Spohr - Symphony No. 2 In D Minor

The violinist, conductor and composer Louis Spohr was an important composer of the early Romantic era. He was active in Vienna and knew Beethoven well. He claimed that he learned how to compose by studying the works of Mozart, who remained his compositional ideal all his life.  He grew to dislike the late music of Beethoven as well as other modern composers of his time but he didn't let his personal tastes get in the way of performing them as a conductor.  He was also an early promoter of Richard Wagner's operas as he conducted The Flying Dutchman and Tannhäuser. 

He wrote almost 300 works in his life and his  music was quite popular during his lifetime. He finished 9 symphonies from 1811 to 1850, with the first symphony being in the classical mold of Mozart. His symphonic writing showed steady progress and by the time he wrote the 9th he had embraced program music.  By the time of his death in 1859 his music was considered old fashioned and it languished in obscurity until late in the 20th century.

The 2nd Symphony In D Minor was written in March of 1820 after Spohr had played one of his violin concertos at the Philharmonic Society Of London opening concert of the 1820 season. The symphony was premiered the next month by the same orchestra in London. The symphony is in four movements:

I. Allegro -  Spohr writes a short introduction that is in the same tempo as the movement proper, a departure from the slow introductions usually used by Mozart and Haydn. The first theme is carried mostly in the violins. The theme expands and is punctuated with strong accents and leads to the second theme played in the woodwinds over a stuttering accompaniment from the low strings. Fragments of the first theme interrupt the theme until the first theme returns in a variant in the major. A third theme appears and acts as a transition to the repeat of the exposition. The development works with a fragment of the first theme as it goes through key changes and variants. The recapitulation begins within a variant of the first theme in a very smooth transition. The second theme and transition material is varied until the tempo and intensity increases as a short coda hammers out a fragment of the first theme until the end of a seamlessly composed sonata movement.

II. Larghetto - The calm opening theme is in B-flat major. A central section interrupts the calm with a theme in G minor that by turn roars, rambles and grows quiet and tense.  The key of G minor exits with a roar as it entered as the opening theme returns and brings the movement to a pleasant close.

III. Scherzo: Presto - The scherzo begins in a quiet way and remains that way until a short crescendo shifts the key to D major, but this interruption lasts but a short while until the music grows more quiet. There is another loud interruption before the music leads to a trio in D major. The scherzo repeats, and then the trio returns with the full orchestra.  The music shifts back to D minor for the loud ending.

IV. Finale: Vivace - The finale begins in D major and after a short introduction a smoothly moving first theme is heard. The second theme is in an even lighter mood. Both themes are repeated with variations, with the second theme getting more playing time. The first theme returns and leads to the flutes rendition of the second theme. The second theme continues and leads to a short spirited coda that ends the symphony in high spirits.

Spohr - Violin Concerto No. 8 In A Minor 'In modo di scena cantante'

Although few of his compositions are played today, Louis Spohr was a well respected and highly regarded violinist, conductor and composer in the early 19th century.  He wrote nearly 300 works in all musical genres but what reputation he still has is founded on his works for clarinet and orchestra and the violin concertos.

From 1803 to 1844 Spohr wrote 18 concertos for violin, of which only one is played with spring regularity, the Violin Concerto No. 8 In A Minor.  The subtitle of the concerto is Italian and translates as In the form of an operatic scene. Spohr was a contemporary of Paganini who tried to steer the concerto form away from the glitter and artificial technical display that was overtaking the form early in the century. While Paganini's Violin Concertos were not merely empty display pieces, Paganini did write his share of bravura passages for the soloist in them, thus Spohr made a conscious effort to counter the tendency other violinist composer's had to emulate Paganini. In his later concertos he attempted to create profound and memorable works by other means than empty display.

The 8th Concerto was written for a specific audience in mind, as Spohr was about to embark on a tour of Italy. He made the assumption that since Italy was the land of opera, it would be difficult to keep the attention of the Italian audiences with a more conventional concerto. He wrote the work as if the violin were a singer, and also kept the orchestral accompaniment uncomplicated as he had heard the orchestras in Italy were not as proficient as in France or Germany. The work was premiered at La Scala in Milan, and as Spohr wrote in his autobiography:

Uncertainty about how my playing and my compositions would please the Italians left me somewhat anxious … but with the first measures I noted that the audience was receptive. My anxiety disappeared, and I played without inhibition.

