This is one of two new symphonic works Schumann composed in the wake of the unexpectedly great success his ‘Spring’ Symphony had achieved at its first performance under Mendelssohn in 1841. The other eventually became the Fourth Symphony (see above); both works were premiered together in Leipzig in December, but their reception was less than encouraging, so Schumann withdrew them. The symphony had to wait ten years for its revision, but in 1845 he was able to attend to this three-movement work (there had never been a slow movement, so at one time he had thought of calling it Symphonette), completely rewriting the Finale. This time it fared better, and he was able to authorise its publication without further delay.

sources

A  Autograph score, in the Archiv der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna

P  First edition parts, published by Kistner, Leipzig in 1846

E  First edition score, published by Kistner in 1853, viewable online at IMSLP

Pe  Full score, published by C.F. Peters, Leipzig in 1887

Br  Full score and parts, published by Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig in 1887 (the parts may be as late as 1890); the Eulenburg miniature score has the same text

There are almost no problems in II and III, but in the Overture E suffers from inconsistencies of all kinds, which are solved in different ways by Pe and Br (e.g. 109/11/3, 238/40/2 Vl 2, Vla slur n.1–3 in Br, over to next bar in Pe). Br also contains a few significant editorial alterations (especially 58, 187 Vl 2, Vla pizz.), probably made by Clara and Brahms; the problem with these is that they may reasonably be judged improvements, but clearly it is a requirement of this report to restore what Schumann wrote.