Among Schubert's most famous and brilliant masterpieces, we find his eighth Symphony. In this work we discover music that has never been written before or after the time of Schubert. The magic of the symphony touches the audience from the first bar, and keeps the listener enchanted until, yes, until the end of the second movement. Why this? What about the third and fourth movement?

As you may already know, Schubert's eighth symphony is considered Unfinished. We do not know for sure what happened to the last two movements that should have been written. Were they ever written? If yes, were they published under another name? The mystery remains unsolved, but please take your time and consider three possible options.

First, imagine that Schubert didn't finish this symphony. He was content with the first two movements, but nobody liked them, and he could see no meaning in continuing writing the last two movements. He knew that no orchestra would play it anyway. He forgot the worked he had started, and began to write his more popular songs instead.

Secondly, imagine that Schubert did finish his symphony. But, he knew that it would never be performed. Therefore he later in his life literally removed the last parts from the symphony, and used it in a ballet, or an entr'acte. G. Abraham in his article "Finishing the Unfinished" suggested an idea, similar to this in 1971. In that article he suggests that the first entr'acte written in B minor, originally was the finale of the "Unfinished" Symphony. Other entr'actes by Schubert, were written on melodies he had used in previous works.

Finally, imagine that Schubert wrote a full symphony and that the later parts of the symphony are gone, or at least well hidden. The Swedish master of music, Sixten Nordström, suggests this theory in his newly written book, "De Stora Tonsättarna" (The Great Composers). We must keep in mind the circumstances during which the symphony was found. 1865, a group of Schubert enthusiasts were reached by the rumor, that Josef Hüttenbrenner, an old friend of Schubert had a symphony by Schubert. Hüttenbrenner, who was a lawyer, had helped Schubert with his paperwork. When the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde" rejected the eighth Symphony in 1822, Schubert sent the score to Hüttenbrenner. He kept it, and over 40 years later, the symphony was requested by the Schubert society. Hüttenbrenner found the symphony, but it was soon clear that the two last movements were missing. Only the first three bars of the third movement were found. Hüttenbrenner insisted that he had only received two movements. But it is reasonable to believe that a full symphony once existed. The main evidence is as follows:

• Schubert would never have offered the "Gesellschaft der Musikfreude" an incomplete symphony. Schubert hoped that they would perform his work. To perform an incomplete symphony was totally out of the question.
• A sketchbook containing 250 bars of the third movement has been found.
• Schubert always composed in the following way: He first wrote the melody. When the melody for the whole movement was finished, he started to choose instruments. The first nine bars of the Scherzo are written for all instruments.
• The nine bars end at the point where Schubert used to put a new bundle of music-paper.

So, it is very possible that a bundle of music-paper have fallen out of the big bundle of papers that a symphony consists of. If so, it is maybe still possible to find these papers. Do you have any relative to a Hüttenbrenner family in Vienna? Maybe if you search the attic of a house were the Hüttenbrenner, or a friend of the Hüttenbrenner family once lived, we may found the last parts of this magic symphony. Remember that some of Schubert's works have been found so late as during the 90's. There may be more to come!

Nordström, Sixten (1998): De stora tonsättarna. Stockholm

Brown, Maurice J.E. (1980): The New Grove Schubert. London

Abraham, G. (1971): The Musical Times, cxii page: 547: Finishing the Unfinished.