Symphony No. 8 (Schubert)

Franz Schubert'sSymphony No. 8inB minor,D759 (sometimes renumbered as Symphony No. 7,[1]in accordance with the revisedDeutschcatalogue and theNeue Schubert-Ausgabe[2]), commonly known as theUnfinished Symphony(German:Unvollendete), is a musical composition that Schubert started in 1822 but left with only two movements—though he lived for another six years. Ascherzo, nearly completed inpiano scorebut with only two pagesorchestrated, also survives. It has been theorized by some musicologists, includingBrian Newbould, that Schubert may have sketched a finale that instead became the bigB minorentr'actefrom his incidental music toRosamunde, but all evidence for this is circumstantial.[3]One possible reason for Schubert's leaving the symphony incomplete is the predominance of the samemeter(triple meter). The first movement is in3 4, the second in3 8and the third (an incomplete scherzo) again in3 4. Three consecutive movements in basically the same meter rarely occur in symphonies,sonatas, orchamber worksof the most important Viennese composers. Schubert's Eighth Symphony is sometimes called the firstRomanticsymphony due to its emphasis on the lyrical impulse within the dramatic structure of Classicalsonata form. Furthermore, its orchestration is not solely tailored for functionality, but specific combinations of instrumentaltimbrethat are prophetic of the later Romantic movement, with astonishing vertical spacing occurring for example at the beginning of thedevelopment.[4] To this day, musicologists still disagree as to why Schubert failed to complete the symphony. Some have speculated that he stopped work in the middle of the scherzo in the fall of 1822 because he associated it with his initial outbreak ofsyphilis—or that he was distracted by the inspiration for hisWanderer Fantasyfor solo piano, which occupied his time and energy immediately afterward. It could have been a combination of both factors.

摘自:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No.8(Schubert)

Symphony No. 4 (Mendelssohn)

TheSymphony No. 4in A major,Op.90, commonly known as theItalian,[1]is an orchestral symphony written by German composerFelix Mendelssohn.

History
The work has its origins (as had the composer'sScottish3rd SymphonyandThe Hebridesoverture) in the tour of Europe which occupied Mendelssohn from 1829 to 1831. Its inspiration is the colour and atmosphere of Italy, where Mendelssohn made sketches but left the work incomplete. Below is a snippet of a letter he wrote to his father:
This is Italy! And now has begun what I have always thought... to be the supreme joy in life. And I am loving it. Today was so rich that now, in the evening, I must collect myself a little, and so I am writing to you to thank you, dear parents, for having given me all this happiness.[2]
In February he wrote from Rome to his sisterFanny,
TheItaliansymphony is making great progress. It will be the jolliest piece I have ever done, especially the last movement. I have not found anything for the slow movement yet, and I think that I will save that for Naples.
TheItalian Symphonywas finished in Berlin on 13 March 1833, in response to an invitation for a symphony from theLondon (now Royal) Philharmonic Society; he conducted the first performance himself in London on 13 May 1833 at a London Philharmonic Society concert. The symphony's success, and Mendelssohn's popularity, influenced the course of British music for the rest of the century.[3]TheGermania Musical Societyof Boston gave the first performance in the United States, on 1 November 1851, withCarl Bergmannconducting.[4]
Mendelssohn himself, however, remained dissatisfied with the composition, which cost him, he said, some of the bitterest moments of his career; he revised it in 1834[5]and even planned to write alternative versions of the second, third, and fourth movements. He never published the symphony, and it appeared in print only in 1851;[6]thus it is numbered as his "Symphony No. 4", even though it was in fact the third he composed.

摘自:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphony_No.4(Mendelssohn)