1st symphony (Mendelssohn)

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The Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11 ( MWV N 13 ) by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy is a romantic symphony in four movements . The performance lasts approx. 30 minutes.

Historical background

The symphony was written in 1824. The work of the 15-year-old composer is still in the tradition of the twelve string symphonies of his youth. Mendelssohn initially referred to the symphony as his No. 13, but later counted it as his first “fully valid” symphony, probably not least because of the first use of the full orchestra of Beethoven's time with winds . Ten years later, Mendelssohn wrote about his first symphony:

“I'm actually sorry that my C minor symphony is to be made in his concerto, as this piece is over 10 years old (op. 11) and does not at all fit into my current work. If you can still prevent the execution, do me a favor; if you cannot, it will be easy for you to say in one way or another among your acquaintances that this symphony is Op. 11, that is, that it was made by a boy who was barely 15 years old, that it had been with the publisher for 6 years, that it was performed in a concert in Leipzig 7 years ago, etc. I would love to see it in public before the Performance, and if you can arrange it, you would be doing me a favor, because the piece seems really childish to me . "

The first performance probably took place on November 14, 1824 at a private concert on the birthday of Mendelssohn's sister Fanny . The first public performance took place on February 1, 1827 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus under the direction of Johann Philipp Christian Schulz . Mendelssohn later dedicated the work to the Royal Philharmonic Society , London . For the English premiere in London on May 25, 1829, Mendelssohn replaced the third movement with the Scherzo from his Op. 20 Octet. However, when it went to press in 1830, he restored the original version.

occupation

Two flutes , two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , timpani , first violin , second violin, viola , cello , double bass

construction

  1. Allegro di molto
  2. Andante
  3. Menuetto. Allegro molto
  4. Allegro con fuoco

Work description

The work is still clearly committed to the model of the symphonies of the Viennese Classic . Above the echoes of Beethoven's 5th Symphony and Haydn's 95th Symphony , the individual traits were given too little attention in the reception of the work for a long time.

The first movement in sonata form is in C minor, the side movement in E flat major. The development and recapitulation are shortened, but the extensive coda , which is, as it were, a second development, shows a tendency towards a latent four-part structure, which Mendelssohn also recurs in later works.

The second movement in E flat major is a mixture of the shortened sonata movement and rondo . The dominant main theme is constantly varied in its accompaniment and thus illuminated in all possible facets.

The minuet in C minor has echoes from Mozart's G minor symphony KV 550 . The trio part shows more individual features, but the return to the minuet makes use of Beethoven's 5th symphony.

The final movement is again a sonata movement in C minor, which is thematically related to the main theme of the first movement. The secondary theme is first introduced as a string pizzicato and then repeated as an accompaniment to a lyrical clarinet melody. The lead-through part ends in an elaborated joint .

literature

  • Wulf Konold : Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 11. In: ders. (Ed.): Lexicon Orchestermusik Romantik I – R. Schott / Piper, Mainz / Munich 1989, ISBN 3-7957-8227-9 , pp. 468-471.
  • Rudolf Kloiber : Handbook of the classical and romantic symphony. 2nd expanded edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden 1976, ISBN 3-7651-0017-X .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Letter from Mendelssohn to Henriette Voigt, Düsseldorf, April 10, 1835; in: Eight letters and a facsimile by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy . Friedrich Wilhelm Grunow, Leipzig 1871, p. 19 f.