(Vienna, Austria) – Franz Schubert’s 8th symphony in B minor, commonly referred to as the “unfinished symphony,” consists of only two movements, whereas traditional symphonies of his contemporaries had a standard four movements. An unfinished piano scherzo has often been considered to be the seed for Schubert’s third movement, though there is no orchestration extant to support this notion. Recently discovered correspondence between Schubert and his therapist have shed new light on his actual intentions for this symphony.

Schubert stopped working on his eighth symphony when he was 26 years old, 6 years prior to his death. His friend, confidant, and therapist, Eduard von Bauernfeld wrote the following verse about his friend Franz:
 “In love with a Countess of youthful grace, 
—A pupil of Galt’s; in desperate case
Young Schubert surrenders himself to another,
And fain would avoid such affectionate pother”
Newly discovered correspondence between Bauernfeld and Schubert indicates that Schubert purposely wrote a two movement symphony in response to his unrequited love concerning the Countess of Monte Cristo. The protector of the Countess, Fred de Cordova, refused to allow Schubert a starting role opposite Sonja Henie, who, in a situation straight out of a movie script, had been accused of being a jewel thief. The Countess, later being cleared of this accusation, was found to be the heir to the Von Havenmeier family fortune. Managing this fortune left her with no time for music or romance.
Schubert’s response to the plight of the Countess was to create a symphony of two movements to demonstrate to his listeners the feeling of distance, incompleteness, and being ripped off by buying a ticket to a very short symphony, or having your love discounted by fifty percent at a 5&10 Groschen store.
With this new evidence, it is clear that Symphony no. 8 in B minor is not only finished, but actually quite overdone.