Schubert wrote the Symphony no. 8 in C major between 1825 and 1828. In order to distinguish this symphony from his symphony no. 6, written between 1817-18, no. 8 was referred to as the “Great Symphony” in C major. After Beethoven’s symphonies, this work is recognized as the most important symphony from the first half of the 19th century. It was highly lauded by Schumann and by Mendelssohn, who conducted its first public performance in 1839 in Leipzig .

Schubert himself never actually heard th...