Great Symphony in C major

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The Great Symphony in C major , D 944, is the last symphony that Franz Schubert composed. It was premiered posthumously on March 21, 1839 in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig under the direction of Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy . Because of the value that Schubert himself ascribed to this symphony, and not least to distinguish it from his much shorter 6th Symphony , which is also in C major, it was nicknamed "the great".

According to the current state of research, the work bears No. 8 in the series of Schubert's symphonies . For more information, see below under chronological classification and numbering .

Work description

The symphony consists of four movements :

  1. Andante. Allegro ma non troppo
  2. Andante con moto
  3. Scherzo. Allegro vivace - trio
  4. Final. Allegro vivace

Performance duration: approx. 60 min

Orchestral line-up

2 flutes , 2 oboes , 2 clarinets , 2 bassoons , 2 horns , 2 trumpets , 3 trombones , timpani , 1st violin , 2nd violin, viola , cello , double bass

History and dating

For a long time, the time when the Great Symphony in C major was written was in the dark. On the first sheet of music in the manuscript of the score, the date “March 1828” is given, the year of Schubert's death. Investigations on the paper used showed, however, that this dating can neither be the beginning of the composition nor the time of a detailed elaboration. Rather, the results suggest a much earlier emergence. Current research assumes that it was created in 1825 (for more details, see below).

Furthermore, according to the musicologist Ernst Hilmar, there is the possibility that Schubert's handwriting, in which the “5” can sometimes hardly be distinguished from the “8”, was simply misinterpreted. In this case, the fact that the date was also overwritten in the direction of "1828" by a third party makes things even more difficult.

As early as the spring of 1824, Schubert wrote to his friend Leopold Kupelwieser that he wanted to “pave the way for a great symphony” by composing several instrumental works. The letter also deals with the imminent world premiere of Beethoven's 9th Symphony , which was to take place on May 7, 1824 in Vienna. In this context, Schubert wrote that he might be able to give a "similar concert" as early as next year. From this it is concluded that Schubert wanted to measure himself against Beethoven with his great symphony. In addition, it was of existential necessity for Schubert to give a concert as large as Beethoven. However, his early symphonies seemed to him unsuitable for this. They were written for and for other occasions. The claim of a "great symphony", which the work had to fulfill for Schubert, is the reason for its nickname "the great" , in addition to the distinction from the 6th symphony in C major.

Several clues indicate that Schubert in 1825 in the summer in Gmunden and later in Bad Gastein has been working on a symphony in C major.

"Gmunden-Gastein Symphony"

Schubert's letter to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde concerning the Great Symphony in C major, D 944

In October 1826 Schubert dedicated his new work to the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde . Research showed that the manuscript reached the Society's museum towards the end of 1826. However, since neither the key nor any other unambiguous work designation was recorded in the documents of the association , the thesis of the lost “Gmunden-Gastein Symphony” , which Schubert instead of the “Great C- Dur ”is said to have written that summer of 1825. This theory lasted well into the 20th century and even received a regular entry in the Schubert catalog raisonné from 1951 with the work number D 849. It was also adopted in the German edition of 1978, albeit with clear reservations.

Chronological classification and numbering

Only since the 1970s has it been proven in Schubert research that the autograph was only subsequently dated to 1828. Possibly as a date for a revision or a last revision, in order to then present it to the publishers as the new work possible. In any case, Schubert would have to have received the score back from the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde for a certain period of time.

The parts published by Breitkopf & Härtel in Leipzig in 1840 and the score that followed in 1849 were initially not numbered. The number 7 of the “Great C major Symphony” goes back to Johannes Brahms , who, as editor of the symphonies in the context of the Old Schubert Edition, placed the “Unfinished” Symphony in B minor after the “Great C major”. In order to classify the work chronologically, it was later renumbered to No. 9, whereby the draft for a symphony in E major (D 729) or the Gmunden-Gastein Symphony (D 849) was counted as No. 7. Only the new edition of the German directory in 1978 put an end to the various confusing counts and finally sorted the symphony as No. 8 in accordance with the sequence.

