1st symphony (Krenek)

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The 1st Symphony op. 7 by Ernst Krenek (1900–1991) was premiered in 1922 in Berlin by Hermann Scherchen and the Berlin Philharmonic .

Origin and premiere

Ernst Krenek's 1st Symphony was composed in 1921 while still studying with Franz Schreker , whom Krenek had followed from Vienna to Berlin in 1920 . The early twenties marked a productive creative phase for the composer: In 1921, in addition to the 1st symphony, he wrote two string quartets and the 1st Concerto grosso, and in the following year Krenek created his 2nd and 3rd symphonies. As Krenek found self-deprecatingly in retrospect, he saw himself called at the time "to make the next important contribution to the development of the symphony after Mahler ."

His 1st String Quartet, Op. 6, premiered in 1921 and in which Krenek broke with tonality for the first time , had already attracted broader attention from music critics. The first performance of the 1st symphony took place on March 12, 1922 with the Berlin Philharmonic under the direction of Hermann Scherchen, who was to perform further world premieres of Krenek's works. Krenek's 1st Symphony was a sensational success not only in the press, but also with the public, which included Wassily Kandinsky and Walter Gropius , among others .

Cast and characterization

The score provides for the following scoring : 2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , bass clarinet , 2 bassoons , contrabassoon , 4 horns , 2 trumpets , 2 trombones , tuba , timpani , percussion and strings .

The performance lasts about 30 minutes.

Krenek's 1st Symphony is in one movement, but can be divided into nine sections:

  1. Vivace - Lento
  2. Andante con moto - Andante sostenuto - Allegro vivace - Vivace
  3. Larghetto
  4. Allegro ma non troppo
  5. Presto
  6. A tempo - flowing (like No. 2)
  7. adagio
  8. Gap. (string. al) Allegro - Tempo I (Vivace) - Poco meno - Lento
  9. Prestissimo - Tempo I (Vivace) - (rit. Al) Lento

The work makes use of an atonal , polyphonic and rhythmically aggressive composition that does not shrink from dissonance . A virtuoso, toccata-like string introduction, which several times acts as a transition, ensures a formal connection . Several thematic figures are brought together in an extensive joint , and the BACH idea also appears there .

The composer points to structural similarities with his first string quartet, which is also one-movement: “Again, the thematic substance was largely standardized, the various themes gradually became similar and revealed themselves as different expressions of the one basic idea that had brought them to life. This basic idea was like a "geometrically" organized pattern [...]; it was a wedge-shaped expanding melodic thought with characteristic downward jumps in fourths at the end. I am fairly certain that at that time I was already well acquainted with Schoenberg's First String Quartet, probably also the Second and the Chamber Symphony , and had studied it thoroughly. […] A personal characteristic that I consider to be very successful was a quick introduction that begins with a quick and rather difficult violin passage, which gains weight and substance as it progresses. These elements reappeared at the end of the piece, so that the composition seems to come out of the empty space and return there, fading away in thin, fragmentary lines. "

On the occasion of a renewed performance of the 1st Symphony in 1932, again under Hermann Scherchen, Krenek wrote: "On the whole, it still seemed to me to be a well-rounded and quite original work that could be gained by a few suitable cuts."

At least three recordings of the 1st symphony are available: With the ORF Symphony Orchestra under Lothar Zagrosek , the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover under Takao Ukigaya and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John Axelrod .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ernst Krenek: In the Breath of Time. Memories of Modernism , 2nd edition, Hamburg, Hoffmann and Campe. ISBN 3-455-11170-X , p. 212.
  2. ↑ Ernst Krenek: In the Breath of Time. Memories of Modernism , 2nd edition, Hamburg, Hoffmann and Campe. ISBN 3-455-11170-X , pp. 302/303.
  3. ↑ Ernst Krenek: In the Breath of Time. Memories of Modernism , 2nd edition, Hamburg, Hoffmann and Campe. ISBN 3-455-11170-X , p. 302.

literature

  • Hartmut Krones: Text to the double LP Austrian Contemporary Music, Ernst Krenek: Symphonies I, II and III. ORF Symphony Orchestra / Lothar Zagrosek. Classic Amadeo 2 LP 415 825-1.

Web links