The 5th Symphony of Beethoven with its familiar three short and one long note motif, is the most recognizable and popular pieces of music ever written. Beethoven premiered the work at a massive 4-hour concert in December in Vienna in 1808. due to the coldness of the theater and the fact that the symphony only had one rehearsal earlier in the day, there was not much critical input about the work. But a little over a year later the work was repeated to rave reviews. All through the 19th century it slowly became a cornerstone of symphonic repertoire, and has been one ever since.
Don't let the familiarity of the symphony cause a bias against it. There are wonders within it, way more than the famous 'fate knocking at the door' motif that begins the symphony. This motif acts as the raw material that is used to construct the first movement, and it makes an appearance throughout the entire work, albeit sometimes in altered form. This is a prime example of why I think Beethoven is the greatest composer of them all, in the sense of the word that means putting together a coherent composition from original material. His musical structures are solid, he was a total master of sonata form. Beethoven seems to have found his freedom of expression within the form itself. He would alter the form as his ideas dictated, but still kept the bare bones of the form. There are musicians and composers that had a greater gift for melody, some that were more brilliant at orchestration, some more daring harmonically. But for the total package, which includes being a master architect of musical form, no one outshines Beethoven.
The 5th Symphony is in 4 movements: I. Allegro con brio -The famous opening that is the seed of the entire symphony catches the ear immediately. It is pregnant with drama and struggle, and is heard throughout the first movement as it keeps hammering home the sense of struggle. The movement is in sonata form, and Beethoven seems to have compressed and reduced the music into a pungent musical language that is given little relief. Even the short oboe near the end of the movement is full of pathos. The work hammers the motive home again, and it ends.
II. Second movement: Andante con moto -The second movement is a double variation, there are two melodies heard one after the other in the opening, then they are both varied in turn.
III. Third movement: Scherzo. Allegro -A Scherzo full of mystery and a repeat of the 'fate' motive of the first movement in the horns, as well as a fugal trio section. When the scherzo begins again after the trio Beethoven changes the orchestration ad dynamics and with the timpani gently beating out the note of 'c', the movement segues into the finale.
IV. Fourth movement: Allegro -The finale is also in sonata form, with the second theme repeating the 'fate' motive. Just as the orchestra really gets going, a rapid change happens and parts of the Scherzo reappear for a few bars until the finale themes return ablaze. The finale keeps hammering away with the chords of C Major having won the struggle and defeating the C minor triad, and the work ends triumphantly.
Modern listeners can really never appreciate how Beethoven's music sounded to his contemporary listeners. What has become common place ( if not outright cliché) was once very innovative and original. Some of the wonder of the music is no doubt lost on us, but one way to get an idea of the novelty and originality of it is to listen to it with ears that can take on an historical perspective.
When Beethoven left his home town of Bonn for Vienna for the second time in 1792, his friend and patron Count Waldenstein wrote this in a letter to him:
"In leaving for Vienna today, you are about to realize a long cherished desire. The wandering genius of Mozart still grieves for
his passing. With Haydn's unquenchable spirit, it has found
shelter but no home and longs to find some lasting habitation.
Work hard, and the spirit of Mozart’s genius will come to you
from Haydn's hands."
It was Beethoven's intention to receive instruction from Mozart on his return trip to Vienna, but Mozart had died before he got there. Whether Mozart would have proven a better teacher for Beethoven is of course not known, but there is evidence about the relationship between Beethoven and Haydn. Beethoven evidently found Haydn somewhat old-fashioned in his teaching methods, as he had Beethoven do exercises in counterpoint for six months. Beethoven sought instruction from other teachers while he was still a student of Haydn, but did it in secret as to not offend the elder composer.
In Haydn's defense, this was a busy time as he recently had been invited to London by concert promoter Johann Peter Salomon. Haydn was occupied with travel plans as well as composing new symphonies for the trip. And the personalities of the two composers could not have been more different. Beethoven, the brash, rude, passionate pianist/composer was nicknamed "The Great Mogul" by Haydn. With Haydn's conservative dress, powdered wig and courtly manners, Beethoven most likely couldn't relate too well either.
