[2] The symphony was called the Tragic (German: Tragische) by its composer.
Schubert added the title Tragic to his autograph manuscript some time after the work was completed.
The scoring is for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭, two bassoons, four horns in A♭, C and E♭, two trumpets in C and E♭, timpani, and strings.
The slow introduction is modeled after Haydn's The Representation of Chaos overture to The Creation oratorio.
The second appearance of B, the third return of A and the beginning of the coda have a sixteenth-note ostinato accompaniment added to help bring cohesiveness to the sections.