Brahms - Symphony No. 2 In D Major

When Robert Schumann proclaimed Johannes Brahms as the new Messiah of German music, Brahms was but twenty years old. Schumann was an influential music critic as well as composer, and his high praises were a double-edged sword to the young Brahms. Schumann became  mentor and introduced him to other composers and musicians, but Schumann's declaration also put a great deal of pressure on a musical genius who was far from being the master of music he was to become.

Brahms had been taught piano by Eduard Marxen in Hamburg, and Brahms early compositions were naturally for the instrument he was most familiar with. By meticulous self-study (and the mentoring of older musicians such as Schumann) he acquainted himself with choral music and the orchestral repertoire. Brahms by nature was very self-critical and destroyed many compositions outright. The proclamation by Schumann increased his self criticism to the point that he struggled with his works without having the technique to achieve what he thought was worthy of Schumann's confidence in him. He was tagged as being the German composer that would continue the great symphonic tradition, and after 20 years of sketching, working, revising and reworking, the 1st Symphony In C Minor was completed in 1876 when Brahms was 43 yeas old.

Eduard Marxen

The years that it took Brahms to complete his first symphony must have been good training ground, for his 2nd Symphony In D Major was composed in a single summer in 1877.  The 2nd Symphony is decidedly different in character than the 1st, and has been compared to Beethoven's Sixth Symphony in mood.  The 2nd Symphony is in four movements:

I. Allegro non troppo - Horns and low strings start with the beginnings of one of the major themes of the movement. The theme finally emerges complete in the full orchestra. The second theme arrives shortly and is taken from a song Brahms wrote that is popularly known as Brahms' Lullaby. A section of new material follows. The second theme is played through again, and the development section begins with the working out of the first theme, with the drama increasing with the added weight of the brass as the orchestra transforms the opening chords of the movement. Other themes of the exposition are heard until a short transition brings back the 'lullaby' theme. A coda sets the mood to one of tranquility until a lilting variation of the first theme is played. The figures that opened the movement briefly appear and fade into a quiet ending.

II. Adagio non troppo - A melancholy theme is heard in the cellos in B major. The theme continues in the upper strings. The second theme of this sonata form movement is played mostly by the woodwinds and horns. Part of the first theme returns, as does the second theme, a creative way of including development of both themes within the exposition. The short development section grows dramatic, and leads to a recapitulation that continues to expand and transform the two main themes. A short coda plays the first theme one last time and the movement comes to a close.

III. Allegretto grazioso (quasi andantino) -  A gently dancing theme is played by the oboe that gives way to a brisk veriant of it in music that is almost Mendelssohnian (or daresay even Tchaikovskian) in its mood. The original tune returns, only to be interrupted by section of different material, which in turn is interrupted by a return to the brisk variant of the main theme. The main theme returns in the strings and the theme carries the movement to a gentle end.

IV. Allegro con spirito - The strings bring quiet motion to the start of the finale until there is a flash of volume as the theme that was hinted at comes to full bloom. This theme has been gleaned from the first theme of the first movement. Brahms plays the dance master in music that suggests his own rough-around-the-edges humor with clumping syncopation. The good humor of the music belies the complexity of it as there are sections of counterpoint that are far from dry and pedantic, but add to the total of effect.  The last section of the movement has the orchestra playing all-out in tremendous waves of sound and movement, one of the most thrilling endings of anything Brahms wrote.

Beethoven - Symphony No. 3 In E-flat Major 'Eroica'

There has been much written about the 3rd Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven, and rightly so. The work is a turning point in Beethoven's career as a composer and for western music in general. The music is daring, innovative and there is a large number of stories and anectdotes relating to the symphony's non-musical life. Without a doubt the main story of the work is the title 'Eroica' and the relationship of the music to the French leader Napoleon Bonaparte.

The standard story is that Beethoven, a man who was politically progressive, admired Napoleon, the man who ruled France after the Revolution and The Terror. Napoleon was himself was progressive in the sense that he sought to reform the French legal system through what came to be known as the Napoleonic Code.  The Code became very influential for all of Europe due to the influence Napoleon had on countries he had conquered as well as other countries that were allied with him.  Basically the Code did away with privilege of birth, granted freedom of religion and said that government jobs should go to those most qualified. It attempted to revamp a legal system in France that was a hodge-podge of feudal traditions and laws that varied from area to area.