What came to be Beethoven's Opus 1 compositions, three piano trios, were first performed with Beethoven at the piano in the home of Count Carl von Lichnowsky with Haydn present. Haydn was enthusiastic about the first two trios, but cautioned Beethoven about the third one in C Minor. He suggested it needed more work because it wouldn't be understood or appreciated by the public. For whatever reason, Beethoven took offense at the criticism, but held off publishing the trios for two years, perhaps to rethink the C minor trio. Haydn's remarks were most likely constructive criticism meant to help Beethoven's first official Opus 1 to be a success. With Haydn's fame being wide-spread, there could not have been any cause for jealousy on his part. Evidently Beethoven never forgot the affront, and if he did take Haydn's advice and rework the C minor trio he never said, but the two remained cordial and in Beethoven's later years he mellowed in his opinion of Haydn.
The C Minor Piano Trio of Opus 1 consists of 4 movements: I. Allegro con brio -Haydn's sense of form and mastery of sonata form in particular influenced Beethoven greatly, no matter what the younger composer said.. The first movement of this trio begins with a string of short themes that go from minor to major keys and back again. These themes are developed in the next section, sometimes the whole theme, sometimes parts of it. The recapitulation is masterfully handled as things fall into place for a well-rounded ending to a turbulent first movement.
II. Andante cantabile con Variazioni - A set of variations, bread-and-butter to a composer that was more well-known for his improvisations in his early years in Vienna than for his compositions. A splendid contrast to the passion of the first movement.
III. Minuetto, Quasi allegro -The piano begins by playing a quirky tune:
The tune is in C minor, and gives way to a Trio section in C major that has rippling scales in the piano as the violin and cello alternate between playing the melody and accompanying.
IV. Finale - Prestissimo -Was it this final movement, full of spit and fire, that was the reason for Haydn's criticism? Haydn's finales could be playful and rather light-weight, which this movement definitely is not. Dramatic and extroverted, the music propels itself along until Beethoven's final surprise - music that reduces in volume in anticipation of another eruption, but then quietly ends with a simple cadence
Ludwig van Beethoven first worked on what was to become the sixth symphony in 1802 and there is evidence found in sketchbooks that he worked on the fifth symphony at the same time. The two symphonies can hardly be more different (at least in feeling), but Beethoven usually worked on more than one composition at a time, at least early in his career.
Both symphonies also shared the same premiere date, in the same concert of December 22, 1808. As well as the two symphonies the 4th Piano Concerto, Choral Fantasia and various other compositions of Beethoven's were played. The concert lasted roughly four hours, the theater in Vienna where it took place was unheated, and with only one rehearsal held the morning of the concert.
...However, as far as the execution of this academy concert is concerned, it could be considered lacking in all respects...Most noticeable, however, was the error that occurred in the last [Choral] Fantasy. The wind instruments varied the theme, which before, Beethoven had played on the piano. Now it was the oboes' turn. The clarinets--if I am not mistaken!--miscounted and set in at the same time. A peculiar mix of tones emerged; B. jumped up and tried to silence the clarinets, however, he did not succeed until he called out quite loudly and rather angrily to the orchestra: Silence! This will not do! Once more--once more! and the praised orchestra had to accommodate him and play the unfortunate Fantasy again, from the beginning--! The effect of all of these pieces on the mixed audience, and particularly of the pieces of the second section, obviously suffered from the amount and the length of the music. Moreover, it is known that, with respect to Vienna, it holds even more true than with respect to most other cities, what is written in the scriptures, namely that the prophet does not count for anything in his own country...
The critical reception of any of the works in this concert never came to light as all the descriptions of it deal with the inordinate length and other happenings. As for the sixth symphony in particular, George Grove in his book Beethoven And His Nine Symphonies quotes from the Harmonicon the leading musical publication of the time, about an early performance of the work in London in about 1817:
"Opinions are much divided about its merits, but few deny that it is too long. The Andante alone is upwards of a quarter of an hour in performance, and, being a series of repetitions, might be subject to abridgment without any violation of justice either to composer or hearer."
The issue about the length of the sixth symphony caused it to be cut in some performances, a practice not thought of today. But over-length was not a complaint unknown to Beethoven. The same was said of the third symphony, the fifth, and other works.
