Beethoven's influence on Schubert was a psychological as much as musical one, against which the composer struggled. The Great C Major Symphony is an illustration of how much of this influence had been absorbed by the end of his life. Important rhythmic and formal features of the central movements are related to those of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, and a theme in the finale is strongly reminiscent of the "Ode to Joy" theme from his Ninth. However, the most important influence of Beethoven can be seen in the tight-knit thematic organicism (based primarily on the third-motive of the Introduction) that characterizes the entire work.

Index Classifications: 1800s

Contributed by: J. Sterling Lambert