Beethoven wanted to dedicate a work to Napoleon early on, and there is evidence that was what he intended to do, but circumstances made him change his mind. Beethoven's pupil Ferdinand Ries related the incident concerning the dedication:

In 1803 Beethoven composed his third symphony (now known as the Sinfonia Eroica) in Heiligenstadt, a village about one and a half hours from Vienna....In writing this symphony Beethoven had been thinking of Buonaparte, but Buonaparte while he was First Consul. At that time Beethoven had the highest esteem for him and compared him to the greatest consuls of ancient Rome. Not only I, but many of Beethoven's closer friends, saw this symphony on his table, beautifully copied in manuscript, with the word "Buonaparte" inscribed at the very top of the title-page and "Luigi van Beethoven" at the very bottom. Whether or how the intervening gap was to be filled out I do not know. I was the first to tell him the news that Buonaparte had declared himself Emperor, whereupon he broke into a rage and exclaimed, "So he is no more than a common mortal! Now, he too will tread under foot all the rights of man, indulge only his ambition; now he will think himself superior to all men, become a tyrant!" Beethoven went to the table, seized the top of the title-page, tore it in half and threw it on the floor. The page was later re-copied and it was only now that the symphony received the title 'Sinfonia Eroica.'

Title page of the Third Symphony with Napoleon's name scratched out

This is the only contemporary reporting of the incident by an eyewitness, and Beethoven's reaction may have been much more vocal and violent than Ries portrays. Beethoven's temper was legendary, and the relative calmness in Ries' retelling doesn't fit the anger and disappointment Beethoven probably felt after his hero falling off the pedestal.

But modern scholarship has found that Beethoven may have changed his mind about the dedication for a more mundane reason; if he dedicated the work to one of his patrons (along with a specific amount of time that the dedicatee had exclusive ownership of the work) he would be monetarily rewarded. There was no possibility of that if he dedicated it to Napoleon.

There is also a link between the symphony and the Heiligenstadt Testament, a will Beethoven wrote in 1802 while he was resting in the town of Heiligenstadt. By this time Beethoven was suffering the effects of  deafness, and a doctor suggested he needed to go to the small town and rest.  His hearing problems were getting worse, and the thought of losing his hearing drove him to despair, all of which can be read in the will he wrote in Heiligenstadt. He came to terms with his growing deafness and dedicated himself even more fervently to his art. This resulted in stylistic changes in his music that began in 1803. The Third Symphony was the turning point in his style, and while there is proof that Beethoven had Napoleon in mind while he was writing the symphony (at least the first and second movements), it may well be that the actual hero of the title is Beethoven himself.

The Third Symphony is in four movements:

I. Allegro con brio - There is no doubt that the symphony begins in E-flat major as two loud E-flat major chords are played by the full orchestra to begin the movement. The first theme also reeks of E-flat major as the notes within the theme that is played in the cellos and basses spell out the notes of the E-flat major chord until a C-sharp is thrown into the mix. This theme is expanded and passed to different instruments of the orchestra. A second, gentler theme is played by the woodwinds. While these two themes are the primary ones in the movement, they are more like sign posts for the listener to help keep track of what's going on, for there are other short themes in the movement. A transition section segues seamlessly to the repeat of the exposition. The development begins with gentle references to themes already heard, but the music soon becomes highly dramatic as a snippet of the first theme grows in volume and complexity. The second theme makes an appearance and leads into a short fugal section that flows into loud, highly accented chords by the orchestra. Beethoven stretches and builds on themes to an extent that defies description. The music gets quiet, as the transition to the recapitulation nears. As the violins quietly saw away, the infamous early entry of the horn that plays a fragment of the first theme appears, something that baffled most listeners in Beethoven's time.  Even his student Ferdinand Ries accused the horn player of playing the theme too early in the first rehearsal of the work:

Beethoven has a wicked trick for the horn; a few bars before the theme comes in again complete, Beethoven lets the horn indicate the theme where the two violins still play the chord of the second. For someone who is not familiar with the score this always gives the impression that the horn player has counted wrong and come in at the wrong place. During the first rehearsal of this symphony, which went appallingly, the horn player, however, came in correctly. I was standing next to Beethoven and, thinking it was wrong, I said, 'That damned horn player! Can't he count properly? It sounds infamously wrong!' I think I nearly had my ears boxed - Beethoven did not forgive me for a long time.

