1st Symphony (Scriabin)
Alexander Scriabin's 1st Symphony in E major was completed in 1900 and published as op. 26 by the Russian composer. The six-movement work uses vocal soloists and choir for the first time in Russian symphonies beyond the instrumental setting.
Emergence
Scriabin, who had held a piano professorship at the Moscow Conservatory since autumn 1898 , composed his 1st symphony between summer 1899 and April 1900 in Moscow . However, it is not his first orchestral work: It was preceded by a symphonic Allegro (1896) (which he did not orchestrate to the end ), the Piano Concerto in F sharp minor op.20 (1896–97) and the short Rêverie op.24 (1898) .
Instrumentation
The score provides for the following scoring : three flutes (3rd also piccolo ), two oboes , 3 clarinets , two bassoons , four horns , three trumpets , three trombones , tuba , timpani , glockenspiel and strings , in the last movement also mezzo-soprano and tenor solo , mixed choir and harp .
Characterization and sequence of sentences
The performance of the six-movement work is around 45 to 50 minutes. The six-movement structure can be derived from the classic four-movement symphony , whereby both the slow introduction of the first movement and the final part of the last movement (a vocal apotheosis based on the model of Beethoven's 9th symphony ) become independent movements.
The harmonic foundations of the 6 movements are based on the following key plan: E major, E minor, B major, C major, E minor and E major. There are multiple references between the topics of the individual sentences, so the introduction to the final sentence is linked to the end of the first sentence.
- I. Lento
From a contemplative-lyrical attitude and reminiscent of the previous orchestral composition Rêverie . Is dominated by three themes: the first diatonic , the second chromatic , the third pentatonic .
- II. Allegro dramatico
The sonata form following. The main theme is characterized by short, aspiring motif elements, which are followed by a cantable page movement.
- III. Lento
Follows the ABA scheme, there is a Tristan harmonics reminiscent of Wagner .
- IV. Scherzo (Vivace)
Conceived as a scherzo with trio, characterized by distinctive instrumentation with piccolo and glockenspiel.
- V. Allegro
Again following the sonata form and representing the function of the instrumental finale.
- VI. Andante
After an instrumental introduction, the two vocal soloists first sing the first two stanzas of a six-stanza "Hymn to Art" composed by Scriabin himself. A strict fugue dominates the subsequent choir section .
World premiere and reception
The first performance of the symphony without the finale took place on November 11, 1900 in St. Petersburg , headed by Anatoly Liadov , the first complete performance the work came on March 16, 1901 in Moscow, led by Vasily Safonov .
The reaction of the Russian specialist critics was mostly negative or indifferent. Above all, the choir finals, which were sometimes perceived as ostentatiously academic, caused offense, which induced some conductors of later performances to omit the 6th movement. Mitrofan Beljajew , the patron and publisher of Scriabin (whose publisher also published the 1st Symphony ), was not very pleased with his ambitions for large-scale, elaborate works and urgently advised him not to start his next symphony with a choir (which Scriabin initially planned, but then failed).
literature
- Igor Fjodorowitsch Belsa: Alexander Nikolajewitsch Scriabin . Verlag Neue Musik, Berlin 1986. ISBN 3-7333-0006-8
- Gottfried Eberle: I create you as a diverse unit. Lines of development in Alexandr Scriabin's symphonies . In: Alexander Scriabin and the Scriabinists. Edited by Heinz-Klaus Metzger, Rainer Riehn. Music concepts. Vol. 32/33. edition text + kritik, Munich 1983, pp. 42–68. ISBN 3-88377-149-X
- Wulf Konold (Ed.): Lexicon Orchestermusik Romantik. SZ . Piper / Schott, Mainz 1989. ISBN 3-7957-8228-7
- Sigfried Schibli: Alexander Scriabin and his music . Piper, Munich / Zurich 1983. ISBN 3-492-02759-8