4th Symphony (Draeseke)
History of origin
Felix Draeseke composed his Symphony No. 4 WoO 38 , the “Symphonia Comica”, in 1912. He noted August 22nd as the completion date. At the time the work was written, the almost 77-year-old composer was almost completely deaf andhardly noticedby the younger colleagues whom hehad reprimandedin 1906 in the warning call The Confusion in Music . In view of this situation it seemed strange that a “comical” symphony should now spring up from his pen. On the one hand, he was probably responding to requests from his circle of friends towritea comica as a counterpartto his monumental third symphony , the Symphonia Tragica , on the other hand - and that seemed to be the more important motivation - he took the opportunity to join the symphony To say goodbye to an enigmatic and witty work that caricatures both the tradition of the great romantic symphonies of the 19th century and the contemporary music scene of the time and is also not lacking in self-irony. To the conductor Bruno Kittel , who had conducted the first complete performances of Draeseke's oratorio tetralogy Christ in 1912, the composer commented on the content of the Symphonia Comica : "Just keep your head high and laugh at the lamentable!"
The first performance of the work took place almost a year after Draeseke's death on February 6, 1914 in Dresden under Hermann Kutzschbach . After that it became quiet about the symphony and it was not until 1996 that the score was first published with the support of the International Draeseke Society.
sentences
The Symphonia Comica is divided into four approximately 5-minute movements, which are structured according to relatively classic patterns:
- Moved, fiery
- Slowly, calmly
- Scherzo : Lively, brisk
- Lively, quickly
Draeseke begins his musical fun with the key indication that the symphony is "in E minor ". In fact, this supposed “main key” is usually only touched on occasionally. Since the head motif of the main theme from the first movement indicates G major , the movement is also concluded in this key and the finale ends with a unison beat on G, G major can therefore be regarded as the “real” main key of the symphony. Nevertheless, Draeseke demonstrates his great talent for rapid, unexpected modulations, so that the symphony constantly changes from one key to the other without settling on tonal points of rest for a long time.
Particularly noteworthy is the second movement, which is said to depict a "war of flies": The grandfather's calm (beginning of the sentence) is repeatedly disturbed by fly bites (trembling string figures), whereupon the grandchildren go hunting with the fly swatter bring down the pests. In a figurative sense, the sentence can also be interpreted as an ironic paraphrase of Draeseke's life as an artist, who had conflicts with music criticism throughout his life .
literature
- Krueck, Alan H .: The Symphonies of Felix Draeseke. A Study in Consideration of Developments in Symphonic Form in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century. Zurich, 1967
- Loos, Helmut u. a. (Ed.): Series of publications by the International Draeseke Society. Gudrun Schröder Verlag, Bonn 1987-1998 - Volume V: On the work of Felix Draeseke: Instrumental works and sacred music.