Liszt - Symphonic Poem 'Mazeppa'

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) was the originator of the Symphonic Poem, a piece of music inspired by literature, art or other non- musical source.  He wrote thirteen of these pieces using various subjects as inspiration.

Liszt's Symphonic Poem No. 6 was inspired by the legend of Ivan Mazeppa, who was born in Lithuania in 1639.  He was of noble birth, and as the legend goes he had a love affair with a Polish princess who was married to a much older man. When the husband found out about the affair as punishment he had Mazeppa stripped of his clothes and tied to a horse and set free to run in the wilderness.  The horse ended up in Ukraine, Mazeppa survived the ordeal, and was found by Cossasks, who eventually made him their Hetman, the person of highest military rank in the country.

Although just a legend, it inspired many Romantic era writers, painters and musicians. Lord Byron, Alexander Pushkin and Victor Hugo wrote poems about it,  Liszt and Tchaikovsky wrote music based on it, and there are many paintings inspired by it.

Liszt first wrote a piano piece based on the legend, part of his set of Transcendental Etudes , first published in 1837 then revised with the revisions printed in 1852.  Mazeppa is the 4th Etude in the set and remains one of the most technically difficult pieces in the repertoire for piano.  Liszt's orchestral version differs from the piano version as it is longer and  expands on some of the musical ideas of the original.

The poem has musical representations of the ride through the wilderness, the beating of the horses hoofs, the terror of the rider and after Mazeppa is found by the Cossacks a triumphant military march.

Mazeppa by Franz Liszt, followed by a performance of the original piano piece:

Sibelius - Symphony No. 5 In E-flat Major Opus 82

Jean Sibelius (1865 - 1957)  was a Finnish composer most known for his symphonies. He wrote seven symphonies all together, and after his 7th Symphony, Sibelius composed very little for the rest of his life. There were rumors and hints from the composer himself about an 8th symphony, but it was never composed.

Sibelius' first love was the violin, and he worked towards being a virtuoso, but relented when he decided he had started too late. He became a conductor as well as composer. His first great compositional influence was Wagner, but with time Sibelius rejected much of Wagner's esthetic and was then influenced by Anton Bruckner and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.  He was a master of orchestration, and despite composing his symphonies in a time of great experimentation with atonality, Sibelius continued to write tonal music. But he developed a highly refined and unique style of orchestration and composition that give his music a certain kind of  sound that is like no other. No doubt his love of nature and the terrain of his native Finland inspired much of his music, whether directly with the tone poems or indirectly with the symphonies.

Sibelius received a commission from the Finnish government in honor of his 50th birthday. He filled the commission with the 5th Symphony. He finished the score and led the premiere in 1915.  It was revised in 1916 and also in 1919, and it is the 1919 version that is usually performed.  The symphony is in three movements:

1. Tempo molto moderato - Allegro moderato (ma poco a poco stretto) - Vivace molto - Presto - Più Presto.  This movement is actually a combination of the original 1st movement and 2nd movement from the first version of the symphony .
2. Andante mosso, quasi allegretto - Poco a poco stretto - Tranquillo - Poco a poco stretto - Ritenuto al tempo I.  This movement is a set of variations.
3. Allegro molto - Misterioso - Un pochettino largamente - Largamente assai - Un pochettino stretto.  The tune for horns shortly after the beginning of this movement is thought to be the sound of swan calls, as well as a representation of 16 swans taking off all at once, an event witnessed by Sibelius.

The structure of the symphony is unique. There is much debate among musicologists about the first movement especially. Add the structural uniqueness to the many tempo designations and modulations within the music, and we have one of the most original symphonies composed by Sibelius.

Mendelssohn - Piano Trio No. 1 in D minor Opus 49

In a review in 1840 of Mendelssohn's Piano Trio No. 1, Robert Schumann wrote:

The storm of recent years is finally beginning to abate, and we must admit that it has washed several pearls ashore. Mendelssohn, as one of the many sons of this age, must have had to struggle with and often listen to the insipid declaration of some ignorant critics that ‘the true golden age of music is behind us’ – although it probably affected him less – and has so distinguished himself that we may well say: He is the Mozart of the 19th century, the most brilliant of musicians, the one who most clearly perceives the contradictions of the age, and the first to reconcile them.