The work gets its name Pastoral from the composer himself, for right after the dual dedication of the work to Prince von Lobkowitz and Count von Rasumovsky are the words:
Pastoral Symphony, or a recollection of country life. More an expression of feeling than of painting.
The symphony is far from the first example of program music. Bach and Handel to mention but two earlier composers used subtle musical references to things that evoked feelings in the listener. Beethoven used musical references too, but he also gave each movement a brief description. Beethoven knew the risk of musical scene painting and kept it to a minimum. Beethoven was a nature lover and was well-known around Vienna for his long walks in the countryside where he would become so preoccupied with his thoughts that he could be seen as he sang and shouted, or stood in the middle of the street and jotted down a musical idea that had come to mind. The 6th Symphony 'Pastoral' has five movements, a novelty at the time:
I. Allegro ma non troppo 'Awakening of cheerful feelings on arrival in the countryside.' - Written in sonata form, the movement's first theme is partially heard straight away, and soon the orchestra plays the full theme in full. The rest of the thematic material of the movement consists of short motifs that blend into each other seamlessly. The exposition and repeated. The development section begins with the first theme as it goes through key and dynamic changes. Other themes are expanded and varied until the return of the main theme which signals the recapitulation. Themes are reviewed and modulate. A coda begins by playing the opening of the main theme played in the 1st violins while the 2nd violins play in contrary motion with the violas and double bass. Woodwinds play a two-note figure over a simple accompaniment by the strings. A clarinet, violins, flute and finally full orchestra play the last gentle chords of the ending of a movement that in its organic growth of small melodic motifs reflects he organic growth in nature itself. II. Andante molto mosso 'Scene by the brook.' -As in the first movement, this movement grows out of the seeds of small melodic motifs that are played by the 1st violins while the rest of the string section plays the murmuring depictions of a brook. The mood is placid as the music gently sways with motifs passed from instrument to instrument. The first inkling of a bird call is heard in the flute as the music grows while remaining placid. This is the movement that the London critic thought so oppressively long and repetitious! The movement continues on its placed way until reaches a mild climax and then halts, after which the celebrated bird call imitations occur, with the Nightingale in the flute, quail in the oboe and cuckoo in the clarinet:
This is repeated, and the movement gently closes. III. Allegro 'Merry gathering of country folk.' - The movement begins with a scherzo of subtle humor that grows into a loud joke. The second part of the scherzo is one of wry humor as Beethoven imitates a village band with an oboe that plays a syncopated tune to a monotonous accompaniment by the violins, along with a bassoon player of such limited playing ability that his bass accompaniment consists of only three notes:
After the village band plays their tune, the tempo increases and the time signature to two in a bar in a rapid round dance. After the round dance, the entire scherzo repeats. With the end of the round dance, the scherzo makes an attempt at another repetition, but just as the village band is about to play yet again, the music segues to the next movement without pause.
IV. Allegro 'Thunder. Storm.' -Agitated strings stir up the dust as droplets of rain as the approaching storm gathers momentum. With thunder in the timpani, whistling winds in the piccolo and a feeling of great tension the storm pelts the countryside. Beethoven has the cellos play 5 notes against 4 notes in the double bass for added rhythmic tension and confusion. The music begins to die away with distant rumbles of thunder as the music flows into the last movement without pause. V. Allegretto 'Shepherd's song. Happy and thankful feelings after the storm.' - The primary theme of this movement begins in the violins, and returns to the pastoral feeling of the first two movements, and also shares the building of a musical movement by the use of small, repeating parts. The coda reflects on the main theme a little more before it leads to the final close.
Beethoven wrote in one of his sketchbooks that, "All painting in instrumental music, if pushed too far, is a failure." The composers that used Beethoven's example of program music as a justification to write their own did well to remember his words, and the master composers like Berlioz, Liszt and others did. If a little hint or written suggestion helps a work to be understood, so much the better. A great musical work doesn't need a thousand-word explanation to be appreciated, for music is its own reward, its own explanation.
