Rachmaninoff - Symphony No. 2 in E Minor

Sergei Rachmaninoff was an immensely gifted pianist and fine orchestral conductor, but he thought of himself first and foremost as a composer. In his earlier years while still in Russia, he composed most of his 45 opus numbered works. With the political and cultural upheaval brought about by the Russian Revolution of 1917,  Rachmaninoff lost his livelihood (his family were members of the bourgeoisie) and fled the country, never to return.

From 1917 until his death in 1943, Rachmaninoff was constantly on tour in Europe and the United States as pianist and conductor to provide for his family and had little time or inclination to compose. He composed only six more opus numbers during those years.  His prodigious memory was legendary, along with his singing piano tone, quiet demeanor at the keyboard, and his huge hands. He was one of the great piano virtuosos of the 20th century.

His success as a composer came while he was still a student. His one-act opera Aleko was written in 1892 and was such a success that the Bolshoi Theater agreed to perform it.  The Symphony No. 2 was written in 1906-07 and was first performed in 1908 at St. Petersburg with the composer conducting.

The symphony is in 4 movements:
I. Largo, Allegro moderato - The symphony begins with a slow introduction with the low strings stating the main motif that will appear in various forms in all four of the movements. This motif dominates the introduction and main section of the movement as it begins quietly and slowly and through variations transforms into powerful music played by the full orchestra. The secondary theme of the movement has the strings and woodwinds alternate until the theme ends quietly. The development section begins with a solo violin initially playing the main theme which is again transformed into rapidly moving variants until a passionate climax is reached. The recapitulation begins, the second theme is emphasized in the parallel key of E major. The end of the movement returns to the home key of E minor and brings the opening movement to a resounding close.

II. Allegro molto -  Unlike many symphonic scherzos that are written in three beats to the measure, this one is written in two beats to the measure. It is in the usual scherzo-trio-scherzo form, but the scherzo itself has two contrasting themes, as does the trio. It's a combination of the traditional scherzo with aspects of sonata form also. The second theme of the scherzo itself resembles the main motif of the first movement in motion and rhythm.

III. Adagio - Along with an innate sense of rich orchestration, Rachmaninoff is also well-known for a remarkable gift of melody. One of his best melodies is heard here as the movement begins with the violin and then the main theme of the movement (which itself is related to the main motif of the first movement) is played by the solo clarinet. The movement has two other themes that Rachmaninoff states and then weaves them contrapuntally with the initial theme.

IV. Allegro vivace - The last movement begins brilliantly in E major. The initial theme is interrupted by a secondary theme, after which the initial theme returns. It soon makes way for a broad theme that the orchestra sings at length. A brief reference is made to material from the third movement which leads to the development of themes, a repeat of the themes, and a rousing ending to the work.

Rachmaninoff refers to differing themes within and without movements, all of which are related to the very first motif heard in the low strings in the slow introduction. This gives a structural and aural continuity to the entire work which helps it to be liked and appreciated by experienced concert listeners as well as casual listeners. It's one of the best examples I know of music that just 'sounds' right to many ears. The work of a master musician and composer, one of Rachmaninoff's finest compositions.

Weber - Clarinet Concerto In F Minor

Many composers have written concertos for solo instrument and orchestra with a specific soloist in mind. Sometimes the performer was the composer themselves.  In the beginning of the Romantic era it was the norm for musicians to enter the music scene of the times with their own compositions.  All of the great composer/performers from Beethoven to Brahms and many others were soloists in their own works.

Composers also wrote for performers for instruments besides their own. Such was the case with Weber's Clarinet Concerto in F Minor.  It was written in 1811, a time of transition for the clarinet. Improvements were made to make it more chromatic and flexible, and one of the most well-known of the virtuosos of the improved instrument was Heinrich Bärmann. He played in the court orchestra of Munich from 1807 until he retired in 1834. His son was also a virtuoso on the instrument.  Bärmann exploited the improvements on the instrument and was known for his tone and wide dynamic range.

The concerto is in the traditional three movements:
I. Allegro - The work begins with the cellos and double basses stating the main theme with accompaniment

Heinrich Bärmann

by the violas and violins. After the initial statement of the theme, the full orchestra blurts out a double-forte chord, and the theme is played by the violins. The orchestra sets the stage for the entrance of the clarinet with hushed sounds. The clarinet enters with a different melody. Weber's writing for soloist is in turn brilliant and plaintive, with the orchestra being more than an accompaniment. Changes of key ensue as the main theme is once again stated by the low strings, the clarinet finally utters a sad song as the movement quietly winds down and dies away. Weber's flair for orchestration is evident in this first movement, as well as the entire work. The instruments are as if they were singers in a dramatic scene of an opera.
II. Adagio ma non troppo -  Weber uses three horns in this movement, and has them alone play with the clarinet through some sections. The movement moves from minor agitation to solemn dignity as the clarinet sings its way through the movement.
III. Rondo; Allegretto - The clarinet shows the agility it can have in the hands of a master performer as it dances the lively tune of the finale.

