If he could make it there, maybe Wieck would give his blessing to the marriage. Maybe, with a little luck and a lot of hard work, he could make a compositional breakthrough and finally write a work in a genre other than piano music. After arriving in Vienna in October 1838, Schumann visited the cemetery where Beethoven and Schubert were buried. In a loving gesture that still moves me as I am writing these notes now, he picked flowers from Beethoven’s grave and placed them on Schubert’s grave, and then took flowers from Schubert’s grave and placed them on Beethoven’s. He even found a pen on Beethoven’s resting place, which he saved for special occasions. Franz Schubert’s older brother, Ferdinand, still lived in Vienna at that time. He met Schumann and showed him scores of some unperformed works by his brother. One of these works was the symphony in C major, which was later named “The Great”. At that time Schubert was known as a composer of piano, chamber and sacred music, and, of course, art songs, but still not as a symphonic composer. Between 1813-18 he composed six symphonies, but these early works were never performed during his lifetime. In his 20’s he was very preoccupied with the symphonic genre. As Schumann and Brahms after him, he felt as if he was standing beneath the looming shadow of Beethoven. Schubert admired Beethoven and was afraid and jealous of him, feeling that he could never write a symphony in the standards of this giant. When a teacher in Schubert’s old school asked him for a work for his students’ orchestra, Schubert proposed a work by Beethoven. He felt that his own works were not worthy even of a youth orchestra. Between May 1818 and August 1821, Schubert wrote no less than ten sketches FRANZ SCHUBERT (1797-1828) S Y M P H O N Y N O . 9 I N C M A J O R , D . 9 4 4 ( " T H E G R E A T " ) ca. 55 mins. Andante - Allegro ma non troppo Andante con moto Scherzo: Allegro vivace Allegro vivace
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