Suk - Symphony No. 2 In C Minor 'Asrael'

Josef Suk was a student of Antonín Dvořák and their relationship grew into one of mutual respect and friendship. Suk was also a violinist and toured for many years with the Czech String Quartet, a group that came to have international fame and premiered many contemporary string quartets by Dvořák and Janáček.  Suk played second violin with the quartet until he retired in 1933. Suk's relationship and respect for Dvořák deepened when he married Dvořák's daughter Otilie.

Although Suk wrote some chamber music, he is most well known for his works for orchestra. His mentor Dvořák influenced his earlier works, but his style changed after 1905 to a more complex and emotional one that was brought on by the death of two people very close to him.

The first death was of his father-in-law Dvořák in 1904. He began to work on his 2nd Symphony in honor of Dvořák a few months afterwards, and titled the symphony Asrael after the Old Testament Angel of Death. As Suk was working on the symphony the unthinkable happened as his wife, Dvořák's daughter, died in 1905. Suk wrote about the double tragedy:

I was suddenly handed a telegram [when he was on tour with the Czech String Quartet]: Return immediately - Dvorak dead [1/5/1904]. I shall never forget that terrible journey to Prague. Not only was I crushed to the depths of human emotion, I was also consumed with anxiety over whether Otilka's failing heart would take it. This sad turn of events also marked a turning point in my creative work, and thus the symphony, bearing the name of the Angel of Death, Asrael, was conceived. I completed the first part of the composition, dedicated to the memory of Dvorak, but the last movement, which was to have been an apotheosis of the maestro's work, was never written. The fearsome Angel of Death struck with his scythe a second time, and into eternity departed the purest, sweetest soul of my Otilka. 

Such a misfortune either destroys a man or brings to the surface all the powers dormant in him. It looked like I might be of that first kind, but Music saved me and after a year I began the second part of the symphony, beginning with an adagio, a tender portrait of Otilka. In a very short time, and with superhuman energy, I became immersed in the terrors of the last movement which nevertheless ends in the clarity and calm of C major. Blessed be the dead. 

It's been said of this work, and about other works of mine, that they're subjective in the extreme. They do, of course, stem from life experience, but with their musical and human content they address all mankind. When, after the stormy and nerve-wracking last movement of the symphony, the mysterious and soft C major chord is heard, I often notice that it brings tears to people's eyes, and these tears are tears of relief, tears that purify and uplift - they are, therefore, not just my tears.

The 2nd Symphony 'Asrael' is in 5 movements played without a break:

Antonin Dvorak

I. Andante sustenuto -  The symphony begins with deep thumps from pizzicato basses and timpani. The cellos, violas and bass clarinet play a haunting, fragmented theme, the theme that is the kernel of the entire work. The first movement eschews sonata form for a complex form of musical ebb and climax. The first movement is haunted by the emotions Suk felt on the passing of his teacher and friend, but all is not bleak. There are some tender moments that refer to Dvořák in memory if not direct musical quotation. Before the end of the first movement, there is a huge climax after which the cellos bring back the icy, haunting theme that began the movement and closes it in quiet sorrow.

II. Andante -  A different version of the primary theme is played directly after the first movement. After it is developed a funeral march is heard in the winds. There is a fugal section played by pizzicato strings as the woodwinds push the music back to the version of the primary theme that opened the movement, after which the movement quietly expires.

III. Vivace - The scherzo of the symphony that is by turns lyrical and diabolical. The short trio is ushered in by string tremolos and ends with a piccolo. The scherzo repeats after which the music makes a descent into the lower ranges of the orchestra. A very short pause leads to a section marked andante that culminates in a dance that is lead by solo violin.  The dance reaches a climax and gently segues back into a short reference to  the version of the main theme heard in the second movement. The scherzo returns and is transformed into a fugue that is brought to a halt by thundering brass chords.

