Mazeppa (symphonic poem)
Mazeppa , Symphonic Poem No. 6 is a work for orchestra by Franz Liszt . It goes back to a poem by Victor Hugo and uses musical material from Liszt's earlier, fourth Etude d'exécution transcendante . The work was written in 1850 during Liszt's time as Weimar court conductor and was premiered on April 16, 1854. The performance lasts about 16 minutes.
The program describes the story of Iwan Masepa , referred to as Mazeppa for short . Because the former page was convicted of an affair with a magnate's wife, he is tied back to back on a horse that speeds through the steppe ; thereby he should die of emaciation and exhaustion. After a few days the horse dies, and Mazeppa too is near death when he sees the vision of the conquering Cossack people . In fact, he is soon found by Cossacks who take him to Ukraine . Accordingly, the expressive and tonal musical design is not consistently shaped by the wildness of the ride that can be heard at the beginning, but also has a slow, contemplative and visionary middle section. Towards the end there is a Cossack march initiated by fanfares , symbolizing the rescue by the army and the glorious end.
literature
- Harenberg, cultural guide concert . Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim 2006, ISBN 978-3-411-76161-6 .
Web links
- Mazeppa : Sheet Music and Audio Files in the International Music Score Library Project
- Victor Hugo: Mazeppa (French)