The clarinet is a unique member of the orchestra. It is a single-reed instrument with a cylindrical bore (the bassoon and oboe are double reed instruments with a conical bore.) In the hands of a good musician it can have one of the widest dynamic ranges of any instrument. It has three distinct registers or tone qualities, from the rich, deep and breathy chalumeau register(from the ancestor of the clarinet the chalumeau ) to the bright and clear clarion register (a type of early trumpet with a bright sound)to the brilliant and sometimes piercing altissimo register(Italian for very high).  Weber uses all of these registers and qualities of the instrument in his concerto and it is one of the gems of the repertoire.

 

Liszt - Hunnenschlacht (Battle Of The Huns)

In 1847 Liszt gave up his life as a traveling piano virtuoso and devoted himself to musical composition. He had been made honorary music director at the court of Wiemar in 1842, and after his retirement he moved there.  He composed all but one of his symphonic poems in Wiemar from 1848-1858.

As music director, Liszt was also conductor of the court orchestra. He helped to expose the music of Berlioz, Wagner, and many other composers to a wider audience during his years in Wiemar.  He also played many of his own orchestral works there. Liszt came to orchestral composition relatively late in his life and having an orchestra at his disposal aided him greatly in fine-tuning his compositions. He admitted that he needed to hear his works before he could finalize them.

His symphonic poems are based on the orchestral overture, which in turn was a development of the operatic overture. While operatic overtures were usually a panache of tunes from the opera about to be heard, the symphonic overture was similar to symphonic movements, and were written in sonata form.  Liszt used a different form and was a pioneer of cyclic form where musical motifs are played, varied and repeated. These motifs don't always follow a pattern of repetition. They can enter and leave in no set fashion and can be varied in many ways throughout the composition. Some of the symphonic poems show the seams and sound episodic, some meld into a seamless 'poem', but it is well to remember that these compositions were experiments in sound and form. As such, they inspired many other composers such as Wagner, who used the idea to create his leitmotifs in his operas.

Hunnenschlacht by Wilhelm von Kaulbach

Some of the symphonic poems were inspired by works of art.  Hunnenschlacht was inspired by a painting of the same title by Wilhelm von Kaulbach. The painting depicts the battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 AD where Attila The Hun led his army in an invasion of Gaul against a coalition of Roman and Visigoth generals and their soldiers. Contemporary descriptions of the battle contributed to the legend of the ferocity of the battle.  The 6th century philosopher Damascius heard that the fighting was so severe "that no one survived except only the leaders on either side and a few followers: but the ghosts of those who fell continued the struggle for three whole days and nights as violently as if they had been alive; the clash of their arms was clearly audible" It was this description of the battle that is depicted in the painting by Kaulbach.

Liszt opens the piece with the beginning of the battle, with Liszt giving the directions: "the entire tone color

should be kept very dark, and all instruments must sound like ghosts". To help achieve the effect he wanted, Liszt also directs the strings to play with mutes, even in the loud sections.  The battle lasts for roughly the first half of the work. The second half is begun with the solo organ playing Crux Fidelis, (Faithful Cross) an ancient church chant. This represents the victory of the Christian forces and slowly leads to a triumphant ending, with the solo organ having the last word.

The quoting of the ancient church hymn and the added organ (the oldest keyboard instrument known and a fixture in the Catholic church) is used by Liszt to avow his life-long faith in the Catholic church. The triumphant ending can also be looked at in the broader sense as a representation of love conquering hate.

The complex personality and genius of Liszt make him a paradox. From womanizer (by reputation or fact) to taking minor orders in the Catholic church, from brazen virtuoso to thoughtful musician, from indulging in the writing of what would be the equivalent of banal 'pop' music today to composing some of the best pieces of music by any composer. There is no denying that his was a great musical mind capable of exploring and experimenting in music. As his former fiance and lover Countess Sayn-Wittgenstein said of him, "'Liszt has thrown his spear further into the future than Wagner."  The influence of Liszt in music history is only now being known.

Bruckner - Symphony No. 9

Bruckner began composing his 9th Symphony straight away after his 8th symphony in 1887, and he worked on it intermittently until he died in 1896.  In those nine years he had left to live, he devoted much of his time to revising some of his earlier symphonies at the urging of friends and students.  Bruckner was obsessed with trying to make his music more palatable to his contemporary audience and second-guessed himself so much that it has led to confusion over so many versions of his works.