Nevertheless, to this day there is persistent confusion regarding numbering in practice. In the American music market in particular, counting as No. 7 or No. 9 is still quite common, which in many cases means that the numbering is completely ignored at concerts or publications. The symphony is then identified by its nickname as the "Great C major Symphony".

analysis

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1st movement: Andante - Allegro ma non troppo

The first movement of the great C major symphony is in the sonata form and comprises 684 bars. The main topic is preceded by an extensive introduction that has its own topic. The movement also includes a coda . The various parts of sentences introduction , exposure , carrying out , recapitulation and coda are not clearly separated from one another, but rather fused together by a kind of course energy. For example, the end of the introduction is only reached with the beginning of the exposition (bars 77-78).

The symphony opens with a theme in the solo horn (bars 1–8), not as a fanfare isolated from the movement, although it stands as a signal for the beginning of the movement, but as a basic musical component. The eight-stroke engine has a special shape due to its asymmetrical structure. Its motivic structure does not consist of 4 + 4, but of 3 + 3 + 2 bars. The first two three bar groups are again divided into 2 + 1 bars, with the single bar serving as a rhythmic echo of the previous bar. The two-stroke group that closes the subject has the same effect. Its echo is, however, stretched to both measures and thus restores the eight-measure order.

\ relative c '{\ set Staff.midiInstrument = # "french horn" \ set Staff.midiMinimumVolume = # 0.7 \ set Staff.midiMaximumVolume = # 1.0 \ tempo "Andante" \ tempo 4 = 80 \ key c \ major \ time 2 / 2 c'2 -> \ p d4 e4 | a, 4 .-> b8 c2 | f4 .-> d8 e2 | g-> d4 e | a, 4 .-> b8 c2 | d4 .-> e8 c2 | d2. \ pp e4 | c1}

Bars 2 and 5 are the same, while 1 and 4 and 3 and 6 only correspond rhythmically. Measures 3 and 4 are more or less the same melodically, but metrically they are opposite. Bar 6 corresponds melodically to bars 7–8, but their note values ​​are augmented . Viewed harmoniously, the theme hovers back and forth between C major and its parallel key in A minor, while the end points to C major. Despite the complexity of the subject, it seems natural, almost improvised. The naturalness can be strongly associated with the timbre of the horns. In the piano, the theme sounds as if from afar, the echo character of the two-stroke is underlined by pianissimo.

The strings and woodwinds take up the theme and bring it to the expected repetition (bars 9-16). This is followed by a modulating middle section (bars 17-28), which ends in the tutti version of the horn theme (bars 29 ff.). This is where the trumpets come into their own for the first time. Their tone color was interpreted as both threatening and solemn. In summary, the previous part of the introduction is to be understood as a song-shaped aaba 'section.

This is followed by a processing passage that brings parts of the theme in the trumpets to a large-scale increase, at the end of which there is a new variant of the horn theme (bars 59 ff.). For the first time this is clearly in C major, and with the light key, the brighter timbres of the woodwinds also return. Triplet eighth note figures in the violins increase the kinetic energy and steer towards a climax, which becomes more and more acute through increasing compression and shortening of the motif. The jubilant climax is reached with the beginning of the Allegro ma non troppo main movement of the exposition (bar 78).

The main theme comes from the second bar of the solo horn opening. This motif had already determined the end of the introduction and is primarily of a rhythmic nature. The main theme is therefore melodically less distinctive, instead it serves as a motor of movement with a festive, cheering character.

The side movement (bars 134 ff.) Abruptly stops the euphoria of the main movement and leads into a rural dance scene in which the oboe and bassoon perform a popular song, lingering harmoniously in the dominant parallel in E minor. After the repetition of the subordinate theme (bars 142–149), a typical Schubert phase of heightened feeling follows. This leads back briefly to a side movement variant in G major (bars 174 ff.), Is increased again and ends in the final part of the exposition (bars 200 ff.). This consists of a called-out question-and-answer game of the trumpets, which gradually intensifies. The distances between the trumpet calls become shorter and culminate in a glowing G major ( sixth fourth ) chord (bar 228). This is the starting point for an “Jubilus” in the entire orchestra, with which the exposition ends.