The orchestra comes together for the recapitulation and Beethoven begins to vary the first theme.  Themes are repeated and modulated until the music reaches the coda, but a coda unlike any written before. This coda continues to vary and develop themes and lasts nearly as long as the exposition. The movement ends as it began with loud chords for full orchestra. This movement usually takes between 17 and 18 minutes to play if the exposition repeat is taken. Beethoven requested that the exposition be repeated (which was not always automatically done) for the sake of balance.

II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai - If the first movement can be viewed as a tribute to a hero, the second movement is the death of the hero. After the Funeral March of Chopin's 2nd Piano Sonata, Beethoven's is the next most famous. It begins in C minor, always a very dramatic key for Beethoven, with the 1st violins playing the lowest note in their range, followed by the lugubrious first theme that is sparsely accompanied by the other strings.  The melodic line of funeral marches are usually rhythmically diverse, and Beethoven's is no exception:

After the oboe expresses its grief with the theme, another theme in the major is played that sheds some rays of light on the dark proceedings, but not for very long. The music meanders into darkness and back to the first theme. A tragic outburst occurs, and the music transitions to a section in C major that gives some little comfort to the sorrow. While this section is in contrast, there is still an underlying tension to the music as two notes are played against three. The section reaches a climax, and after a short transition the music returns to the first theme, but quite soon it transitions to F minor and a fugue is played that thunders through the orchestra. The fugue comes to an end, and a fragment of the first theme is played, after which a section of great resolve and power is played until it too succumbs to the grief of the first theme. The second theme returns for a short while, until the music brightens in a short section before the first theme, fragmented and decaying like the corpse of the hero it honors, is buried after one last howl of grief in the sliding grace notes of the low strings.

III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace - The scherzo of the third symphony must have confused audiences as much as the previous movements, for it runs through the orchestra at the brisk pace of Allegro vivace and is even more rhythmically ambiguous. It is written three in a bar, but in such a brisk tempo the measures fall into groups of two, sort of an optical illusion for the ear:

The accents on off beats that Beethoven sprinkles throughout the movement add to a rhythmic complexity that is not readily apparent in the simple note values he uses. In the trio, Beethoven uses three horns instead of the usual two. The horns play off each other while the rest of the orchestra gives a comment after their phrases. The scherzo returns with changes, with perhaps the strangest change being in the syncopated section that is played a second time in Alla breve, or two in a bar instead of three. The ear thus staggered, the scherzo continues on its merry, quirky way until the thunderous end is reached.

IV. Finale: Allegro molto - For the last movement, Beethoven defies tradition and writes a set of variations. But these are no ordinary variations, for the bass of the actual theme is heard first and is varied. The true theme is heard in the oboe over the previously heard bass and the music makes more sense. Beethoven had used the theme in two previous works; a ballet The Creatures Of Prometheus and a work for piano solo Variations and Fugue for Piano in E♭ major that are also known as the Eroica Variations. The theme is repeated and varied, but the bass itself returns for its own variation, a fugue that uses a portion of it. The main theme returns in variations in high spirits and speed until the music winds down and changes tempo to Andante. Woodwinds play a lyrical version of the theme, with a section for oboe accompanied by rippling triplet arpeggios on the clarinet. The two against three rhythm is reinforced as lower strings join one clarinet in the triplet accompaniment. The horns nobly play the theme as the rest of the orchestra accompanies. The theme begins to change until the music grows quiet in a short dialogue between woodwinds and strings. With no warning, the music shifts dynamics to a double forte and the tempo increases to presto. Fragments of the theme are bounced around the orchestra. The timpani emphasizes the repeated E-flat major chords as they thunder to finish the movement.