Why was Bruckner so willing to revise, and be complaisant with his student's efforts to revise his works? The perfectionism of a man such as Bruckner no doubt had a great deal to do with it. Perfectionism in art can be a good thing, or a bad thing. In art, and life in general, perfection is a journey...it isn't a goal that can ever be reached. We are all full of mistakes, flaws great and small, in other words we are human. A masterpiece of any kind is defined by its imperfections (no matter how slight or great) as much as by its beauty.  Bruckner appears to have been a compulsive man by nature, so he may have had little choice in the matter. His 9th symphony was, in some ways, a casualty of that compulsiveness in that while he had sketched and planned  a 4th movement, he never completed it. But the three movements he did complete are a fitting tribute to his artistry, genius and mastery.

While there have been reconstructions by musicologists of the 4th movement, they are a curiosity.  The completed symphonies of Brucker and three movements of this work are a wealth of great music. Any realization or reconstruction, no matter if done by a learned and sympathetic scholar, is but a commentary on the composer's music in question. Interesting in itself up to a point, and valid if taken in the right context, but unnecessary.

I. Feierlich, misterioso  (Solemn and mysterious) -  Per Bruckner's directions, the beginning of the symphony is shrouded in solemn mystery as the orchestra begins quietly and deeply. The beginning is in D minor, but this movement goes far afield as D-flat major makes an appearance after the opening bars, with E major and references to other keys abound in this vast first movement. It is in Bruckner's personal variation of traditional sonata form as themes are stated and developed over time.  There is a series of climaxes, which resolve into further development of other themes. Bruckner can seem fragmentary with these climaxes, as they usually end with silence from the orchestra, but as with his sudden pauses when going to a different theme and his key changes, these methods create tension and expectation for what is to come.  The movement ends with a final harmonically questioning climax that does not resolve completely, but points the way to what is to come.

II. Scherzo, Bewegt-lebhaft (rough, agitated - lively) - A scherzo that has been called brutal by some, it begins quietly with pizzicato strings until it loudly erupts with a simple rhythm that begins on the downbeat of the previous bar, and masks the time signature by heavily accenting each note of the rhythm in the woodwinds and brass and with down bows from the strings. The trio is opposite in feeling and provides a respite before the scherzo returns with a vengeance.

III. Adagio, Langsam, feierlich (slowly and solemnly) - Bruckner's harmonic waywardness continues in this last Adagio. The violins open with a B below middle C that swoops up to a C natural above middle C, a jump of a ninth. This movement also has several climaxes, along with music that sounds like fragments of music heard before, whether from this symphony or Bruckner's previous two symphonies.  The final climax builds slowly, and ends with a horrible chord for full orchestra that contains the seven notes of the harmonic minor scale, a chord that was 'sanitized' in some of the editions of the symphony edited by a Bruckner pupil. The ensuing silence after this chord is almost deafening and it is an example of how silence is an integral part of music. There are some coarse descending notes from the brass, and the music makes a quiet end in the major.

Haydn - Symphony No. 52 in C Minor Hob. I/52

Within the symphonic output of the prolific Josef Haydn there are symphonies of his middle period that fall under the label of Sturm und Drang, (storm and stress). These are dramatic works, reflecting the same dramatic elements that were found in contemporary German literature. Examples of these dramatic symphonies are Number 44 (Trauer) and Number 49 (La Passione)  and perhaps the most dramatic of all, number 52 in C minor.

The symphony is scored for two oboes, one bassoon, two horns, strings and continuo. It is in four movements:

I. Allegro assai con brio -  Haydn begins the first movement straight away with a theme full of energy and biting accents. The second theme is in a major key and is in great contrast to the first. This initial contrast sets the pace for a movement that is full of tension and mood swings.

II. Andante - A stately, easy dance-like theme is interrupted periodically by darker moments, in keeping with the overall tension of the symphony.

III. Menuetto e trio - Allegretto -  Haydn transforms the courtly dance by using accents and mild dissonance into a subdued stomp. The underlying tension is broken temporarily by the bright trio, but the stomp has the final word.

IV. Finale - Presto - Haydn maintains tension by continuing the strong accents and tones in the minor key. The strings chatter away, and the symphony ends in the minor.

