Moving to the quiet town of Dresden in 1845 was a decision made to accommodate his illness and slow down the pace of life. This Finale, one of Schumanns most formally original and successful movements, unfolds in three large sections. It is indeed spring. 2 and Carnival of the Animalsthe second pianist is Gina Alice Redlinger (October 12); conductor Nathalie Stutzman makes her Carnegie debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra with Schumann's Symphony No. Robert Schumann: Symphony No. The motive is made up of notes that spell the name of B-A-C-H in the German notation (B-flat-A-C-B). . Robert Schumann: Symphony No.2 in C major, Op.61I. 132 quartet, a reverent and deeply personal statement of thanks to God, but Schumann sings of his gratitude for human love, and when Haydns fanfare returns at last, we know it is a call to celebration. Interestingly, we also hear foreshadowings of the yet-to-be-written Brahms symphonies. Los Angeles Singer Songwriter & Musician. Anda. Symphony No. By accepting all cookies, you agree to our use of cookies to deliver and maintain our services and site, improve the quality of Reddit, personalize Reddit content and advertising, and measure the effectiveness of advertising. But as well as paying homage to Bach and to Beethoven (the Ludwig of songs, not the imposing symphonist), the C major second symphony is also rooted in the crisis in Schumann's personal life. As bad luck would have it, their quarters there afforded a view of a nearby . (O, turn, O turn and change your course/In the valley, Spring blooms forth!"). This is not Gardiner's first cycle; it has been . By the mid 1840s, Robert Schumann, in his 30s, was on the cusp of a new kind of composition. Symphony No. Theme by theme, Schumann works his way back through the symphony- first reworking Bachs Musical Offering motive, then gradually returning to the ideas of earlier movements, particularly the themes of the symphonys opening. This foggy and uncertain opening initiates a great symphonic journey which culminates in ultimate triumph in the final movements coda. Advertisement. It is April 1849, and over the course of the last fifteen months . The development section begins with a sudden harmonic turn. Yet despite Schumann's protestations, this isn't a piece that mawkishly wears its heart on its sleeve. Schumanns development continues the emotional storm, and there is no repose. COMPOSED: Between the spring of 1825 and the winter of 1826. He started composing the work just before that second visit to Cologne, beginning the first movement November 2. Marianne Williams Tobias, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, 2016. Also in the Rhineland, where Schumann lived from 1850 and was the music director of the city, the premiere of the final version of the fourth symphony took place in . This concert season, there were four (!) ", Learn how and when to remove this template message, http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000040704, Journal of the American Musicological Society, International Music Score Library Project, Program notes from a Richmond Symphony concert, Program notes from a Filarmonica della Scala concert, Listings of live performances from Bachtrack, Five Pieces in Folk Style for cello and piano, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Symphony_No._2_(Schumann)&oldid=1074171794, Articles that may contain original research from February 2022, All articles that may contain original research, Articles with International Music Score Library Project links, Articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0. With Mendelssohn's encour- agement, the task was finally completed and Mendelssohn led the premiere with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on Novem- ber 5, 1846. Eventually those trumpets and drums formed a striking motto, which pervades the entire work. Listening Guide for the Second Movement. His book, Walls of Circumstance, examined the work of eleven little known . This is music that, while certainly obsessive in its use of repetition, is in a constant state of metamorphosis, with intervals and harmonies constantly shifting, much like the string-theme in the introduction. He found that listening to music caused him acute physical pain: I really have not been able to listen to music for quite some time, it cuts into my nerves as with knives. Although Schumann suffered from anxiety and melancholy during his illness, he sensed that his symptoms were physical in origin, and modern research has now confirmed that his condition during those months was very likely brought on by the syphilitic infection that would eventually kill him. comb offered an insightful reading of Schumann's Second Symphony in terms of what he argues is Schumann's logic. A solemn trumpet call opens the first movement(Sostenuto assai- Allegro, ma nontroppo) amid shifting undercurrents in the strings. Hilbert Circle Theatre The slow movement is the most contemporary in its aching, restrained emotion and ancient of the symphony, given that the main melody is based on a work of Bach's that Schumann had recently been studying, the Musical Offering. Nor, as things turned out, did it matter where he lived. We feel as if weve joined music already in progress, with the trumpet motive (which enters alone on beat one) and the strings floating past each other as independent strands of sound. A reference to the