The Third Symphony was premiered in 1805 in Vienna. The reaction was mixed to say the least. As reviewed in the contemporary Viennese magazine Der Freimüthige:

One party, Beethoven's most special friends, contend that this particular symphony is a masterpiece, that this is exactly the true style for music of the highest type and that if it does not please now it is because the public is not sufficiently cultivated in the arts to comprehend these higher spheres of beauty; but after a couple of thousand years its effect will not be lessened. The other party absolutely denies any artistic merit to this work. They claim it reveals the symptoms of an evidently unbridled attempt at distinction and peculiarity, but that neither beauty, true sublimity nor power have anywhere been achieved either by means of unusual modulations, by violent transitions or by the juxtaposition of the most heterogeneous elements....On that evening, the audience and H. v. Beethoven, who himself conducted, were not mutually pleased with one another. For the audience the Symphony was too difficult, too long and B. himself too rude, for he did not deign to give even a nod to the applauding part of the audience. Beethoven, on the other hand, did not find the applause sufficiently enthusiastic.

The Eroica Symphony went on to become one of the most played and studied symphonies ever written. It's depth of emotion, craftsmanship and innovation guarantee it an honored place in the history of western music. It is a work that can be heard in different ways for different people, as Arturo Toscanini the famous Italian conductor said when he talked about the first movement of the symphony:

To some it is Napoleon, to some it is a philosophical struggle, to me it is allegro con brio.

Whether listened to from an historical, emotional, or purely musical perspective, Beethoven's Third Symphony is a masterpiece.

Balakirev - Symphony No. 1 In C Major

Mily Balakirev was a brilliant pianist and composer who had an impact on the development of Russian national music, but could have had an even greater impact if he would have completed some of his early compositions in a timely fashion. The reasons for the delay in finishing some of his major works have been written about, with the main reason being that Balakirev suffered a nervous breakdown (whatever that is) in the early 1870's, as friends that visited him found his personality had shifted to lethargy and lack of interest in music. His interest in music gradually returned, but he had changed. He retreated into a strict and severe belief in the Russian Orthodox Church, and lived as a recluse with a house full of animals.

The first symphony is an example of the time it took for him to complete a work, as sketches were begun in 1864 with some of the first movement being completed by 1866, but the entire work wasn't finished until 1897, thirty-three years after it was started.  Despite the length of time the work was on the shelf, the music written later matched the style of the earlier music,  but by that time the current trends in music had past Balakirev by, and his music was considered old-fashioned.

Balakirev conducted the premiere of the work in 1898. Symphony No. 1 In C Major is in four movements:

I. Largo - Allegro vivo -  The movement begins with a slow introduction that contains fragments that are expanded into the two themes of the exposition. After the introduction, the first theme (which is built from the opening measures of the introduction) is played. The second theme is then played in the cellos. These two themes undergo a type of ongoing development throughout the movement, which is in a highly individual type of sonata form. Once the first go-round of the two themes has played through, the first theme is played and developed, then a different theme is played that begins in the clarinet. Then an actual development section begins. There is no formal recapitulation section as the themes continue to be developed until a coda brings the movement to a rousing close.

II. Scherzo: Vivo - Poco meno mosso -  A bustling scherzo in A minor with the flavor of a Russian folk song leads to a slightly sad middle section in D minor.  After the scherzo repeats, the theme of the trio appears in the coda in a different guise and the movement ends with harmonics in the divided first and second violins.

III. Andante -  Written in D-flat major, the initial theme of the movement is played by the clarinet over a gently moving accompaniment by the harp, muted violins and violas and pizzicato cellos and bass. This theme is developed until another theme (in E major) is heard in the low strings which leads ot a variant of the initial theme.  The movement proceeds with  variants of the two themes in a combination of sonata and rondo form. The movement returns to the clarinet to play its rendition of the main theme, after which there is a transitional section for harp that leads the way to the finale that is played without pause.

IV. Finale: Allegro moderato -  The low strings begin the movement with a Russian theme in C major that is played and developed until transitional material leads to a second theme in D major that is first played by the clarinet. A very short third theme is then heard in the violas and then violas and strings. The three themes (all of which are Russian folksongs) are varied and developed throughout with Balakirev showing his skill in handling orchestral color. The movement ends with a coda for full orchestra in Tempo di polacca (in the tempo of a Polonaise). 

Haydn - Symphony No. 59 In A Major 'Fire'

An attempt at a comprehensive catalogue of the works of Joseph Haydn was done by Anthony van Hoboken, who was a collector of early editions of classical music, over 5,000 items of which 1,000 were of Haydn's music. His catalogue was published in 1957 and 1971, and his numbering system is still being used, although there have been additions and corrections made by later musicologists.