The Age of Enlightenment began towards the end of the 17th century and lasted until the end of the 18th century. It was a movement spearheaded by intellectuals that sought to reform and challenge traditions of society and to further knowledge by the use of the scientific method. The movement swept across Europe, Russia, Great Britain and their colonies in the New World. Indeed, it was the political and governmental philosophies of The Enlightenment that helped to create The United States.
The movement also encouraged the arts, and in Germany Johann Goethe and Friedrich Schiller were
two of the most well-known Age of Enlightenment writers. Both authors eventually ended up in Wiemar, where they developed a friendship and worked together to revive German theater.
The art of music was also affected by the changes brought about by The Enlightenment, as a developing middle class became more involved in playing music and attending concerts, which gave composers more opportunities to compose for the public instead of royal patrons. George Handel was one of the early composers that composed his operas for public exhibition as well as works for keyboard and small ensemble that were made for playing at home.
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in 1770, and was a child of The Enlightenment. Although he still relied on the patronage of royalty, he was enthusiastic about the French Revolution (at least in the beginning) and had definite Republic leanings. Beethoven read the works of Goethe and Schiller but it was a poem by the latter printed in 1785 that resonated within him so deeply that he wanted to set it to music. It took him almost thirty years and a few false starts to finally used the poem Ode To Joy in a composition. The Choral Fantasiaof 1808 can be considered an experiment in setting text for soloist, chorus and orchestra, as well as many sketches in his notebooks of themes and possible versions of the text.
Friedrich Schiller
He began writing the 9th Symphony in 1818, but most of the real composing of the work happened between 1822-1824. The first three movements were completed first, with the last movement causing the most trouble. He was determined to use the poem in the last movement, but struggled with how to transition from three movements of instrumental music to a finale with soloists and chorus. He came to a solution to the dilemma and completed the work in February of 1824.
The premiere of the work was given in May of 1824 in Vienna. There are many anecdotes written about the premiere, some of them in differing versions, so it is hard to know what really happened and what didn't, but there are a few details that are likely to have happened. Beethoven was on stage and beat out the tempo before each movement, but as his deafness had become almost total he did not participate otherwise in the performance. Beethoven had his following in Vienna, and with the span of 12 years between the 8th Symphony and the 9th, the house was full. There is evidence that only two rehearsals of the work were held, sand with a work as novel and demanding as the 9th, the performance could not have been very good. But the audience gave the work and composer a standing ovation.
The work is scored for a very large orchestra with woodwinds in pairs, contra bassoon, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, timpani, bass drum, triangle, cymbals, four soloists, chorus, and strings. The work is in four movements:
I. Allegro ma non troppo, un poco maestoso - The beginning of this symphony is one of the most recognizable pieces of music ever written. To some it sounds like an orchestra tuning up, which is in keeping with the ambiguity of the work. Technically, the ambiguity is profound when it is known the notes being repeated are A and E, empty fourths and fifths which can be a hint at A major or A minor:
This continues as the scrap of a motive is passed back and forth in the strings while other instruments slowly join in the accompaniment until a crescendo leads to a loud statement and in a flash Beethoven asserts the key to D minor with a full statement of the first theme. This is expanded until it reverts back to the style of the beginning, but this time the two notes that are repeated are D and A, the bare fifth and fourth of either D major, or minor. Another surprise is in store as Beethoven plays the first theme again, only this time it is in B-flat major, but not for long. Transitional material goes through various key changes in preparation for the second subject. After more transition, a third theme is heard. The exposition is not repeated, but segues directly to the development section that begins with the tonal ambiguity of the opening, but swiftly modulates to a different key. The development goes far a field as Beethoven works and reworks the themes to a fever pitch with the recapitulation and impassioned repeat of the first theme. The other themes are repeated in different keys. The coda begins with the first theme and develops it further. A ritard leads to a new theme played in the woodwinds while the strings play an agitated chromatic accompaniment. The entire orchestra builds in volume and intensity until the strings play a tremolo figure with a wide compass while the rest of the orchestra plays a strongly rhythmic commentary until the orchestra plays a fragment of the first theme until it abruptly ends.
