Why are the movements of Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 played without pauses?

The movements of Robert Schumann’s Symphony No. 4 in D Minor are played without pauses to maintain the work's cohesive structure.1

This design is achieved through the use of cyclic structure, a technique in which a single theme recurs in various guises throughout all four movements. By linking the movements in this manner, Schumann created a unified musical experience that avoids the traditional breaks between sections. This approach reflects a broader trend in symphonic writing after Beethoven, where composers increasingly utilized thematic transformation to achieve unity over large-scale works.1