Haydn's symphonies had already been catalogued by Eusebius Mandyczewski in 1908. There were 104  symphonies numbered in the chronological order that was known at the time.  Further scholarship by Hoboken and other musicologists discovered that some of the symphonies were actually numbered out of chronological sequence, but the earlier numbering system was so widely used that Hoboken retained it, and he also discovered 4 more symphonies that brought the total to 108.

Symphony No. 59 In A Major is one of the symphonies that was numbered out of sequence and given a higher number than works written around the same time. Musicologists have determined that it was written ca. 1768, about the same time that Symphony No. 48 in C major, Maria Theresa was written,

Anthony van Hoboken

Fortunately the work has a nickname, Fire or The Fire Symphony, which makes it more identifiable among the other 107 symphonies, but the history behind the nickname is another example of tradition confusing the real story. For many years the work was thought to have been specifically written to accompany a theatrical work. Indeed, some of the movements were used for a dramatic stage work, Der Feuersbrunst by Gustav Friedrich Wilhelm Großmann, which was given at the Eszterháza palace where Haydn was employed. The drama was given sometime between 1774 and 1778, thus the symphony had already been written before the play was performed. The symphony is in four movements:

I. Presto -  A tempo indication of presto is unusual for the first movement of a symphony at the time, but Haydn was ever flexible and original in his compositions. The violins create spirited restlessness as they repeat the tonic note of A, and the entire orchestra plays forte.  The spirit of this opening movement may have been the original inspiration for the nickname fire. The exposition is repeated. The exposition has two other quite short and secondary snatches of themes, but it is the crackling first theme that stands out. The development section begins with a short working out of the first theme, and a brief expansion of a secondary theme. The recapitulation follows the general plan of the exposition with the obligatory modulations of secondary themes. As is the case with Haydn's early symphonies, he directs the development and recapitulation to be repeated. Some conductors do, some don't but as short as the movement is, it makes sense if it is repeated. In contrast to the loudness of the fire at the beginning of the movement, the fire dies away at the end.

II. Andante o piu tosto - Allegretto -  Written in A minor, the first theme is a minor key minuet while the second theme is in C major and also has the feeling of a minuet. The development section expands the second theme and briefly returns to the opening theme. The key changes to A major as the oboes and horns (which have been silent) join with the strings as the second theme is played in the new key. It is briefly interrupted by the first theme, but quickly returns and finishes out the movement.

III. Menuet e Trio -  This movement not only retians the time signature of 3/4 of the previous one, but its main theme is an A major variant of the A minor theme of the second movement. The theme of the A minor trio flows through the violins while the lower strings play a pizaccato accompaniment.

IV. Finale: Allegro - The movement begins with a dialogue for horns and oboes. The strings join in in music that returns to the spirit of the first movement.  A secondary theme is more lyrical, but it doesn't last long as the music for the most part maintains the fast pace Haydn preferred for many of his last movements.

Schumann - Symphony No. 4 In D Minor

The 4 symphonies of Robert Schumann were written from 1841 to 1851, and have been just outside the standard orchestral repertoire. The reasons for this are many. Schumann's technical knowledge of some of  the instruments of the orchestra, especially the brass section, wasn't the best. He was in the process of learning more and polishing his technical handling of the orchestra, but his progress was cut short by mental illness that left him unable to compose. But there were other issues as well.  Problems with form and balance (real and imagined) many times were corrected by conductors and resulted in performances of Schumann's symphonies that contained much that he did not write.

One of his problematic symphonies was the one written shortly after the Symphony No. 1. This symphony was originally Symphony No. 2, but after a very unsuccessful premiere the work was shelved until Schumann revised the work in 1851. By that time he had completed two other symphonies, so the symphony was numbered Symphony No. 4.

Schumann's revision of the symphony did not change the unique form of the symphony; all four movements are played without a break. He made the transitions between movements smoother, made the overall orchestration richer, and other technical changes that reflect the knowledge he had gained since writing his first symphony ten years previous.