Saint-Saëns - Violin Concerto No. 2 in C Major

The time of publication of compositions doesn't necessarily follow in the chronological order in which they are written. Saint-Saëns' Violin Concerto No. 2 is a case in point. His '1st' concerto was written in 1859, and was published with the opus number of 20. The '2nd' concerto was written a year earlier (1858) but was not published until 1879 and had the opus number of 58.  This is a fairly common occurrence, as the two piano concertos of Chopin were published in the reverse order in which they were written. The same goes for Beethoven's first two piano concertos.  This is of no great import, but it is a curiosity and something to keep in mind if the listener wants to examine how a composer progressed throughout their career by listening to their works in chronological order.

By the time Saint-Saëns composed this concerto he was 23 years old and an accomplished composer having written three symphonies and numerous other works.

The 2nd Violin Concerto is in three movements -
Allegro moderato e maestoso - a tempo piu allegro - The concerto begins with the orchestra quietly presenting an accompaniment for the soloist who enters after two measures. The movement is in sonata form similar to Mendelssohn's violin concerto. The cadenza is not left to the soloist to provide, but is written by Saint-Saëns. Towards the end of the cadenza, the timpani signals the return of the orchestra for the end of the movement.
Andante espressivo - Trombones and harp are added to this movement written in A minor. It begins with a short statement by the orchestra, then the violin enters with the harp accompanying. The violin sings a melancholy song that is lightly punctuated by episodes for the harp and orchestra. The music rises to a passionate climax, after which there is an episode in A major. The music suddenly shifts gears after a short episode for the oboe and segues directly into the finale.
Allegro scherzando quasi allegretto -  The rondo finale brings the concerto to a shimmering close.

Franck - Les Djinns

Les Djinns (The Genie) is one of five symphonic poems written by César Franck. As with many of the symphonic poems of Franz Liszt (who is credited with the invention of the symphonic poem), it is based on a literary work, the poem of the same name by the French writer Victor Hugo. The poem was part of a collection of Hugo's poems titled Les Orientales, written in 1829.  The poem deals with the unleashing of a Djinn and the resulting storms and evil that accompany the unleashing.

Victor Hugo

This kind of supernatural being is mentioned in the Qurʾan and Islamic theology. They inhabit an unseen world in dimensions beyond the visible universe. The djinn, humans and angels make up the three sentient creations of God. The Qurʾan mentions that the Djinn are made of a smokeless, scorching fire and can be good, evil, or neutral. The Djinn of Hugo's poem is evidently of the nasty kind.

Hugo's poem is written in a form that visually depicts a swirling storm or tornado. Verse one is in two syllables, verse two in three syllables, increasing by one syllable until the middle of the poem. Then a syllable is removed from each successive verse until the end, where two syllables are in the verse as in the beginning.  The original poem was written in French. Here is part of it in English translation, unfortunately the syllables do not match the original French:

Port, walls 

And keeps 

Death’s Halls 

And deeps, 

Grey seas 

Where breeze 

Now flees: 

All sleeps.

From the verge 

Of the flow Sighs emerge— 

Night-airs blow— 

And they toll 

Like a soul 

On patrol 

With a glow. 

The loudest sounds 

Are like a sleigh— 

An elf who bounds 

And skins away. 

He leaps and flows, 

In rhythmic throes 

Springs on his toes 

Across the spray. 

Echoes and entwines 

Like the bells we hear 

At accursed shrines.

 Like a noisy crowd 

Thundering and proud, 

Sometimes it grows loud, 

Sometimes it declines. 

O God! the ghostly sound Of Djinns!—

and how they blare! 

Quick! let’s escape around 

The sunken spiral stair! 

Oh, I have lost my light! 

The shadow of the flight 

Covers the wall—goes right 

Up to the open air. 

(the rest of the translation can be found here)

The original French and the form created by the addition and subtraction of syllables can be seen at the left.  

Victor Hugo was one of the most well-known and influential of the French Romantic writers.  In addition to poetry he also wrote plays and novels (some of the most well-known novels in all of world literature such as Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame) 

His works influenced not only writers in his own country but in other countries as well, such as the American writer Edgar Allen Poe. His work also influenced many  composers and he was an acquaintance of Berlioz and Liszt.  Victor Hugo was also a graphic artist as he left more than 3,500 drawings and paintings.

Franck wrote Les Djinns in 1884, and the composition is unique in that it is written for orchestra with piano obbligato - in fact it is a symphonic poem for piano and orchestra, a rarity.

As with the best of Liszt's symphonic poems, Franck doesn't try to create a musical depiction of the poem itself, but an atmosphere and feeling of the poem. It is left to the imagination of the listener to interpret the music within the context of the poem, or not. The knowledge that Les Djinn was inspired by Hugo's poem is interesting and can add to the enjoyment of the piece, but it isn't necessary.  The title of the piece, Les Djinn, The Genie, is enough to stimulate the imagination. Which is what I think a symphonic poem is supposed to do.