Can you believe these eight classical masterpieces nearly didn’t exist?

17 July 2025, 10:20

The musical triumphs that were almost never shared with the world...

It’s hard to believe that some of the most treasured pieces in classical music history were almost never composed – nearly lost, abandoned by their creators, dismissed by audiences, or forgotten for centuries. Some were only recognised long after their composers had died; others remained incomplete or overlooked for decades.

Here are eight examples. Each of these works had a turning point – a moment when they might not have made it into the repertoire at all...

Read more: What is the Curse of the Ninth and does it really exist?

1. Rachmaninov – Piano Concerto No.2

   After the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony, Rachmaninov fell into a deep depression and couldn’t compose. He eventually turned to Dr. Nikolai Dahl, a Moscow-based physician and amateur musician, who treated him with hypnotherapy. And thus, one of the most beloved piano concertos in the repertoire was born – dedicated to the doctor who helped him recover.

   

   Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No.2 (I) - Jeneba Kanneh-Mason

2. Stravinsky – The Rite of Spring

   At its 1913 premiere in Paris, Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring caused a full-blown scandal. The music was so radical – with its pounding rhythms and dissonant harmonies – that the audience responded by rioting, and the police were reportedly called. What once sparked outrage is now seen as one of the most groundbreaking works of the 20th century.

   

   Stravinsky The Rite of Spring // London Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle

3. Monteverdi – L'Arianna

   Monteverdi’s second opera, L’Arianna, was one of the most acclaimed stage works of the early 17th century. Composed under time pressure for a royal wedding in Mantua in 1608, almost all of the music is now tragically lost – only the famous lament aria Lamento d’Arianna survives, preserved because Monteverdi later published it separately. With no manuscript ever found, the rest of the opera is presumed lost forever and we’ll likely never hear it in full again.

   

   Monteverdi - Lamento d'Arianna (Lib. 6)

4. Beethoven – Symphony No.9

   By the time Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony premiered, he was completely deaf. Still, he pushed musical boundaries, setting Schiller’s Ode to Joy for soloists and choir in a symphony for the first time. He conducted the 1824 premiere himself, but, devastatingly, couldn’t hear the audience’s applause and had to be alerted to it by one of the players. That he never heard a note of what is arguably the greatest symphony ever composed remains one of the great tragedies of his extraordinary life.

   

   Beethoven - Symphony No. 9 (Daniel Barenboim & the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra)

5. Bach – The Art of Fugue

   Some scholars believe Bach began drafting ideas for The Art of Fugue as early as 1736, though most of the work was likely written and revised between 1742 and shortly before his death in 1750. Much about the work remains uncertain: the final fugue breaks off mid-way, the intended order of movements is debated, and it’s unclear whether Bach saw it as music for performance or study. Published the year after his death, in 1751, the edition included a short chorale prelude to stand in for the missing ending of the final fugue.

   

   Bach - The Art of Fugue BWV 1080 - Sato | Netherlands Bach Society

6. Mozart – Requiem in D minor

   Commissioned by a mysterious stranger in 1791, Mozart’s Requiem is Mozart’s Requiem is surrounded by speculation. Ill and increasingly paranoid, he believed he was writing it for his own funeral and died before completing the work. His widow, desperate for payment, enlisted others – including his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr – to finish it in secret. Though later revealed to be a collaborative effort, the Requiem remains one of Mozart’s most enduring works.

   

   Berliner Philharmoniker & Claudio Abbado – Mozart: Requiem In D Minor: Sequentia: Lacrimosa

7. Vivaldi – Lost Oratorios

   Vivaldi is believed to have composed four oratorios, but just one, Juditha triumphans (1716), survives complete. Written for the young women of the Ospedale della Pietà in Venice, it was performed during Lent. The rest of his oratorios were likely lost as his music faded from fashion after his death. Juditha offers a rare glimpse into a largely vanished side of Vivaldi’s output.

   

   Vivaldi: Juditha triumphans, sacred oratorio, RV 644 | Andrea Marcon & Venice Baroque Orchestra

8. Schubert – Symphony No.8 ‘Unfinished’

   Schubert began his Symphony in B minor in 1822 but completed only two movements. For years, some believed the rest had been lost, but it’s now widely accepted that he never finished the work. It wasn’t performed until the 1860s, more than 30 years after his death, when his friend Anselm Hüttenbrenner revealed he had the manuscript. Why Schubert abandoned the piece remains unclear – but the two surviving movements are among the most beautiful in the symphonic repertoire.

   

   Schubert: Symphony No. 8 Unfinished | Iván Fischer & Budapest Festival Orchestra

We may never know the full truth behind these works, but what we do have continues to speak for itself. Lost, incomplete, or nearly forgotten, this music endures – and will continue to be heard and enjoyed for generations to come.