The implementation (clock 245-355) processes the topics from the exposure. At the beginning, the subordinate theme dominates (bars 254 ff.) In A flat major. From the background, however, striking upward movements of the main movement soon penetrate (measure 268 ff.). Shortly afterwards the call motifs appear in the trumpets (measure 304). These rise from A minor, E minor and C minor to A major (bars 315 ff.) To their climax. But the now expected "Jubilus" is missing this time. Instead, a quiet section (bars 327-355) is led back, which ends the development and introduces the recapitulation .

The recapitulation (bars 356–684) initially delays the fixing of the basic key of C major. Sustainably, this is only reached shortly before the end (bars 545 ff.). Otherwise one can largely speak of a recapitulation that is relatively true to tone.

In the coda (bars 570–684) the tension is increased again. She tirelessly rushes towards the climax and in the process increases into a real ecstasy. The goal is the triumphant return of the introductory theme (bars 661 ff.), Which thereby reveals itself as the main idea of ​​the movement and closes the circle at the beginning of the symphony.

Reception history

The length and difficulty of the great C major symphony were the reason why the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde initially put the work back. This did not happen, as is widely believed, because the musicians refused to study it, but rather because the work proved unsuitable as an exercise for the students of the Conservatory. The score then initially disappeared in the association's archive.

It was not until 1839, during his stay in Vienna, that Ferdinand Schubert made Robert Schumann aware of the existence of the score and immediately approached the Breitkopf & Härtel publishing house to arrange for it to be published. Ferdinand Schubert then excited Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy for the work, who premiered it on March 21, 1839 as part of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Concerts. There is no doubt that this performance took place in full, especially since contemporary reviews stated the duration as around an hour and the copy of the score used by Mendelssohn in the performance does not contain any markings of abbreviations. The concert was a complete success and led to the immediate transfer of the parts and an arrangement for piano four hands by the publisher in 1840. At the same time, Robert Schumann published a famous essay on Schubert's C major symphony in the Neue Zeitschrift für Music in which he frenetically praised the work. From this essay comes Schumann's well-known statement about the “heavenly length of the symphony, like a thick novel in four volumes by Jean Paul, for example, which can never end and for the best of reasons to allow the reader to recreate”.

Above all, however, it was due to this length of just under an hour that the symphony was slow to gain acceptance. The contemporary audience was used to much more compact works and “afterwards recreate”, as Schumann demanded, hardly anyone wanted. The symphony was then successfully performed several times in Leipzig and other parts of Germany in the following years. The Viennese public did not hear it in full length until the end of 1850.

Recently the thesis has been discussed that the symphony may have been performed for the first time on March 12, 1829 as part of a Spiritual Concert in the Landständisches Saal in Vienna . The music historian Otto Biba had concluded on the basis of a letter from Schubert's Adlatus Joseph Hüttenbrenner found in 1997 that the new “Symphony by Franz Schubert”, which is not specified in the program, must be the C major Symphony D 944. This view was cautiously received by Schubert researchers. Rather, the symphony performed on March 12, 1829 is evidently the “Little” Symphony in C major D 589 .

Trivia

At the end of the 1970s, a supposed “Sinfonia in E 1825” by Franz Schubert came into circulation (which should not be confused with the unfinished symphony in E major D 729), which was supposed to be the Gmunden-Gastein Symphony . However, after a very short time there was no doubt that this work was a forgery by Gunter Elsholz (1936–2004), which Werner Maser documented.

literature

  • Werner Aderhold (Ed.): Foreword . In: Symphony No. 8 in C , New Schubert Edition , Series V, Volume 4a. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2003 (BA 5554), ISMN 979-0-006-49713-3 (search in the DNB portal) .
  • Walther Dürr, Andreas Krause (eds.): Schubert manual . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1997.
  • Ernst Hilmar, Margret Jestremski (Ed.): Schubert Lexikon . Academic printing and Publishing house, Graz 1997.
  • Renate Ulm (Ed.): Franz Schubert's Symphonies. Origin, interpretation, effect. dtv, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-423-30791-9 / Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-7618-1490-9 .