IV.  Adagio - The final two movements were written after the death of Suk's wife, and by his own admission the fourth movement is a musical portrait of his wife and the grief he felt upon her loss. The primary theme returns in the opening, followed by a gentler theme that harks back to lyrical music heard in the first movement. A solo violin helps develop this gentle theme, perhaps representing Suk the violinist and his feelings for his wife. A short section played by bassoons, oboes and double basses leads to a return of the gentle theme and its continued development.  The despair of the beginning of the movement gradually returns and ends the movement.

V. Adagio e maestoso -  Two strong climaxes begin the final movement. A short chorale followed by a dance-like theme leads to a repeat of the climax that began the movement which leads to chattering by the woodwinds.  Thumping from the basses and bass drum begin a fugue that increases in intensity until another climax is reached. Woodwinds appear from the quiet that proceeds from the climax and lead to the entrance of shimmering violins and a change of mood. The main theme as well as other thematic material is heard as the music maintains a lyrical resignation of what has happened previously and ends in quiet peace.

The 2nd Symphony 'Asrael' has always been more popular in Suk's Czech Republic than in most other concert halls of the world.  It is a work of extreme emotional content and like many other Late Romantic works was lost in the chaos of two world wars and Modern music. It is also full of technical and interpretive difficulties, but is slowly being played and recorded more often.

Brahms - Alto Rhapsody

There is hardly an artist of any era that exerted as much influence on so many others as Johann von Goethe.  A genuine Renaissance man, Goethe was a poet, dramatist, novelist, statesman and scientist. His novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, first published in 1774 was part of the Sturm und Drang period in the arts that held the seeds of the Romantic era.  Goethe was 24 years old at the time and was one of the first writers to attain international renown.

Goethe's young Werther suffered from unrequited love for a woman that was already engaged to another man, and at the end of the book Werther commits suicide. The book was somewhat autobiographical as Goethe had experienced what he had put in his novel, even up to contemplating suicide. Goethe came to dislike the book and tried to distance himself from it in later years.

Johannes Brahms read and studied Goethe's works throughout his life, and in his early years identified with Young Werther, as no doubt other young German men did.  As he grew older, he lost his identification with Werther as he resigned himself to the fact that he had no time or disposed to getting married and having a family. His art was to be his life, but he never lost his tendency to fall in love with women, or his love of Goethe's writings.

The Alto Rhapsody  was written as a wedding present for Julie Schumann the daughter of Robert and Clara Schumann. Brahms had romantic feelings towards Julie, and the work was written after he found out that she was engaged to another man.  He used three stanzas of a poem written by Goethe in 1777 entitled Harzreise im Winter - Harz Mountain Journey in Winter. The poem was based on an actual trip Goethe made in to the Harz Mountains in the dead of winter to visit one of his friends that had fallen into deep depression and spiritual crisis. The lines that Brahms used for the work deal with a misanthropic wanderer who is desolate in spirit that is lifted up and consoled as his spiritual suffering is lifted.  It was written in 1869 and presented to Clara Schumann on Julie's wedding day. Clara commented about the work in her diary:

Johannes brought me a wonderful piece... the words from Goethe’s Harzreise , for alto, male chorus, and orchestra. He called it his bridal song. It is long since I remember being so moved by a depth of pain in words and music. This piece seems to me neither more nor less than the expression of his own heart’s anguish. If only he would for once speak as tenderly!

The work is in three sections that are played without break. The first two sections are for orchestra and soloist in C minor. They depict the wandering and pain of the misanthropic man. The third section has the entrance of the male chorus, is in C major and depicts the plea of the wanderer for an end to emotional pain. 

Alto Rhapsody
Section 1.
But off apart there, who is that?
His path gets lost in the brush,
behind him the branches close again,
the grass stands straight again,
the solitude swallows him up.

Section 2.
Ah, who can heal the pain
of one to whom balsam became poison?
Who has drunk misanthropy
from the fullness of love?
First despised, now despising,
he secretly wastes
his own worth
in unsatisfying egoism.

Section 3. 
If there is in your Psalter,
Father of Love, a single tone
perceptible to his ear,
then revive his heart!
Open his cloud-covered sight
onto the thousand fountains
beside the thirsting soul
in the desert!