Schumann's wife Clara was as devoted to her husband after he died in 1856 as she was when he was alive. She promoted his work and his memory and acted as editor for his collected works that were published in 1882. She used the revised version of 1851 in the edition as this was the one she preferred, going so far as to say that the first version of 1841 survived only as sketches. Johannes Brahms on the other hand, knew better and preferred the first edition of 1841 and acted as editor when he published it in 1892, much to the objections of Clara. But it is the revised version of 1851 that has become the standard and is most often performed.

I. Ziemlich langsam - Lebhaft -  The movement begins with a slow introduction that contains the seed for many of the other themes heard in the work. Schumann took the hints at cyclic form from Beethoven and expanded them into one of the first symphonies composed in the form. Slowly, the introduction gives way to the first lively theme built loosely on the theme within the introduction. Other themes are heard in the exposition, but these are not as well formed as the first one. The exposition is repeated. The development section initially concerns itself with the working out of the first theme. Other themes are heard and expanded, until Schumann begins the development section again in a different key. After this second development has played through, a truncated recapitulation is played which leads to a coda and a segue to the second movement

II.  Romanze: Ziemlich langsam -  A solo cello and solo oboe play a sweet melody that vaguely resembles material heard in the introduction of the first movement, after which a short orchestral interlude leads to a middle section where a solo violin laces its way through the orchestra. The solo cello and oboe return with the opening theme of the movement, which ends with a quiet segue to the third movement.

III. Scherzo: Lebhaft -  Primitive and accented off the beat, the scherzo changes the mood immediately. After the scherzo, the trio contains music for the violins that is similar to the middle section of the second movement. In all, the scherzo and trio are played twice. After the trio, the music slows down into a mysterious segue to the last movement that contains a reference to the primary theme of the first movement.

IV. Langsam; Lebhaft -  A slow crescendo grows as the violins play the same reference to the primary theme of the first movement until the orchestra comes to a short pause, after which the primary theme of the finale, which is related to first movement material, is played. This fragment which was originally in D minor has been transformed to D major. Secondary themes are played and Schumann develops them in free fashion. A final new theme is played near the end, after which the music scurries to a close in D major.

Mendelssohn - String Symphony No. 7 In D Minor

Francis Bacon, 17th century English statesman, scientist, jurist, orator, author and philosopher wrote in his essay titled Of Studies:

To spend too much time in studies is sloth; to use them too much for ornament, is affectation; to make judgment wholly by their rules, is the humor of a scholar. They perfect nature, and are perfected by experience: for natural abilities are like natural plants, that need pruning, by study...

Natural ability such as Mozart and Mendelssohn possessed only became mastery after much work, study and diligence. For Mozart, it was his good fortune to be born into a family with a father that was a consummate musician and teacher who was wise enough to know the wisdom of Bacon's words. The young Mozart did his share of necessary exercises in harmony and counterpoint, the pruning of his natural abilities.

Mendelssohn's situation was a different matter. His family was headed by a father who was a banker and a mother who was from a prominent family. Felix's talent was noticed by his parents and other members of the family. Felix's family could afford private music teachers, and the youngster also had the added benefit of having his early works played by a small orchestra that gathered at the Mendelssohn family home. Thus Bacon's words rang true for Felix as well, including the tempering of study by experience.

When Mendelssohn was twelve years old he began to write a series of symphonies for string orchestra as exercises in composition for his teacher Carl Friedrich Zelter, and for performance at the concerts at his home. He wrote a total of twelve string symphonies in two years. The first six string symphonies had three movements, but with the String Symphony No. 7 the movements increased to four.

I. Allegro - Written in sonata form, the movement begins straight away with the first theme that is reminiscent of C.P.E. Bach's angular themes. Perhaps C.P.E.Bach was a strong influence as Felix's great-aunt Sarah Itzig-Levy took keyboard lessons from Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and premiered some of C.P.E. Bach's harpsichord music. She was a wealthy woman and helped to support the widow of C.P.E. Bach and took a special interest in Felix's musical education. The second theme is more lyrical, and soon succumbs to the return of the first theme. The exposition is repeated. The development section begins with a working out of the second theme while a figuration from the first theme accompanies, until the first theme gains dominance and goes through its own section of being worked through. The recapitulation repeats with modulations of themes until a short coda is reached that introduces a new figure and a very short section of syncopation until a fragment of the first theme leads to the end of the movement - a D major chord.

