Schubert's Unfinished, Unvarnished, and Unassembled Symphonies

[Cato]

Mahlertitan yesterday wrote he would give us his opinions on Schubert's Eighth and attempts at completions, along with the Seventh and Tenth.

Has anyone else heard the various attempts at completing these works?  The main work in modern times seems to be done by a musicologist named Brian Newbould.

Reviews on Amazon give larger praise to the Tenth Symphony, with one reviewer saying that a future Mahlerian sound can be heard, although in a spare texture.

Thanks to all for their comments!

[Cato]

From Amazon's "Riviera Reviewer" on the Tenth:

Newbould's realization of Schubert's 10th Symphony (D.936) is worth it's weight in pure gold.

Especially fine is the prescient-Mahlerian andante: this exquisitely elegiac piece with its plangent English horn solo over extensive pizzicato strings sounds as if it were contemporary with the Kindertotenlieder--how marvelous! This 10 min line is worth the price of admission alone.
The other two allegro movements are memorable as well.

[Lethevich]

Reviews on Amazon give larger praise to the Tenth Symphony, with one reviewer saying that a future Mahlerian sound can be heard, although in a spare texture.

Eek, that sounds like there isn't much Schubert in there at all!

[mahlertitan]

Okay, finally, i have some time to sit down and write my impressions:

Reference Recording(s):
Schubert Symphony No.7 in E D729 Sir Neville Marriner, ASMF
Schubert Symphony No.10 in D D936A Sir Neville Marriner, ASMF

I seriously had doubts when i open the box and saw Symphony No.7. I thought i must be going insane, since it never occurred to me that Schubert has written a 7th or a 10th. however, now i know that there is indeed one, it exists as a completion done by this Brian Newbould. Apparently, according to wikipedia, the whole thing is complete, but only the first movement is orchestrated, so basically, this Newbould guy orchestrated everything.

Symphony 7
     I thought the opening is a little weird, almost as if there were some introductory notes missing from the beginning (probably the way Schubert intended it anyway). Not much development at the get go, since Schubert repeats the opening section twice, and finally introduces a development section, it is lively, jovial, and very Schubertian, (reminiscent of the melodies in the 6th for instance). The second movement: Andante is warm, expressive, and is one of Schubert's finest slow movements; The Scherzo is written in the exact structure as the scherzo/minuet in most of his earlier symphonies. This particular Scherzo sounds somewhat unsatisfying, because it leaves a few woodwinds to do most of the "talking", and lacks the force of most conventional scherzos. The Trio is delightful, but i do believe that if given more time, Schubert would've probably revised this piece and make it better; the finale, marked "allegro giusto" sounds frankly a little out of place, probably the weakest movement of the four, as it does not conclude the symphony in a satisfactory manner.
     A warning here, although Newbould has apparently "completed" this symphony, it still sounds "unfinished" or a little spare in terms of texture in certain places. This symphony never struck me as a "grand" symphony, i think i would group this with Schubert's 5,6 symphonies, since it's not as intriguing as his later "unfinished", but it still has the usual wonderful melodies that characterize most of Schubert's works.
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Symphony 10

The 10th is a great surprise, after hearing the new 7th, honestly, i wasn't at all impressed. If you think Schubert has composed some nice melodies, wait until you hear the melodies in this! Absolutely stunning, this would probably be one of the most beautiful movement in the all of symphonic repertoire (if he had lived long enough to complete the work). The atmosphere of the first movement is somewhat similar to the second movement of the "unfinished", but significantly lighter in mood. Despite marked by Newbould "Allegro maestoso", the movement is only moderately fast and contains most heavenly of melodies. As if that's not already enough, the second movement: Andante probably trumps everything i have talked about so far, if the entire Marriner cycle had only consisted this movement, i would buy it for the full price anyway! The last movement is the scherzo (no finale), although it has its charms, i have little to say about it, excerpt it's one of those scherzos that has a little fugue. 

[Cato]

Thanks to Mahlertitan for taking the time to review the Seventh and Tenth Symphonies!

I will add those to my Christmas list, even with their flaws and unfinished business!

As with Mozart, Mahler, Bruckner, Beethoven and others, one always wishes them just a few more years of life!

But I guess we should do that for most people!  (Exceptions: Mao, Stalin, Nero, the Big H, etc.)

[Cato]

GMG member Manuel graciously opened up his archives so I (and I assume others who were interested) could hear a performance of the Tenth Symphony.

Given that the work might not represent Schubert's final thoughts, the symphony is still very worthwhile.  The first two movements do indeed  - and perhaps not so oddly - evoke a Brucknerian and even Mahlerian future.  The Scherzo at times also plugs into that same future.  The last movement is somewhat disappointing: it does not last long enough and seemingly just suddenly ends. 

But certainly the first 3 movememnts are tantalizing and just slightly melancholy about what might have been!