Mussorgsky - Mephistopheles' Song Of The Flea

Mussorgsky was given piano lessons in his youth, and despite showing a remarkable gift for music was sent to officer training school to keep up the family tradition of military service. He resigned from the military when he was 20 years old to devote himself to music.  He had been born into a wealthy land-owning family, but after he resigned his military commission and the freeing of the serfs in Russia in 1861, he was forced to take a civil service job to try and make ends meet.

One area of music where Mussorgsky excelled was Russian art songs for voice and piano, as he had a definite talent for setting the Russian language to music. Mussorgsky himself wrote about his artistic aesthetic shortly before his death:

Art is a means of communicating with people, not an aim in itself.  Proceeding from the conviction that human speech is strictly controlled by musical laws, ... the function of art [is] the reproduction in musical sounds, not merely of feelings, but first and foremost of human speech.

Mussorgsky took an extended leave from his civil service job and set off with a vocalist on a concert tour of Russia in the summer of 1879.  It was while on this tour that he wrote The Song Of The Flea or to use its full name Mephistopheles' Song in Auerbach's Cellar. The words for the song were taken from a Russian translation of Part One of Goethe's Faust.  

The song deals with Mephistopheles and Faust entering a cellar where other men are drinking, and Mephistopheles tells a tale of a king that kept a flea at his court and lavished it with ornate clothing and made it a minister at court. The flea soon brought all of its relation to court where all of the royals were bitten and annoyed, but afraid to kill any of the fleas because of the king's fondness for them.

At the end of the tour, Mussorgsky and the vocalist performed the song in a public recital and it was an immediate success. After Mussorgsky's death two years later, the score to the song in Mussorgsky's hand was lost, but luckily one of his friends had copied it out. The song was printed soon after Mussorgsky's death and many orchestrations were made of it. Mussorgsky wrote some 65 songs, and the Song of The Flea is his most well-known.

The Song Of The Flea
There once was a King
who kept a flea.
A flea, a flea!
It was dearer to him than his own son.
A flea!  Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! A flea? Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! A flea.
The King called the tailor: "Listen you blockhead!
For my dear friend  make a velvet kaftan".
A velvet kaftan?  He-he-he-he-he, velvet.
He-he-he-he-he kaftan, Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha, a velvet kaftan.
So in gold and velvet the flea was dressed,
And enjoyed total freedom in the court! He-he-he-he-he the flea!
Ha-ha-ha, Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha the flea!
The King awarded the flea the rank of a minister and gave it a medal, 
And all his relation got the same, а-hа! And the Queen herself and her ladies-in-waiting
Were disturbed by the fleas ha-ha.
They were afraid to touch them, let alone kill them,
But if one bites us, we'll smash it! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha ha-ha-ha...

The first video is a rendition of the original version for soloist and piano, while the second video is an orchestration of the work by Rimsky-Korsakov

Mozart - Don Giovanni, The Commendatore Scene

Mozart's Don Giovanni is an adaptation of the legend of the Spanish nobleman and womanizer Don Juan, that was first written about in a play dating to the middle of the 17th century in Spain. The legend was written about in poems and plays by many authors but Mozart's opera (based on a libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte) is the most well-known version and has inspired other versions of the legend. Don Giovanni is part comedy, part drama, part morality play. It was premiered in Prague in 1787 and conducted by Mozart to great acclaim.  He also participated in the works premiere in Vienna the following year.

The original name of the work in Italian is Il dissoluto punito, ossia il Don Giovanni - The Rake Punished, or Don Juan.  Act 2, Scene 5 climaxes the work with what has been come to be known as The Commendatore Scene.  In previous action, Don Giovanni has killed the Commendatore in a sword duel after Don Giovanni was caught with the Commendatore's daughter.  Then there occurs a lot of tomfoolery, deceit, disguises and attempts at seducing other women including a woman Don Giovanni has already betrayed once, a woman named Elvira.  Giovanni and his servant Leoperello have traded clothing and Elvira thinks Leoperello is Giovanni, while Giovanni tries to seduce Elvira's maid.