II. Scherzo: Molto vivace – For the first time in one of his symphonies Beethoven places the scherzo as the second movement in place of the usual slow movement. The scherzo begins with a lightening strike imitation of a fragment of the first theme of the previous movement:
The scherzo continues as the theme is expanded in counterpoint. The music continues to run through the orchestra until it reaches a quiet section that anticipates a change in the music, but this is a false impression as the music repeats the section that began after the introduction. After the repeat, the quiet section leads to the second part of the scherzo that begins in D major but soon reverts back to the tonic. The quiet section again appears and leads to the repeat of the second part of the scherzo. The scherzo then transitions directly to the trio which begins in D major. The trio evens out some of the rhythmic angularity of the scherzo but it too races along at a fast clip. The trio ends when the scherzo takes it from the top and begins with the lightning strike. Each section of the scherzo is played once, and after the second section it sounds as if the trio is to be repeated, but it is Beethoven tricking our ears as the short reference to the trio stops abruptly, and after a full bar's rest the orchestra plays broken octaves and ends the movement on the home note of D spread throughout the orchestra.
III. Adagio molto e cantabile -The slow movement begins in B-flat major, but there are many key changes throughout. The first theme is played by the violins, with another more passionate theme in the low strings directly after the first. The first theme is varied, as is the second theme for what is essentially a set of double variations. There is a loud interruption played twice during the movement, a fanfare in E-flat major. The movement comes to rest pianissimo in B-flat major. IV. Finale - The beginning of this movement is also one of the most recognizable openings in music, but unlike the veiled mystery and ambiguity of the first movement, the lightening bolt suddenness of the scherzo, this opening is famous for its harshness and anger. It is a dissonant chord played in the woodwinds and brass that is followed by octave racing up and down that settle on an A, once again the dominant of the home key of D minor. A passage marked recitative is played by the low strings until another dissonant chord and octave racing that settle on a D minor chord. These two dissonant chords confused most listeners and musicians for many years. Some took them as proof Beethoven was not in his right mind. Some conductors smoothed them over by removing the offending accidentals. Louis Spohr, violinist and composer, knew Beethoven and blamed his deafness:
His constant endeavor to be original and to open new paths, could no longer as formerly, be preserved from error by the guidance of the ear. Was it then to be wondered at that his works became more and more eccentric, unconnected, and incomprehensible? ... Yes! I must even reckon the much admired Ninth Symphony among them, the three first movements of which, in spite of some solitary flashes of genius, are to me worse than all of the eight previous Symphonies, the fourth movement of which is in my opinion so monstrous and tasteless, and in its grasp of Schiller's Ode so trivial, that I cannot even now understand how a genius like Beethoven's could have written it. I find in it another proof of what I already remarked in Vienna, that Beethoven was wanting in aesthetical feeling and in a sense of the beautiful.
Other famous musicians such as Berlioz struggled with the meaning of the dissonances, only to come to no conclusion:
[The chord] grinds dreadfully against the dominant and produces an excessively harsh effect. This does indeed express fury and rage, but here again I cannot see what motivates such feelings, unless the composer, before making the chorus leader sing... had wanted in a strangely capricious way to vilify the orchestral harmony. [My] efforts at discovering Beethoven’s purpose are completely in vain. I can see a formal intention, a deliberate and calculated attempt to produce a double discordance, both at the point which precede the appearance of the recitative, instrumental at first and later vocal. I have searched hard for the reason for this idea, and I have to admit that it is unknown to me.
After the two dissonant chords and recitative of the cellos and basses, Beethoven brings back reminisces of all three previous movements, one at a time with each being cut short by the low strings as they continue their recitative. The low strings then play the main theme of the final movement, first by themselves and then with other instruments added with an increase in volume. The entire final movement contains many variations of this theme. A climax is reached, and a short transition section leads to yet another massive dissonant chord, this time by the entire orchestra. After the octave racing, the bass soloist sings a recitative with words written by Beethoven:
Bass:
O Freunde, nicht diese Töne!
Sondern lasst uns angenehmere anstimmen,
und freudenvollere.
Freude! (O friends, not these tones! Let us sing more pleasing, and peaceful ones! Joy!)