third movements main theme returns in the solo clarinet (31:42). In previous seasons, there have been only few occasional performances of Schumann 2 if any at all. 2; Symphony No. Don't miss Schumann's Symphony No. Schumanns second symphony has always been one of my favorites ever since I heard it for first time many years ago. All four movements are in C major, except the first part of the slow movement (in C minor); the work is thus homotonal: A typical performance lasts between 35 and 40 minutes. Music, in fact, was not nearly so highly prized in Dresden as literature and the visual arts. We know now that the musical voices playing in Schumanns mind were the first echoes of theSymphony No. This is an indispensable record. The musicians conclude with Schumann's Fourth Symphony, completed in 1841 initially but then considerably revised before a publication in 1851: Johannes Brahms . Mahler re-used the second and fourth songs in his First Symphony. 38 "Spring" (with Score)Composed: 1841Conductor: Zubin MehtaOrchestra: Wiener Philharmoniker00:00 1. "Back from B-A-C-H: Schumanns Symphony No. David Zinman's new budget-priced set of the Schumann symphonies goes a step beyond his 1989 recording of these works with the Baltimore Symphony (on Telarc). 1. Clearly, the composer was feeling better, and he affirmed his health and stabilization in the optimism of this movement. Later, this vintage melody is shared by the oboe and swells to a surging climax against poignant trills from the strings. Performed by the Fort Collins Symphony on the concert Intense . With Mendelssohns encour- agement, the task was finally completed and Mendelssohn led the premiere with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on Novem- ber 5, 1846. Great article! 2. . Dresden. Schumann's symphony is a gift of a new kind of symphonic song for the mid 19th century. 120 that Schumann worked on late in 1851 was actually a revision of the work he composed a decade earlier as his Second Symphony. this forward urge that for example Wolfgang Sawallisch in a classic recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden so admirably rendered, flickers on and . ), Here is something truly symphonic, a gesture worthy to introduce a great work, I sketched it at a time when I was ailing, and I may well state that it was, as it were, the power of resistance of spirit that has influenced my work, and by which I have tried to prevail against my physical condition. What went wrong at the Dresden premiere of Schumann's second symphony? Sprightly tunes bounce from the orchestra in rapid succession. So it is this music seems determined to spin out of control, building to a frenzied climax and a fortissimo fermata on the dominant chord. [1] His depression and poor health, including ringing in his ears, prevented him finishing the work until October 19. The strategic shift above can be ascribed to his intensive study of counterpoint in the same year with his wife, Clara Schumann. Hugs from The Man of Steel- Lee Steels. It was better received after a second performance some ten days later. World premiere: November 5, 1846, in Leipzig, with Felix Mendelssohn conducting . 1 in B major, Op. As the conductor Kenneth Woods says, there's a combination here of a Bachian choral prelude and a possible quotation from Haydn (that simple fanfare is a version of the music Haydn uses at the start of his last symphony, number 104; but if it's a conscious reference, Schumann replaces Haydn's assurance with shadows, ambiguities, and doubts). The Symphony No. Robert Schumann wrote these words to his friend, Felix Mendelssohn, in September, 1845. The trumpets return with a "call to awaken" in Schumann's First Symphony, bringing the New World Center to life and officially kicking off NWS's 34th season. Sostenuto assai - Allegro ma non troppo (00:00)II. Work composed: 1799-1800 Most recent Oregon Symphony performance: September 29, 2014; Carlos Kalmar, conductor With Mendelssohns encour- agement, the task was finally completed and Mendelssohn led the premiere with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra on Novem- ber 5, 1846. By 1871, a performance of the Dietrich symphony evoked from one critic the comment that 'the decision to write a symphony, and the happy execution of this decision . 32 E. Washington St There is also the strong influence of Schuberts Ninth Symphony (also in C), with its dialogue between choirs of instruments (strings vs. winds, for example), and exuberantly repeating triplets in the winds and brass. Schumann melts the boundary from the introduction into the main allegro through a masterly transition that pulls the rug from under you, and he makes the whole first movement rhythmically and harmonically unstable, so the tunes you hear on the surface are being continually buffeted by strange undercurrents and disturbances. Review: Schumann - Symphonies Nos. About the author (2012) Eric Frederick Jensen taught at Denison University and the University of Illinois. Bach is invoked in the very first bars of the symphony, as Schumann opens the piece with an Introduction (Sostenuto assai) that is, in essence, a chorale prelude; one of the most Bachian of forms. By the beginning of 1845, Schumanns health gradually began to improve, and he embarked on an intense study of counterpoint, immersing himself in the music of J.S. 49. r/Frasier. 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