Symphonic Fragment in D major, D.936A

Schubert left more than one symphony unfinished. As well as the “Unfinished” Symphony in B minor, there are sketches for an earlier Symphony in E major and for no fewer than four Symphonies in D major. The E major sketch is so far advanced that several efforts have been made to complete it - most authoritatively of all by Brian Newbould, whose version of what is now known as the Seventh Symphony was first performed at the Cheltenham Festival in 1978. Of the D major projects, only one, a three-movement concept sketched in the last few months of the composer’s life in 1828, contains enough material for an imaginative scholar to be able to deduce how to fill in the gaps - as Professor Newbould has so ingeniously done in a score published as his realization of the Tenth Symphony, D.936A, in 1995.

The Peters Edition version of the two movements of Tenth Symphony material to be heard on this occasion does not pretend to be complete. It is no more than the sketches made performable, with none of the structural gaps filled in. Since they are written on only two staves and offers few indications of how the composer intended to orchestrate them, the sketches cannot be presented entirely as Schubert left them at the time of his death. Taking those few indications into account, however, and scoring the rest in accordance with Schubert’s practice elsewhere, the musicologist Peter Gülke has made it possible for the sketches to be heard in the orchestral dimension in which they were conceived. Although this Symphonic Fragment, as it is so accurately described, obviously cannot add up to a full-scale symphonic experience, it does give a fascinating insight into what Schubert might have achieved after writing such apparently conclusive works as the Mass in E flat, the last three Piano Sonatas and the String Quintet in C.

The evidence offered by these sketches of the state of Schubert’s creativity at this late stage in his life is curiously mixed. No one knows, of course, what material he would have retained and what he would have discarded. But it seems unlikely that the composer of the “Great” C major would have been satisfied in the long term with the cheerful little tune that emerges on first violins out of the theme proclaimed by trumpets and trombones in the opening bars. The lovely second subject, introduced by cellos in A major, is a far more characteristic melody and the solemn treatment of the opening theme at the beginning of the development - harmonised in B flat minor on three trombones and bassoon - is a thoroughly worthy inspiration. What Schubert would have done next is not apparent from the raw sketch, which skips the rest of the development and the recapitulation and apparently goes straight on to a coda.

The most fascinating part of the projected Tenth Symphony is the Andante in B minor, which begins with a quite uncanny anticipation of a melodic style associated with early Mahler. Not quite complete as it stands here - Schubert would presumably have found room to recall his F sharp major second subject - it is the symphonic equivalent of Die Winterreise in its textural sparseness and its air of tragic but by no means bitter resignation.

The third movement, an unconventional combination of scherzo and finale, is too fragmentary in sketch form to make much sense in the concert hall and is not being performed on this occasion. Interestingly enough, just weeks before he died Schubert set aside the contrapuntal challenge he had set himself here to make improvements to the Andante: it was probably the last time he put his pen to paper.

Gerald Larner©

Schubert left more than one symphony unfinished. As well as the “Unfinished” Symphony in B minor, there are sketches for an earlier Symphony in E major and for no fewer than four Symphonies in D major. The E major sketch is so far advanced that several efforts have been made to complete it - most authoritatively of all by Brian Newbould, whose version of what is now known as the Seventh Symphony was first performed at the Cheltenham Festival in 1978. Of the D major projects, only one, a three-movement concept sketched in the last few months of the composer’s life in 1828, contains enough material for a scholar to be able to deduce how to fill in the gaps - as Professor Newbould has so ingeniously done in a score published as his realization of the Tenth Symphony, D.936A, in 1995.

The version of the Tenth Symphony material to be heard on this occasion does not pretend to be complete. It is no more than the sketch made performable, with none of the structural gaps filled in. Since it is written on only two staves and offers few indications of how the composer intended to orchestrate it, the sketch cannot be presented entirely as Schubert left it at the time of his death. Taking those few indications into account, however, and scoring the rest in accordance with Schubert’s practice elsewhere, the musicologist Peter Gülke has made it possible for the sketch to be heard in the orchestral dimension in which it was conceived. If this Symphonic Fragment, as it is so accurately described, does not add up to a full-scale symphonic experience, it does give a fascinating insight into what Schubert might have achieved after writing such apparently conclusive works as the Mass in E flat, the last three Piano Sonatas and the String Quintet in C major.

The evidence offered by these sketches of the state of Schubert’s creativity at this late stage in his life is curiously mixed. No one knows what material he would have retained and what he would have discarded. But it seems unlikely that the composer of the “Great” C major would have been satisfied in the long term with the cheerful little tune that emerges on first violins out of the theme proclaimed by trumpets and trombones in the opening bars. The lovely second subject, introduced by cellos in A major, is a far more characteristic melody and the solemn treatment of the opening theme at the beginning of the development - harmonised in B flat minor on three trombones and bassoon at a slower tempo - is a thoroughly worthy inspiration. What Schubert would have done next is not apparent from the raw sketch, which skips the rest of the development and the recapitulation and apparently goes straight on to a coda.

The most interesting movement is the Andante in B minor, which begins with a quite uncanny anticipation of a melodic style associated with early Mahler. Not quite complete as it stands here - Schubert would presumably have found room to recall his F sharp major second subject - it is the symphonic equivalent of Die Winterreise in its textural sparseness and its air of tragic but not at all bitter resignation.

When Schubert started on the third movement it was going to be nothing more than a scherzo. It seems that while working on it, however, he conceived the scarcely precedented idea of combining scherzo and finale functions in one movement. This could explain why the lyrical first episode of what eventually became a rondo sounds at first more like a trio section for woodwind. A second episode, based on a vigorous dance tune for violins, puts the construction in its new perspective. Sadly, before he could complete the integration of all this material - which was evidently intended to be a contrapuntal tour de force on his part - Schubert became too ill to go on working. He died a few days later.

Gerald Larner©