2nd symphony (Schubert)

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The Symphony no. 2 B-Dur (D 125) is a symphony of Schubert .

Emergence

Schubert wrote his Symphony No. 2 from December 1814 to March 1815 and dedicated it to Innocenz Lang, the director of the Wiener Stadtkonvikt, which Schubert had attended from 1808 to 1813. It is not known whether the symphony was also performed by the town council; the existence of the set of parts speaks for it; the errors contained in the voices speak against it. However, the first real public performance of the symphony took place 49 years after Schubert's death in London in 1877 by the music researcher George Grove , who performed all of the Schubert symphonies during this time.

The symphony was published in 1884 as part of the “Old Complete Edition” of all Schubert symphonies edited by Johannes Brahms by Breitkopf & Härtel .

To the music

Orchestral line-up

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

1st movement: Largo - Allegro vivace

With 614 bars, the first movement is one of the longest in Schubert's symphonic work and is only surpassed by the first movement of his " Great C Major Symphony ". Like the rest of the symphony, it is characterized by repetitions of the musical material. Its theme is similar to the main theme of Ludwig van Beethoven's 1st Symphony and Beethoven's overture The Creatures of Prometheus , but is processed in a different way by Schubert than by Beethoven.

The movement begins with fanfare-like, dotted triad repetitions of the winds, which are followed by a contrasting arabesque of the strings, which control the triad notes and dissolve the triad. The slow introduction to this movement differs from other conventional symphony introductions; Echoes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 39 in E flat major, K. 543, suggest an orientation towards this work.

In the exposition , the main movement is first heard in the basic key, then on the second level (in C minor) and finally in the fifth level (in F major), the side movement again in the fourth level (in E flat major ). The cantable secondary movement, which is closely related to the main movement, is similar in melody and structure to the main theme of Mozart's 12th Piano Concerto in A major, KV 414 .

The recapitulation repeats the main movement on the fourth degree in E flat major, then on the VI. Degree, not in F minor, but in G minor and finally in the 1st degree. In this context, the musicologist Hans Joachim Therstappen speculated that Schubert "[...] is often losing control of his material". With regard to the inserts in the recapitulation, Therstappen accuses Schubert of "schematism" . In this case, as musicologist Wolfram Steinbeck explains, Schubert should have set the main movement not in G minor but in F minor and the secondary movement not in B major but in A flat major.

2nd movement: Andante

The theme of the second movement is varied five times until the movement is finally closed by a coda . It is the only set of variations within Schubert's symphonic works. From variation to variation there is a further development away from the topic.

Variation I manages without a bass part. Variation II is performed by cellos and double basses , while Variation III again dispenses with the bass part and dissolves the theme in figurations. The latter also happens in Variation IV, which, in contrast to the pianissimo of the other Variations, is in forte and is in a minor key (C minor). In terms of content, Variation V draws on Variation II, as both contain a syncope on the second note of the theme.

3rd movement: Menuetto. Allegro vivace - trio

Despite the movement designation Menuetto , the third movement differs from the preceding movement in its energetic style. Its structure is characterized by symmetry.

Contrary to tradition, the third movement is not in the basic key of the symphony, but in C minor.

4th movement: Presto vivace

The fourth movement of this symphony is also one of the longest among Schubert's symphonies (only surpassed by the final movement of the “Great C major Symphony”). Its main theme seems to introduce a rondo movement.

The implementation consists of two parts and has advance with the repetition of the basic rhythm and by their colors on the later style of Schubert.

It has many similarities with the first movement, one of the biggest differences is that the recapitulation in the side movement is not in the key that is usual at this point, but in G minor. Otherwise it is the same as the exposition in terms of theme and proportions.

effect

After its premiere in 1877, the English press confirmed that the symphony was very close to the models of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Joseph Haydn . But the performance attracted a lot of attention. For example, the Evening Standard wrote on October 22, 1877:

“There is certainly no need to point out that Schubert's Symphony No. II in B flat major can by no means be equated with his later works, but the performance was interesting and those responsible at the Crystal Palace deserve our sincere thanks. Mr Manns and his colleagues spared no effort for their interpretation of the symphony, loud applause was the result. "

- Evening Standard, October 22, 1877

The symphony was published in 1884 as part of the Old Complete Edition of all Schubert symphonies, edited by Johannes Brahms , by Breitkopf & Härtel . Brahms did not attest Schubert's so-called youth symphonies a high artistic value and was of the opinion that they "should not be published, but only preserved with piety and perhaps made available to several in copies" .

In his day Antonín Dvořák was one of the few admirers of Schubert's early symphonies, in which - despite the influence of Haydn and Mozart - he emphasized Schubert's individuality in the "character of the melodies", the "harmonic progression" and the "many exquisite details of the orchestration" recognized.

literature

  • Renate Ulm (Ed.): Franz Schubert's Symphonies. Origin - interpretation - effect. dtv / Bärenreiter, Munich / Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-423-30791-9 .
  • Wolfram Steinbeck: "And a romance poured out over the whole" - the symphonies. In: Schubert Handbook. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2010, ISBN 978-3-7618-2041-4 . Pp. 549-668.
  • Hans Joachim Therstappen: The development of form in Schubert, shown in the first movements of his symphonies. (= Collection of individual musicological presentations. 19.) Leipzig 1931.
  • Ernst Laaff : Schubert's Symphonies. Dissertation, Frankfurt 1931, Wiesbaden 1933.
  • Maurice JE Brown: Schubert Symphonies. BBC Publications, London 1970.
  • René Leibowitz : Tempo and Character in Schubert's Symphonies. In: Franz Schubert. Special volume music concepts. Munich 1979.
  • Brian Newbould : Schubert and the Symphony - A New Perspective. London 1992.
  • Helmut Well: Early Work and Innovation - Studies on Franz Schubert's »Youth Symphonies«. Kieler Schriften zur Musikwissenschaft, Volume 42. Kassel 1995.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Hans Joachim Therstappen: The development of form in Schubert, represented in the first movements of his symphonies. (= Collection of individual musicological presentations , 19th) Leipzig 1931, p. 32.
  2. ↑ Hans Joachim Therstappen: The development of form in Schubert, represented in the first movements of his symphonies. (= Collection of individual musicological presentations , 19th) Leipzig 1931, p. 40.
  3. ↑ Wolfram Steinbeck: "And a romance poured out over the whole" - The symphonies. In: Schubert Handbook. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2010, p. 577.
  4. ↑ Johannes Brahms ' letter to Breitkopf & Härtel from March 1884, in: Johannes Brahms: Briefwechsel , Volume 14, p. 353.
  5. ^ A b John Clapham: Antonín Dvořák. Musician and Craftsman. London 1966 (Appendix II), pp. 296-305: Franz Schubert, by Antonín Dvořák , pp. 296ff.