1st Symphony (Rachmaninoff)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Symphony no. 1 d-Moll op. 13 is a symphony of Sergei Vasilievich Rachmaninow .

Origin and classification

"Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord" ( Rom 12.19  EU ) is the biblical epigram that Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote about his first great work and which also introduces Leo Tolstoy's (1828–1910) novel Anna Karenina . The young Rachmaninoff had been working on the drafts for his first symphony since January 1895 and was ready to fine-tune it by early 1896. The work "AL" is dedicated to a gypsy girl named Anna Lodizhenskaja (interesting is the parallel between Tolstoy's book title, the initials "AL" and the biblical heading). Alexander Glasunov had agreed to conduct the world premiere of the work in St. Petersburg , in which Rachmaninoff had put everything in expectation and work: his first symphony in D minor, op.13. It could be considered the last work of his youthful creative period Sergei Rachmaninoffs apply.

construction

occupation

Three flutes , two oboes , two clarinets in B, two bassoons , four French horns in F, three trumpets in B ♭, three trombones , tuba , timpani , cymbals , bass drum (in the first, second and fourth movements), triangle (in second and fourth movement), snare drum , tambourine , tam-tam (in fourth movement) and string instruments .

Sentence names

  • Grave - Allegro ma non troppo
  • Allegro animato
  • Larghetto
  • Allegro con fuoco

analysis

The four  movements, which are thematically closely bracketed - mainly through Dies irae - form a 45-minute work with a typical late romantic orchestral line-up (including tam-tam ) and a performance difficulty that should not be underestimated. The themes have their origins partly in gypsy music; Rachmaninov's lyrical , spirited and passionate personal style is unmistakable, however. "Grandiose" passages or topics are mainly in the two corner clauses; the two middle movements particularly indicate Rachmaninoff's developing sense of counterpoint and polyphony , as well as his lyrical creativity.

effect

The premiere and its consequences

The premiere of the First Symphony on the evening of March 15, 1897 turned into a fiasco. It was said that Rachmaninov ran out of the theater after the performance and walked aimlessly up and down the boulevards . The critic César Cui published his devastating review of the concert on March 29, 1897 : “... If there were a concert hall in hell and a composer was commissioned to write a symphony on the plagues of Egypt, then this new work would be more ideal for the commission Corresponding wisely ... ”(he was referring to the accumulation of dissonances that seemed to him as such , which is more likely to be attributed to Glazunov's leadership - Rachmaninov's wife later accused Glazunov of having led the premiere while drunk). The result was deep depression and an associated creative crisis, which caused Rachmaninoff to only appear as a pianist for three years and to abstain from any compositional work. Echoes of the Dies-irae motif often used by Rachmaninoff , but above all hints in the form of the first four notes (with corresponding intervals ) are contained in opus 13. The grip on the Dies irae motif probably arose from a more youthful (or, if it had already matured internally, "more romantic") fascination for the subject of death and less deep depression, as it may be with later Dies-irae - imitations was the case. Due to the disaster of the premiere, the first symphony describes a kind of turning point in Rachmaninov's (emotional) life, as it is considered one of the possible causes of his later, lifelong melancholy .

Todays situation

The work is relatively unknown to this day, as it was not performed again until 1945 under Alexander Gauk (Rachmaninoff prohibited any performances after the first performance; the score was reconstructed based on its transcription for piano four hands and individual parts). Cui's accusation of "dissonance" is unjustified, as evidenced by the recordings of Wladimir Ashkenazy (DECCA) or Mariss Jansons (EMI). Compared to the second symphony, which was written much later, you can clearly see the youthful character of the first: while the second is known for its wide-ranging phrasing , long melodies, the skilful interweaving of individual sections and its polyphony , the first has more of an effect due to its episodic thematic entries like the youth work of a talented but still maturing artist and is therefore also referred to as a “youth symphony”. The first does not come close to the second in terms of artistic maturity and compositional skill, but it certainly has its charms and, after listening to it several times, should especially appeal to lovers of the “bombastic” and rhythmically rousing Rachmaninoff.

literature

  • Alfred Beaujean: Sergej Wassiljewitsch Rachmaninow. Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 13. In: Wulf Konold (Hrsg.): Konzertführer Romantik. Orchestral music from A – Z (= SEM 8388). 2nd Edition. Schott, Mainz 2007, ISBN 978-3-254-08388-3 , pp. 601-604.
  • Ewald Reder: Sergej Rachmaninow, Life and Work (1873–1943). 3. Edition. TRIGA, Gelnhausen 2007, ISBN 978-3-89774-486-8 .
  • Andreas Wehrmeyer: Sergej Rachmaninow (= rororo monographs 50416). Rowohlt, Reinbek 2000, ISBN 3-499-50416-2 .

Web links