Despite Schumann's praise, the very qualities that caused Schumann to praise the music were later looked upon as faults. Mendelssohn's mastery of sonata form was looked upon as old-fashioned and conservative, the nimbleness of his scherzos were deemed emotionally lacking, the lyrical turn of his tunes were regarded as too unemotional. Richard Wagner was one of the main players in the smear campaign when he wrote his pamphlet Jewishness In Music in which his disgusting antisemitism sneers and takes cheap shots at Jewish composers, namely Meyerbeer and Mendelssohn (a pamphlet by the way, that Wagner used a pseudonym for).  And as if all this was not enough, the filth of the Nazi regime in Germany  labeled Mendelssohn's music as degenerate Jewish music.

Watercolor by Mendelssohn

No doubt some of the invective against Mendelssohn was due to his staggering talent as well as his being born into a family that was very well off financially. By some contemporary accounts, Mendelssohn had some of the trappings of personality that economic and social privilege can bring, such as aloofness and class consciousness. He was also afflicted with a terrible temper when he did not get his way.

But Mendelssohn's music has gone through a rehabilitation of sorts. He is now acknowledged as an inspired composer, conductor, pianist, and one of the greatest musical prodigies of any era.

The Piano Trio No. 1 in D Minor is written for the standard grouping of cello, violin and piano. The Piano Trio is one of his most popular chamber music pieces,  along with his Octet for Strings.  The Trio is in 4 movements:

I. Molto allegro ed agitato - The cello begins the movement with the first theme, a lyrical tune that Mendelssohn changes as he repeats it as it leads to the second theme in A major that also begins with the cello. The movement is in sonata form, but the skill of Mendelssohn makes the music seem like one long flowing melody. After the development and recapitulation, the music gains in drama (mostly from the florid piano part) as the first theme makes one last appearance as the movement rushes to a close.

II. Andante con moto tranquillo - The music of the second movement begins with a solo for piano of the main theme. All the instruments join for a repeat and expansion of the theme. A slightly agitated middle section is in contrast to the preceding. The main theme returns and the music slows to a quiet close.

III. Scherzo: Leggiero e vivace -  A light, agile scherzo, music that Mendelssohn was known for. 

IV. Finale: Allegro assai appassionato -  A return to D minor, the main theme is in the same general mood as the first movement. The piano especially has a lot to do in this movement. Contrasting material interrupts the main theme's progress a few times, but the main theme is persistent and keeps returning until it is transformed to the key of D major as the movement speeds towards the end.

Franz Liszt - Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo

Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886) combined his love for literature and the other arts and music in a form of composition he called the Tone Poem, or Symphonic Poem.  A Tone Poem is a one movement compositions reminiscent of concert overtures written by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Berlioz and others.

Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo ( Tasso, Lament and Triumph) was inspired by the life of Torquato Tasso, an Italian poet of the 16th century.  Liszt referred to two works written about the poet, one by  German writer and poet Johann von Goethe and another by Lord Byron, an English poet.  Tasso suffered from mental illness and spent many years in an asylum. He did eventually leave the asylum and resumed his writing, but he was never cured. It is now thought that he suffered from schizophrenia.

It was the sufferings and inner turmoil of Tasso's years spent in the asylum that Liszt depicts in music in the first half of the piece, with the triumph and release from the asylum and the resumption of his creative work that is depicted in the second half.

Liszt wrote 13 of these one movement Tone Poems, with Tasso being number two.  They were all inspired by literature, art, or some other non-musical source.  With this series of Tone Poems, Liszt created a new type of composition, one well suited to the Romantic era of the 19th century.

Beethoven - Symphony No. 8 in F Major

Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 - 1827) called his 8th Symphony "My little Symphony in F" to differentiate between it and Symphony No.6, also in F and a longer work. The symphony was begun in 1812 and premiered in 1814.  It was greeted with politely enthusiastic applause and was not received with the same fervor as Symphony No. 7.  When asked why this symphony wasn't as popular as No. 7, he reportedly replied, "Because the Eighth is so much better!"

The Symphony is in four movements:

I. Allegro vivace e con brio - 

The symphony begins with no introduction, but gets right to the matter at hand. It is written in sonata form, and in the development section there is a long stretch where the orchestra plays fortissimo, a most unusual dynamic for so long a stretch.

