91. Masterpiece for Cello

Franz Schubert left many works unfinished; he had only begun to sketch out numerous pieces. He completed seven symphonies, yet as many as five contain not a single finished movement, and one consists of two movements with a third that was barely begun. And it is this last one that is today the composer’s most famous orchestral work, even though during his short life and immediately after his death he was valued primarily as a composer of songs and miniatures. Perhaps this is exactly why the Symphony in B minor Unfinished had to wait more than four decades for its premiere. It is also unclear why Schubert wrote only Allegro moderato and Andante con moto and abandoned the work after a few pages of Scherzo. He was composing this symphony during what is now referred to as his “years of crisis” (1818 – 1823), and 1822 – the year he halted work on it – coincided with a flare-up of his syphilis, which ultimately led to his death six years later – so perhaps it was a matter of declining health? Fortunately, Antonín Dvořák had no trouble completing his Cello Concerto in B minor, although the soloist who commissioned the work, Hanuš Wihan, pushed his own ideas and wanted the composer to revise the piece and, in addition, incorporate his own cadenzas into it. Dvořák stood his ground, but after the work’s premiere by another artist, he modified the ending. Dvořák’s concerto ultimately earned its place as one of the greatest achievements of late Romantic cello music and remains in the repertoire of virtually every master of the instrument.

– Dominika Micał (pisanezesluchu.pl)