Then the bass soloist sings the first section of the poem and the main theme of the movement that has already been heard in the low strings: 1st Section Bass and Chorus:
Freude, schöner Götterfunken
Tochter aus Elysium,
Wir betreten feuertrunken,
Himmlische, dein Heiligtum!
Deine Zauber binden wieder
Was die Mode streng geteilt;
Alle Menschen werden Brüder,
Wo dein sanfter Flügel weilt. (Joy, beautiful spark of divinity, Daughter of Elysium, We enter, burning with fervor, heavenly being, your sanctuary! Your magic brings together what custom has sternly divided. All men shall become brothers, wherever your gentle wings hover.)
The chorus then repeats the last four lines of this section.
The next section has the soloists continuing the poem: 2nd Section Sporano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and chorus:
Wem der große Wurf gelungen,
Eines Freundes Freund zu sein;
Wer ein holdes Weib errungen,
Mische seinen Jubel ein!
Ja, wer auch nur eine Seele
Sein nennt auf dem Erdenrund!
Und wer's nie gekonnt, der stehle
Weinend sich aus diesem Bund! (Whoever has been lucky to become a friend to a friend, Whoever has found his beloved wife, let him join our songs of praise! Yes, and anyone who can call one soul his own on this earth! Anyone who cannot, let them slink away from this gathering in tears!)
The chorus repeats the last four lines of this section also.
The soloists continue the poem in the third section: 3rd Section Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Bass and Chorus:
Freude trinken alle Wesen
An den Brüsten der Natur;
Alle Guten, alle Bösen
Folgen ihrer Rosenspur.
Küsse gab sie uns und Reben,
Einen Freund, geprüft im Tod;
Wollust ward dem Wurm gegeben,
Und der Cherub steht vor Gott. (Every creature drinks in joy at nature's breast; Good and Bad alike follow her trail of roses. She gives kisses and wine, a true friend, even in death; Even the worm was given desire, and the cherub stands before God.)
The chorus repeats the last four lines of this section, with the last two words vor Gott repeated until a massive chord is held molto tenuto .
The music changes key to B-flat major as the bass drum and bassoons play a rudimentary rhythm that is soon picked up by other instruments in the orchestra. The cymbals and triangle add to the basic rhythm as Beethoven has transformed his noble music into an imitation of a German oom pah pah band (perhaps a section Spohr had in mind in the quote above) as the piccolo plays a variant of the main theme of the movement. The tenor soloist then continues the poem in the fourth section: 4th Section Tenor and Male Chorus:
Froh, wie seine Sonnen fliegen
Durch des Himmels prächt'gen Plan,
Laufet, Brüder, eure Bahn, (Freudig, wie ein Held zum Siegen. Gladly, just as His suns hurtle through the glorious universe, So you, brothers, should run your course, joyfully, like a conquering hero.)
After the singing of this section of the poem the orchestra takes off on a flight of conflict over major or minor key in a flurry of passionate music that begins to be resolved as the music plays rhythmic octaves reminiscent of the main theme of the first movement. A quiet transition then grows in intensity until the chorus repeats the 1st section of the poem. After the repeat, the music suddenly halts.
The chorus then begins to sing the next part of the poem on a new theme in the fifth section: 5th Section Chorus:
Seid umschlungen, Millionen!
Diesen Kuss der ganzen Welt!
Brüder, über'm Sternenzelt
Muss ein lieber Vater wohnen.
Ihr stürzt nieder, Millionen?
Ahnest du den Schöpfer, Welt?
Such' ihn über'm Sternenzelt!
Über Sternen muss er wohnen. (Be embraced, you millions! This kiss is for the whole world! Brothers, above the canopy of stars must dwell a loving father. Do you bow down before Him, you millions? Do you sense your Creator, o world? Seek Him above the canopy of stars! He must dwell beyond the stars.)
The chorus reaches the limits of its upper register on the words He must dwell beyond the stars as the orchestra shimmers a delicate accompaniment. There is a fermata, and the final section begins.