In complicated twists of plot, Elvira finally discovers that Leoperello is not Giovanni when people that Giovanni has betrayed condemn him and Leoperello confesses and runs away. They vow to get revenge against Giovanni. in the meantime, Giovanni and Leoperello meet in the cemetery that the Commendatore is buried in. The statue erectged on his grave comes to life and warns Giovanni that he will no longer be laughing by morning. Leoperello is horrified, but Giovanni laughs it off and forces him to invite the statue to supper.

Don Giovanni goes home and begins a late supper when Elvira (who still loves him despite all that the Don has done to her) bursts in and begs him to repent and change his life. Don Giovanni laughs at her and she storms out of the room. Her screams are heard from outside, she runs through the room still screaming and out another door. Leoperello hides under a table in fear and refuses to answer the door. Don Giovanni opens the door and the statue of the Commendatore enters. The statue tells Giovanni to repent numerous times, but Giovanni refuses. So the statue grabs Don Giovanni and as he screams the horror of what is happening to him finally sinks in. The statue disappears and drags Don Giovanni to hell.

Despite the influence the opera had on Beethoven, he came to  criticize the subject of the opera. Writing an art work on such a licentious subject offended Beethoven's somewhat prudish sensibilities.  But the music itself must have made up for the subject matter, for Beethoven knew the work well, wrote variations on an aria from the opera and quoted motifs from it in other works. The juxtaposition of the subject matter, the many moods and the final terror of the dying Don as he is dragged to hell for his wicked ways has made Don Giovanni one of the most popular operas ever written.

The video below begins as the statue of The Commendatore comes to life:

Mozart

 

Schubert - Der Erlkönig Opus 1, D.328

Franz Schubert wrote in all the musical genre of his day, but by far the form he is best known for is German Lieder. He wrote over 600 German art songs for voice and piano in his short life, some of them becoming standards of the vocal repertoire. His most famous song, Der Erlkönig,  is set to a poem of the same name by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Germany's most eminent poet, writer, playwright and statesman. The poem was written in 1782 as part of a German Singspiel and it was Goethe's intention for it to be sung. The poem was sung to a simple tune that was created by the actress that was to sing the poem.  Schubert wrote the first version of the song in 1815 and continued to revise it until he finalized the fourth version of it in 1820. It had a private hearing that same year and its public premiere in 1821.

Johann Goethe

The poem tells a story about a father riding a horse through the night with his sick child cradled in his arm whose life is threatened by the Erlkönig, which is a supernatural being from Danish folklore that is similar to the Grim Reaper, at least in Goethe's retelling of the folktale.  The child hears the Erlkönig's voice trying to lure him to go with him. The child tells his father who tries to reassure the son by saying it is only the rustling of the leaves in the wind. The father finally reaches his destination after a hard ride, but it was in vain for his son is dead.  

Schubert has 5 distinct representations of people or things in this mini-tone poem, 4 of which are taken up by the singer:
Narrator -Opens the song with the voice being in the middle range of the singer and in a minor key.
Father - Sings in the low register of the singer and in both major keys.
Son - Sings in the high register of the singer and in minor keys.
Erlkönig - Sings up and down the range of the singer in major keys in a lower dynamic.

The fifth representation in the song is the horse that the father is riding, and that part is taken up by the piano. It is this very representation of a horse's beating hoofs in the fathers frantic urging to get the child assistance that is heard first in driving triplets in the right hand:

 The left hand plays a simple figure in triplets going up and quarter notes going down that does nothing more astounding than to outline the chord of G minor, the key of the piece, but which sounds very ominous combined with the right hand triplets. The tempo designation given in the above example, schnell, means fast. The metronome marking (quarter note = 152 note a minute, an editor's addition) is an extremely rapid tempo, for each beat is subdivided into three beats, which means the right hand is pounding out 456 notes a minute, which is roughly 8 notes a second. The right hand keeps up the triplet figuration in octaves and chords practically throughout the entire piece with the exception of a few very brief places and the ending measures. So this piece is not only difficult for singers in that one singer has to convey 4 different entities, but the pianist has a real workout for the roughly 3 1/2 minutes of this piece.

