2nd symphony (Weill)
The 2nd symphony by the composer Kurt Weill (1900–1950), who emigrated from Germany in 1933 , was premiered in 1934 in Amsterdam by Bruno Walter .
Emergence
Kurt Weill's 2nd Symphony was commissioned by the patron Winnaretta Singer , the Princesse Edmond de Polignac, who is also the dedicatee of the work. Started in Berlin in January 1933 , the composition was interrupted in March, on the one hand, by Weill's flight to France as a result of the National Socialist takeover, and, on the other, by work on the ballet The Seven Deadly Sins . Kurt Weill was able to complete the sketch in Louveciennes near Paris in December 1933 and the score in February 1934.
World premiere and reception
After a private performance in Paris in the Hôtel particulier of Princesse Edmond de Polignac, the actual premiere took place on October 11, 1934 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam , conducted by Bruno Walter . The audience reacted positively, the criticism rather restrained, whereby anti-Semitic resentments also echoed.
Shortly thereafter, Walter conducted the symphony twice in New York, and then in Vienna in 1937. It then disappeared from concert programs for around 30 years. It had its Berlin premiere in 1975.
Cast and playing time
The score provides for the following occupation before: two flutes (both also piccolo ), two oboes , two clarinets , two bassoons , two horns , two trumpets , two trombones , timpani , percussion ad libitum ( Triangle , Gong , clash cymbals , snare drum , tenor drum , Large Drum ) and strings .
The additional percussion in addition to the timpani in the 2nd and 3rd movements is missing in the original autograph and was subsequently integrated by Weill at the request of Bruno Walter, although he too did away with it after the premiere.
The performance lasts about 25 to 28 minutes.
Structure and characterization
The three movements of the symphony have the following tempo markings:
- Sostenuto - Allegro molto
- largo
- Allegro vivace - Presto
The first movement follows the sonata form with a slow introduction, the second is a funeral march, the third a rondo , whose tarantella- like coda is based on the funeral march theme of the second movement. "In the clarity and brilliance of the sound, Weill [...] reveals his affinity for Mozart's music, while the romantic and folk features of the work show what he learned from Schubert and Mahler."
Weill did not want the symphony to have any programmatic meaning and only reluctantly conceded the name “Symphonic Fantasy” to Walter, who wanted a more graphic title.
Individual evidence
- ^ Foreword to the score, B. Schott's Sons, Mainz; Ed. David Drew.