Web links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Foreword . In: Werner Aderhold (ed.): Symphony No. 8 in C. . New Schubert edition , Series V, Volume 4a. Bärenreiter, Kassel 2003 (BA 5554), ISMN 979-0-006-49713-3 (search in the DNB portal) .
  2. ↑ Ernst Hilmar, Margret Jestremski (Ed.): "Schubert Lexikon". Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1997, ISBN 3-201-01665-9 , Great Symphony in C major, p. 172.
  3. ^ Letter printed in: Otto Erich Deutsch (Ed.): Schubert. The documents of his life . Breitkopf & Härtel, Wiesbaden 1996. p. 235.
  4. ↑ a b Walther Dürr, Andreas Krause (ed.): Schubert manual . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1997, p. 643.
  5. ↑ u. a. with the note “(? - probably identical with 994)” in the title
  6. ^ Otto Erich German : Franz Schubert. Thematic index of his works in chronological order . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1978, ISBN 3-7618-0571-3 , 849 Symphony.
  7. ↑ This is considered quite possible by research. See for example: Walther Dürr, Andreas Krause (Ed.): Schubert-Handbuch . Bärenreiter, Kassel 1997, p. 643.
  8. ^ Franz Peter Schubert's Works, Series I: Symphonies. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1884-85.
  9. ↑ This analysis is based on the general state of research in musicology. Work reviews for the “great C major symphony” can be found among others. a. in: Walther Dürr, Andreas Krause (eds.): Schubert-Handbuch , Bärenreiter, Kassel 1997, as well as in: Renate Ulm (ed.): Franz Schubert's Symphonies. Origin, interpretation, effect. dtv, Munich 2000, ISBN 3-423-30791-9 / Bärenreiter, Kassel 2000.
  10. ↑ See ibid.
  11. ^ Otto Biba: Franz Schubert and the Society of Friends of Music in Vienna . In: Schubert Congress Vienna 1978 , Graz 1979, p. 31.
  12. ^ Letter from Schumann to Breitkopf & Härtel. In: Otto Erich German : Schubert. Memories of his friends , Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1957, pp. 451–452.
  13. ↑ Peter Krause: Unknown documents for the world premiere of Franz Schubert's great C major symphony by Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy. In: Contributions to musicology . 29 (1987), p. 244 f.
  14. ^ Letter from Mendelssohn to Ferdinand Schubert. In: Otto Erich German: Schubert. Memories of his friends . Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1957, pp. 455–456.
  15. ↑ Printed u. a. in: Josef Häusler (Ed.): Robert Schumann. Writings on music and musicians . Reclam, Stuttgart 2009. pp. 174-180. See web links for an online version.
  16. ^ Otto Biba: The premiere of Schubert's Great C major symphony - 1829 in Vienna. A lucky find for the Schubert year . In: Musikblätter der Wiener Philharmoniker 51, Vienna 1997, pp. 287–291.
  17. ^ Letter from Leopold von Sonnleithner of January 20, 1861, printed in: Otto Erich Deutsch (Ed.): Schubert - The memories of his friends. 2nd Edition. Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig 1966, DNB 458893935 , p. 497 f .; also reprinted in: Renate Ulm (Ed.): Franz Schubert's Symphonies. Origin - interpretation - effect. dtv / Bärenreiter, Munich / Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-423-30791-9 , p. 170 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
  18. ↑ Allgemeine Musikische Zeitung Leipzig, May 6, 1829, No. 18, Col. 294 ff. Printed in: Till Gerrit Waidelich: Further addenda to the new edition of the documents . In: Schubert through the glasses 15, Tutzing 1995, pp. 5-45.
  19. ↑ See also: Ernst Hilmar, Margret Jestremski (Hrsg.): Schubert Lexikon . Academic printing and Verlagsanstalt, Graz 1997, ISBN 3-201-01665-9 , Gmunden-Gastein Symphony, p. 162.
  20. ↑ German translation of the quotation from Shaw : “At the Crystal Palace there is agreement among the regular visitors that a performance of Schubert's C major symphony is one of the specialties there. The analysis of the work is one of Sir George Grove's masterpieces, and Mr. Manns, the conductor, always receives special applause at the end. The orchestra is in top form when it comes to brilliance; and I have to make sure to look satisfied every time, for fear Sir George should turn around and look in my direction and, after realizing my innermost thoughts, ignore me forever. For it seems to me almost malicious to give the public such an irresistible description of the diverse grace and victoriousness of this symphony and, on the other hand, to withhold the deplorable truth that an even more annoyingly thoughtless work was never put on paper. "( The World , March 23, 1892)