The chorus begins a double fugue beginning with altos and sopranos with the main theme and the new theme. Tenors and Bass enter as the orchestra accompanies. The soloists sing part of the first section. The chorus takes over until the soloists re-enter with an intricate variant that is lightly accompanied by the orchestra. The music then quickens, the chorus with words from the first section until the music broadens. After the chorus repeats the lines Freude, schöner Götterfunken the orchestra takes over at a gallop and ends the symphony at break neck speed and intensity.
In 1908 Jean Sibelius had a tumor removed from his throat that proved to be cancerous. For the next few years he feared a return of the cancer, which may have led to the dark music contained within the 4th Symphony. But the dark hue of the music could just as well been influenced by another piece he was working on at the time; a setting of Edgar Allan Poe's poem The Raven in a setting for voice and orchestra (a work that never came to fruition). Or perhaps it was the general atmosphere of the world at the time that led to the mood of the symphony. Speculations by musicologists have covered these possibilities as well as others.
Whatever caused the atmosphere of the music, there is no denying that the 4th Symphony is one of Sibelius' most puzzling works. Written in 1910-1911, it is sandwiched between the triumphant 3rd Symphony and heroic 5th Symphony and is in contrast to both. With its sparseness in scoring and exploration of the dissonant interval of the tritone, the symphony received scant applause at its premiere in 1911 which was conducted by the composer. The composer's wife recalled:
People avoided our eyes, shook their heads; their smiles were embarrassed, furtive, or ironic. Not many people came backstage to the artists' room to pay their respects.
The symphony bewildered audiences for years, but is finally getting recognition as one of Sibelius' best works. It is in four movements:
I. Tempo molto moderato, quasi adagio -Known for over 300 years as a dissonance, the tritone (a musical interval composed of three adjacent whole tones) was also known as diabolus in musica, or the devil in music because of its perceived dissonance. The name was given to it early in the Medieval era to emphasize that the interval should be avoided in music like the devil in every day life. The evil connotation of the interval was used by composers in music that attempted to depict fear, terror or the devil itself. The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns use of the tritone to depict the devil playing its fiddle in his tone poem Danse Macabre is but one example of how it was used. Sibelius begins the first movement with a short introduction for bass instruments that uses the tritone to create tonal ambiguity. A solo cello further confuses the tonality until the cellos as a group state the first theme in A minor after the introduction. The tritone continues to appear throughout the movement as well as the rest of the symphony. Short motifs float in and out making it difficult for the ear to find its way. After much ruminating, the strings slowly play a series of ascending notes E-F-Bflat-A (which contains the tritone E-Bflat) until the movement ends quietly on A II. Allegro molto vivace - The second movement begins as a sprightly scherzo but roughly half way through the mood turns black and the music gets extremely quiet and the movement stops. III. Il tempo largo - The third movement wafts across the orchestra in a nocturne of haunted night music. Sibelius referred to this symphony as "a psychological symphony" perhaps referring to this movement that represents the darkness of the mind. The music slows to a quietly throbbing C-sharp in the violins and violas that is played across bar lines as a short motif repeats a few times until the spectre evaporates. IV. Allegro - As in the beginning of the second movement, the fourth movement opens in a somewhat cheerful music that is brightened by the glockenspiel. The movement begins in A major but struggles between A major and E-flat major. Not coincidentally the interval A-Eflat is a tritone. The music ends up going nowhere, and on a repeating C in the strings (the same pitch that began the symphony) the symphony hints at the home key of A minor and stops.
With all four movements ending in quiet ambiguity, virtually no memorable themes, an original harmonic scheme based on the interval of the tritone and movement structure that places a slow movement at the beginning of the symphony, it is no wonder that audiences found the work difficult and perplexing. Sibelius continued to develop his symphonic style up to his last finished symphony. Perhaps he could develop his style no further, perhaps he was written out, but whatever the reason his seventh symphony was his last, and after 1926 he did not write any more large works for the rest of his life. He died in 1957.
Max Bruch was born in 1838 and died in 1920. He lived through almost the entire Romantic age of music and into the dawn of the Modern era, but he never followed the 'new' music school of Wagner and Liszt. He composed music which can be described as 'classical romantic', somewhat in the style of Felix Mendelssohn.