II. Andante amorevole - Written in D major, the theme winds its way casually through the movement. The pace remains a leisurely walk with hardly any drama. The short movement ends in D major.

III. Menuetto - Mendelssohn returns to D minor for the minuet that is in the spirit of a Haydn peasant stomp. The trio section is in B-flat major. The minuet is not repeated after the trio. There is a short coda that follows the trio that focuses on material heard in the trio with not a trace of the music of the minuet, and the movement ends in B-flat major.

IV. Allegro molto -  An early example of the quick tempo music that shows up in Mendelssohn's music. It is a foreshadowing of the tarantella of the 4th Symphony written years later. A fugal section follows, and the pattern is repeated until the opening music returns and leads to a short coda that ends the work.

Weber - Symphony No. 2 In C Major

Carl Maria von Weber is mostly remembered in the classical music world as an opera composer. He wrote his first opera at fourteen and had his first success in opera in 1803 when he was seventeen years old.  Three years later he was working at the Breslau Opera as music director. He tried to reform the opera but the intrigues, drama and resistance were so great that he resigned. While he was at Breslau, he met with an unfortunate accident when he drank from a wine bottle that his father had stored engraver's acid in. It took him two months to recuperate and his pleasant singing voice was ruined.

He wrote his only two symphonies when he was twenty years old with the intention of having them performed by the small court orchestra of Duke Eugen Friedrich Heinrich von Württemberg-Öls, where Weber was Kapellmeister. Weber's time at court was also full of intrigues and troubles as he racked up huge debts. His father was charged with embezzling a large amount of the Duke's funds, and both Weber and his father were arrested and put in prison. Later both were released and banished from the Duke's lands.

Both symphonies are in C major. Symphony No. 2 was written in a week's time in January of 1807, and like the first symphony it has a prominent part for oboe, the instrument the Duke liked to play. The symphony is in four movements:

I. Allegro -  The orchestra enters with loud chords that are answered by the woodwinds. This happens twice before the oboe plays the first theme of the movement.  Other lesser themes are played and lead up to the second primary theme being played by solo horn. A solo bassoon takes up this theme. The first theme returns and is expanded slightly, and then the exposition is repeated. At the end of the repeat, the horns mark the beginning of the development by playing a figure from the first theme, followed by the trumpets. A solo flute then plays the first them in a minor key. The drama increases in the development until it reaches a climax. Quietly the orchestra leads to the recapitulation. The usual modulation of themes to the home key follows, with the second theme this time being brought in by the oboe. A short coda beings the movement to a close.

II Adagio, ma non troppo - The horns begin the second movement with a short fanfare. The theme of the movement begins with a solo viola and is continued with the oboe. The theme is expanded until the horns begin a more elaborate repeat of the theme which develops as an operatic aria, no big surprise coming from a natural dramatic opera composer as Weber was. The movement is short, and ends quietly.

III Menuetto. Allegro -  Although labeled a minuet, this movement is in C minor and has the characteristics of a scherzo with its off the beat accents. A contrasting trio section in the major for accompanied oboe uses rests to maintain the off the beat feeling. The beginning of the movement is repeated, and this very short movement (under two minutes usually) ends.

IV Finale. Scherzo Presto - Labeled a scherzo, this movement begins with a short ascending figure in the orchestra followed by silence. The full orchestra a rhythmic theme that is continually being interrupted by rests. The second theme is for oboe and plays straight through without the interrupting rests. There is a third theme for horn in the minor before the quirky first theme returns, this time it plays for a time before asilence interrupts its progress. After the silence, the music builds up to a final climax followed by a silence that may seem like the end of the movement, but the figure that began the movement returns for one more swift and quiet appearance before this also very short movement truly ends.

Whether Weber's talent was to ever respond to the form of the symphony was never to be known as he died from tuberculosis at the age of 39. He had a great sense of melody and orchestral color, valuable assets for a composer of operas, and it may have been a genuine lack of interest instead of a lack of talent for the instrumental genre of the symphony.  His handling of sonata form in the two symphonies is not outstanding. But his lack of mastery of the form may be why the symphonies, especially the second one, are so quirky, in a good way.