II. Allegretto scherzando - The second movement is thought by some to be a humorous imitation of a metronome.

III. Tempo di Menuetto - A minuet in the style of a Haydn peasant stomp.

IV. Allegro vivace - Beethoven has plenty of surprises in this last movement. 'Wrong' notes played to good effect, the kettle drums tuned to octaves instead of 5ths are two examples.

The 8th Symphony sits between two of Beethoven's mightiest compositions, the 7th and the 9th. That it sits and thumbs its nose a little at them is no mistake, for Beethoven quite often countered a piece of serious and noble intentions with a piece more light-hearted. Beethoven's notorious sense of humor shines through this symphony and makes it one of his best, if not most popular.

Sonny Boy Williamson II - Your Funeral and My Trial, and Bye Bye Bird

Sonny Boy Williamson II ( 1899? - 1965) was born on a plantation in Mississippi.  His birth name was Aleck Ford, but he took the last name of his stepfather, Miller.  He later called himself many other names, and finally settled on Sonny Boy Williamson to capitalize on the success of Blues singer and harmonica player John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson. He is now referred to as Sonny Boy Williamson II or 'the second' to differentiate between the two.

Sonny Boy Williamson was a virtuoso harmonica player, blues singer and songwriter. He lead the life of a blues man, playing music wherever he went, even on street corners.  He got his big break when he was hired on with other blues players to play on the King Biscuit Time radio program in Helena, Arkansas sponsored by King Biscuit Flour. In the early 1960's he toured Europe along with other blues men.

Parts of Sonny Boy's life remained a mystery. No one is sure of the year of his birth, and he spread so many falsehoods about himself during his life that no definitive biography is possible.

The Blues is a genre of music that goes right to the heart of what it is to be human. All of us have had the blues about one thing or the other, and the blues man (or woman) expresses this humanness in musical language and lyrics in a direct way, with no frills. Blues music contains some of the richest, most expressive music known. It takes a back seat to no other genre, it is an art form in itself, as Sonny Boy shows with the following two songs.

Your Funeral and My Trial


Lyrics:

Please come home to your daddy, and explain yourself to me

Because I and you are man and wife, tryin' to start a family

I'm beggin' you baby, cut out that off the wall jive

If you can't treat me no better, it gotta be your funeral and my trial

When I and you first got together, 't was on one Friday night

We spent two lovely hours together, and the world knows allright

I'm just beggin' you baby, please cut out that off the wall jive

You know you gotta treat me better, if you don't it gotta be your funeral and my trial

The good Lord made the world and everything was in it

The way my baby love is some solid sentiment

She can love to heal the sick and she can love to raise the dead

You think I'm jokin' but you better believe what I say

I'm beggin' you baby, cut out that off the wall jive

Yeh you gotta treat me better, or it gotta be your funeral and my trial.

In the song Bye Bye Bird,  Sonny Boy's 'harp' sound takes center stage. It is amazing how much he can get out of such a small instrument. He also shows his showmanship as he puts the harp into his mouth, continues to blow it while he snaps and claps out a rhythm accompaniment.

Bye Bye Bird

Joseph Haydn - Symphony No. 49 'La Passione'

Joseph Haydn ( 1732 - 1809 ) was a innovator in musical form of his time. He helped to codify the forms of the symphony and string quartet especially.  The forerunner of the symphony was the Opera Sinfonia also known as Italian Overture. These works were in three sections with the temp scheme of fast-slow-fast. Many symphonies of the 18th century followed this scheme. C.P.E. Bach and Johann Christian Bach composed their symphonies in this form as did Mozart and Haydn in their earlier symphonies.

Mozart and Haydn both added a fourth movement to their symphonies, another fast movement, thus making the scheme fast-slow-fast-fast.  La Passione (The Passion) symphony of Haydn however, does not follow this pattern but follows the older form of the Sonata da chiesa or Church sonata that had the tempo scheme of slow-fast-slow-fast. It was the last time Haydn used this form for any of his symphonies.

The symphony was written in 1768 during Haydn's Sturm und Drang  (Storm and Stress) period.  All the movements are in F minor except for the Trio of the Menuett (3rd movement) which is in F Major. The symphony is in four movements:

1. Adagio
2. Allegro di molto
3. Menuet & Trio
4. Presto

Haydn's Symphony No. 49 'La Passione' :