He was a teacher, conductor and violinist as well as a composer. His most popular composition is his first violin concerto in G minor, a work that tended to eclipse all of his other works for violin and orchestra, a fact which he grumbled about many times in his life. The Scottish Fantasy was inspired by the writings of Sir Walter Scott, a popular author among the Romantics. He included a harp in the work as he thought of it as a Scottish instrument, along with the violin. Although Bruch never visited Scotland until three years after he composed the piece, he had an interest in folk music and used some Scottish folk tunes in the work.
Bruch wrote the work at the request of the Spanish virtuoso Pablo Sarasate. Bruch wrote the first half of the work very quickly, and contacted Sarasate and requested a meeting to discuss its progress. Sarasate failed to reply, and Bruch then turned to Joseph Joachim who advised him and in return Bruch asked him to give the premiere of the work. Bruch was not pleased with Joachim's performance, and he reconciled with Sarasate who went on to play the piece with great success.
The Scottish Fantasy is in four movements: I. Introduction; Grave - Adagio cantabile -The introduction is dark and represents Scotland, the land of myth and mystery. The Adagio cantabile is the beginning of the first movement and is based on the Scottish tune Through the Wood Laddie.
II. Scherzo; Allegro -The next movement is based on the song The Dusty Miller and is played on the violin while the orchestra plays a bagpipe-like accompaniment. There is a short transition to the third movement and a fragment of Through The Wood Laddie is heard.
III. Andante sostenuto -Bruch uses a derivative of the tune I'm A' Doun for Lack O' Johnnie to showcase the lyrical singing of the solo violin. The movement grows quiet and ends peacefully.
IV. Finale; Allegro guerriero -The last movement is based on the song Scots, Wha Hae and other tunes. Bruch varies the main tune, interlaces it with other tunes. The directions Allegro guerriero (fast and war-like) may be a clue that the music is a tribute to the Scottish history of courageousness in battle. A part of Through The Wood Laddie makes one final appearance before the work ends.
When Niccolo Paganini wrote his 2nd violin concerto, he took a different route than his 1st Violin Concerto. The first is full of fiery, virtuoso doings for the violin and was written as a vehicle to show off Paganini's playing ability. In the 2nd, he concentrates more on the melodic and lyric aspects and puts a lid on some of the virtuoso pyrotechnics - but not completely. Paganini knew how to dazzle an audience, whether it was the lightning fast movement of his bow and fingers, to the achingly beautiful melodies he wrote.
I. Allegro maestoso - The first movement begins with the strings playing a B minor chord in tremolos, with two major themes being stated by the orchestra before the entrance of the soloist. The orchestra plays a somewhat larger role than in the first concerto, and has some sections where it carries the structure and development of the music without the soloist. The composer in Paganini strove for more cohesive music making, rather than it being all about the soloist.
II. Adagio - Paganini made his first visit to Vienna in the first of his concert tours of central Europe in 1828. His reputation had made the rounds before his arrival, and being just as great a showman as musician, he helped fan the flames of expectation by making the social rounds before the first concert. When the evening of the concert came, the hall was not completely full, as Paganini charged what many thought was too high for a ticket. But the concert was a rounding success, and Franz Schubert had the opportunity to attend one of his concerts, and is said to have remarked, I have heard an angel sing. Perhaps this adagio movement was what Schubert spoke of. The orchestra sets the mood for the soloist in the opening of this movement. The solo violin sings an aria that shows Paganini's fondness for Italian opera.
III. Rondo à la clochette - The cohesiveness of the violin and orchestra in the first movement and the violin's singing of the operatic aria in the second are all well and good, but it is this last movement that caused the riotous success of the concerto. Paganini takes every opportunity to showcase his abilities in violin technique, some of which he developed himself. And he was very secretive about his music. His concertos were not published until after his death, at concerts he distributed the orchestral parts only at the last minute and showed no one the solo part. Clochette is French for 'little bell', and indeed a little bell is heard throughout the movement, with the soloist imitating it with harmonics on occasion. The movement was such a success that it spawned all kinds of transcriptions and popular arrangements of it. Franz Liszt used it in his interpretive set of six Paganini compositions, Grandes Études de Paganini.