 Below is a translation of the song into English with parts labeled for clarification;
Der Erlkönig
[Narrator]Who rides so late through the windy night?
 There is the father with his child,
he has the boy safe in his arm.
He holds him safely, he keeps him warm.

[Father]"My son, why do you hide your face?"
[Son]" My father, don't you see the Erlkönig
with his crown and tail?"
[Father] "My son, it is the fog"

[Erlkönig]"You dear child, come with me!
Such lovely games I'll play with you;
Many colorful flowers are on the beach,
My mother has many golden robes."

[Son]"My father, my father, can not you hear,
What the Erlkönig quietly promises me? "
[Father]"Be calm, stay calm, my child,
 in the dry leaves the wind is rustling."

[Erlkönig]"Will you, sweet boy, will you go with me?
My daughters shall wait upon you;
My daughters lead the nightly dances.
And will rock and dance and sing you to sleep. "

[Son]"My father, my father, don't you see the
Erlkönig daughters in the dark?"
[Father]"My son, my son, I see it well,
it is the old gray willows."

[Erlkönig]"I love you, your beautiful form entices me;
If you're not willing to go, I will force you."
[Son]"My father, my father, he seizes me!
The ErlKing is hurting me! "

[Narrator]The father shudders, he rides swiftly,
holding in his arms the moaning child.
The father reaches his courtyard with toil and hardship;
In his arms the child was dead.


Schubert's song was orchestrated by a few composers such as Berlioz and Reger. Below is a version for orchestra. I'm not sure who did the orchestration, but I think it is by Berlioz:

Schumann - Symphony No. 3 In E-flat 'Rhenish'

In 1850 Robert Schumann accepted the Director Of Music position in the town of Düsseldorf situated in the lower valley of the Rhine river.  It was the first time Schumann had lived outside of his native Saxony, and shortly after his arrival he set to work on new compositions. The scenery of the Rhine river inspired  the 3rd Symphony (hence its nickname) and with characteristic swiftness Schumann wrote the work in about a month, from early November to early December of 1850. Schumann conducted the premiere of the symphony in Düsseldorf early in 1851.

There is some confusion concerning the numbering of Schumann's 4 symphonies, as the 3rd is actually the last one composed. What is now known as the 4th Symphony was written in 1841 but was withdrawn by Schumann after a poor reception. Schumann didn't return to this withdrawn symphony until 1851 which was after the 'Rhenish' had been published.

The 3rd Symphony 'Rhenish' is in five movements:

I. Lebhaft -  The rhythmic first theme begins the work in E-flat and its character has been compared to Beethoven's opening theme of his 3rd Symphony In E-flat 'Eroica'.  A short theme acts as a transition to the second more lyrical theme that is mostly carried by the winds. As the second theme continues, it is interrupted by fragments of the first theme until it takes over. The exposition is not repeated. The long development section concerns itself with the two main themes and the short transition theme of the exposition. Schumann modulates to other keys without returning to the home key of E-flat until the climax that leads to the recapitulation. The themes repeat, the first theme dominates the coda and the movement ends.

II. Scherzo: Sehr mäßig -  Written in the key of C major and called a scherzo, it is more in the spirit of a German Ländler. Schumann originally added the title 'Morning On The Rhine' to the movement but removed it. The  ländler is in two sections and is repeated before a trio section in A minor is played. Throughout the entire short movement there is an underlying, gently rolling quality to the music, perhaps revealing its debt to the rolling waters of the Rhine. After the trio section the ländler reappears and is slightly varied, and it leads to a gentle ending.