The concerto is in three main sections that are played without a break:

Recitative - Allegro molto - The work begins with a statement by the orchestra which is answered by an operatic-like recitative by the soloist.  The soloist continues to answer statements by the orchestra in this first section until a short transition leads directly to the next section.

Adagio - Recitative: Andante -  The orchestra plays preliminary material that is followed by the soloist's aria that is lightly accompanied. A contrasting section consists of a quickening of the tempo as the soloist plays in the low register of the violin. The aria returns and its closing leads to another recitative for the soloist. The final section follows without a break.

Allegro moderato - A full blooded theme is first presented by the orchestra. A short section of counterpoint leads to other thematic material for the orchestra. The soloist enters with the first theme, after which the second theme that consists of passage work for the soloist is played. The soloist and orchestra explore new thematic material until a recapitulation begins, after which a fragment of the first theme leads to a cadenza for the soloist.  The concerto's loose ends are tied up by the orchestra in a short ending.

Spohr was an important transitional composer who had one foot in the Classical era and the other in the Romantic era. The quite novel and nontraditional form that Spohr used in the 8th violin concerto influenced many later composers. Spohr seems to have been a very happy family man, far removed from the Romantic notion of the suffering artist.  He had a general curiosity about many things and at one time was one of the most popular composers and performers in Europe.

The time in which he lived was a time of upheaval in the arts as well as society. The European Revolutions of 1848 were a direct result of those upheavals, and along with his other interests Spohr was also a liberal believer in democracy and wasn't afraid to voice his disagreement with the repression and brutality that was common in his time.  The fact that he was physically a large man may have helped him be open with his thoughts. In an era when any man six feet tall was considered large, Spohr was six foot six and had large athletic hands that made the violin look small. This no doubt also helped him in his career as a conductor. The sight of him towering over the orchestra when he was on the podium must have been impressive.

Spohr - Clarinet Concerto No. 3 In F minor

Louis Spohr was a violinist, conductor and composer who was well regarded in his lifetime, but shortly after his death in 1859 his music fell into neglect. His compositional style fell into the transitional period between the Classical and Romantic eras.  Spohr was also a practical musician and is credited with inventing the chin rest for the violin, rehearsal numbers for orchestral scores and was an early proponent of using a baton when conducting.

He was a very prolific composer and wrote in all the genres of the time.  Spohr made a name for himself after he performed one of his compositions on the violin at a concert in Leipzig in 1804 to critical acclaim. He was also active in Vienna and worked on Beethoven's Piano Trio Opus 70, No. 1 "Ghost" with the composer. He remained on cordial terms with Beethoven and worked as a conductor in Vienna from 1813-1815. He also wrote a treatise on violin playing, Violinschule, which not only gave solid instruction on the basics but the latest advances in violin technique. It was a standard for violin education for many years.

Johann Simon Hermstedt

Spohr wrote four clarinet concertos, with the first being commissioned in 1808 for the virtuoso clarinetist Johann Simon Hermstedt by the clarinettist's royal employer. This was followed by the second concerto in 1810 and the third concerto in 1821. This was a time when the clarinet was still going through modifications and Spohr's concertos added to the genesis of the modern clarinet, and as such Spohr's works for the clarinet did not meet with the neglect after his death that much of his other music suffered.

The third concerto is considered by many to be the weakest musically of the four Spohr wrote for the instrument. But it is a success as a virtuoso showpiece for the clarinetist that can handle its difficulties. The work is in three movements:

I. Allegro moderato -  The concerto begins with a dramatic opening from the orchestra. This first theme is short, and leads to another theme in F major. After this theme is played through, the theme is repeated in F minor. After some other material the soloist enters with its own version of the themes.  The soloist goes far afield with material that is more for displaying the skill of the soloist than any progression of themes. The spotlight is on the soloist with a few orchestral interruptions, kind of like an orchestral seasoning to a dish that is dominated by the clarinet. There is no cadenza, as the clarinet makes its way to the final high note with the accompaniment of the orchestra.

II. Adagio - The orchestra introduces the movement, and the clarinet soon enters with music that is in the style of an operatic aria.  At the middle point the orchestra introduces new material that the clarinet comments on in turn. The aria returns and the movement ends quietly.

III. Vivace non troppo -  The soloist plays the main theme. The orchestra interjects new material, and the clarinet repeats the main theme with variations. This is the basic scheme of the movement. As the music nears the end, it takes on a more dance like character until the last high note of the soloist.