Some months ago I received an unusual query from an orchestra librarian, in preparation for upcoming performance: to confirm which Schubert symphony I would be conducting with her orchestra, the 9th, 7th, or 8th?
It reminded me of how absurdly convoluted the numbering of Schubert’s symphonies continues to be, varying from publisher to publisher and country to country.
The symphony in question—the C major, D 944—was originally known as the 9th (since a “7th” symphony in E major, D 729 was left unfinished, as was its famous successor, the “8th” in B minor, D 759). But Brahms, as editor of the original Schubert Gesamtausgabe, omitted any number for D 729 and reversed the order of the other two, with D 944 designated as “7” and D 759 as “8”. Later, in 1908, Grove’s labeled D 944 as “10”, although in our day and age its numbering has pretty well reverted to “9”. Except in Germany, where it is known as “8”. Got all that?
I ended up just sending the librarian a scan of the first page of my score…