Curse of the ninth "serious" music criticism. Though composers can indeed be found who died after achieving nine symphonies (the most famous example perhaps being Ludwig van Beethoven), nine is not a statistically predominant total in the history of the symphony. In addition, while some very prominent composers (e.g. Schubert, Dvořák, Spohr, Bruckner, Mahler, and Vaughan Williams) are regularly adduced as examples, several of them are only credited with having "composed nine symphonies" as a result of error or oversimplification (see below). According to Arnold Schoenberg, this superstition began with Gustav Mahler, who, after writing his Eighth Symphony, wrote "Das Lied von der Erde",
Franz Schubert (film) Thus, depressed Schubert decides to tour his songs in order to make a living. In this period of time, he writes the "Winterreise". After having returned, Schubert decides to have lessons in counterpoint with Beethoven, but shies away from contacting his idol. Shortly later, while being plagued by health problems, Schubert gets a visit from Beethoven's secretary Anton Schindler. Sickly Beethoven sends some Goethe poems to Schubert to be set in music, as Beethoven regards Schubert to be the better song composer. As Schubert wants to visit Beethoven, he arrives too late: Beethoven has died. Schubert is one of the