From the cradle to the grave
From the cradle to the grave is the last symphonic poem (No. 13) by Franz Liszt . It was composed in Rome in 1881/82 . He received the inspiration for this from a drawing by the Hungarian painter Mihály Zichy . It is one of his late works.
To the music
The work is divided into three parts: “The cradle”, “The struggle for existence” and “To the grave: the cradle of future life”. Nevertheless, the work should sound closed. The cradle is very sparingly instrumental, almost chamber music with violins, violas, harp and flutes. The main theme characterizes weighing and is transformed in the 2nd part in such a way that it sounds "plaintive" (dolente) . The third part is harmoniously very future-oriented, again the cradle theme is reshaped, this time it appears to be in agony. The work ends with a solo passage from the cello. It paints a strange mood of transition from life to death.
The tonal language of the work differs from that of its other symphonic poems. For large stretches of the work there is no need for a huge orchestral apparatus, especially the beginning seems like chamber music; Many islands of sound are formed in which the musical material is poor, and solo parts often appear, especially at the end of the movements. The harmony used is also a harbinger of the coming times.
Reception and playback
From the cradle to the grave it has been recognized again since the end of the Second World War. Before that, it was dismissed as “an error of a greisen” ( Peter Raabe ) and does not appear in any of Liszt's works guides under the genre symphonic poetry.
Literature and Sources
- Study score From the cradle to the grave , Eulenburg-Verlag
- Harenberg, cultural guide concert . Meyers Lexikonverlag, Mannheim 2006, ISBN 978-3-411-76161-6 .