In 1838 Robert Schumann, on a visit to Vienna, found the dusty manuscript of Franz Schubert's C major symphony (the Great, D.944) and took it back to Leipzig, where it was performed by Felix Mendelssohn and celebrated in the Neue Zeitschrift. Apparently during a rehearsal of the first movement one musician was reported as asking another if he had managed to hear a tune yet! This is an extraordinary statement given that it is one of Schubert's most tuneful compositions, and he is considered one of the most tuneful of composers. On the other hand, having heard its first performance, Schumann is reported to have said he thought it the greatest instrumental work since the death of Beethoven.

There continues to be some controversy over the numbering of this symphony, with German-speaking scholars sometimes numbering it as symphony No. 7, some versions of the Deutsch catalog (the standard catalogue of Schubert's works, compiled by Otto Erich Deutsch) listing it as No. 8, and English-speaking scholars generally listing it as No. 9.

See also: List of compositions by Schubert and Schubert compositions D number 505-998