III. Nicht schnell - A lyrical, short interlude in A-flat major that lends a few moments of calmness to the symphony.

IV. Feierlich - Tradition has it that this movement was inspired by Schumann's visit to the Cologne Cathedral where he witnessed the installation of the Archbishop of Cologne. Whether this is true or apocryphal is moot. Schumann originally titled this movement 'In the character of an accompaniment to a solemn ceremony', so it may be a case of what Schumann admitted concerninig some of his other works with titles; that he composed the music first and the title was inspired by the music. All of this doesn't detract from the beauties of the music of this movement, perhaps Schumann's best work for orchestra. Written in E-flat minor, the music begins with a loud chord and proceeds in a solemn tone. Trombones that have been waiting silently the previous three movements make their entrance and add to the solemn progression as the music moves towards a new theme, a chorale. The complexity increases as the music makes its way to an ending that leads directly to the last movement.

V. Lebhaft -  The music makes an abrupt change in key (back to E-flat major) and mood as two themes are paraded through the orchestra. A theme from the preceding movement appears and is transformed from its former solemnity to one of brightness. Schumann rounds off the work with a short reference to the theme that began the symphony, and the work proceeds to end with chords in the home key.

Schubert - Symphony No. 9 In C Major 'The Great' D.944

Robert Schumann went on a trip to Vienna in 1837, ten years after the death of Franz Schubert and while there visited Schubert's older brother Ferdinand. While Ferdinand had possession of most of his younger brother's manuscripts, the manuscript for this final symphony was in the possession of the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde (Society of The Friends of Music In Vienna). Schubert had dedicated the work to the Society and sent it to them in 1826 in hopes of a performance. The Society paid a small sum to the composer and had the parts copied, but after a few rehearsals the leadership of the orchestra decided the work too long and difficult.

Schumann's excitement over the lost work extended to Felix Mendelssohn who performed a version of the work in 1839. Schumann wrote a glowing review of the work and referred to its heavenly length.

Schubert wrote a work beyond the capabilites of his contemporary orchestras as well as orchestras of the near future, for it took many years before the work would be performed in its entirety. Even with cuts, many orchestras refused to play it. To add to the confusion it was first numbered as Symphony No. 7 when it was published in 1840, as Symphony No. 8 in the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe, and as Symphony No. 9 in the catalog of Schubert's works published by musicologist Otto Deutsch in 1951. The fact that many of Schubert's manuscripts were unpublished at his death and that he neglected to catalog his own works helped create confusion in the numbering of his works that continues today.

The work got its nickname 'The Great' to differentiate between Symphony No. 6 in the same key of C major. Symphony No. 9 is in four movements:

I. Andante - Allegro ma non troppo -  Solo horns begin the extended introduction with the first theme which is then taken up by the strings. A secondary theme that is related to the first theme is played in the low strings, after which different versions of the two themes are repeated. The first theme returns and leads to transition material to the beginning of the exposition of the movement which begins with a theme in quicker tempo. The second theme is taken up by the woodwinds, then there follows a progression of thematic material.  Themes have their say in the development section in most creative ways before the recapitulation begins with the first theme and the others repeated. The final section of the coda recalls the opening theme of the introduction as the movement comes full circle.

II. Andante con moto - An extended, lyrical first theme is countered by a more rhythmical second theme. The themes are repeated, after which a more passionate version of the first theme grows until it comes to an end with a climax punctuated by timpani.  The two themes return in different guises until Schubert again comes full circle by ending the movement as it began in A minor.

III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace - Schubert's scherzo dances in C major, the trio a waltz in A major. As with the two previous movments Schubert fills the third movement with melodies that are played, repeated and developed at length.

IV. Allegro vivace - There are two main themes in this sonata form movement, but those themes consist of their own melodic parts. What Schubert has done in this movement and the entire symphony is to enlarge the themes and transform them into long, sometimes complex melodies. The first theme begins with a call to attention, continues with running strings accompanying woodwinds, and ends with a full close and short pause before the second theme begins. The second theme also has a running figuration for the strings while the woodwinds play the melody. There are further extensions of this theme until both main themes are heard again in their entirety. The development section deals with selected parts of the themes instead of the entire theme itself. The recapitulation repeats all the elements of the two themes with some getting a change of key. A coda continues to expand some of the melodic material with a short episode where strings, horns and bassoons hammer out an accented C for 4 measures with the full orchestra answering in different keys. Violins chatter away with the full orchestra until the final C major chord.