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Philip Hale's Boston Symphony Programme Notes

Philip Hale

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PHILIP HALE’S BOSTON SYMPHONY PROGRAMME NOTES

PHILIP HALE’S BOSTON SYMPHONY PROGRAMME NOTES

HISTORICAL, CRITICAL, AND DESCRIPTIVE COMMENT ON MUSIC AND COMPOSERS Edited by JOHN N. BURK With an Introduction by LAWRENCE GILMAN Garden City, New York DOUBLEDAY, DORAN &amp; COMPANY, INC. MCMXXXV PRINTED AT THE Country Life Press , GARDEN CITY, N. Y., U. S. A. COPYRIGHT, 1935 BY DOUBLEDAY, DORAN &amp; COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED FIRST EDITION...

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EDITOR’S NOTE

EDITOR’S NOTE

This book, assembling the musical writings of Philip Hale, draws principally upon the programme books for which he wrote descriptive notes for thirty-two years of concerts by the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Since the notes were addressed to audiences approaching the music with, presumably, open minds, the writer judiciously withheld his individual opinion. This opinion he freely expressed in his newspaper reviews of the same concerts, extending over an even longer period, and it has seemed advisa

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INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Some day an inquisitive musicologist will consider the part played in the history of musical education and musical taste by that seemingly indispensable adjunct of the symphonic concert room, the Programme Note. When that time comes, the contributions made by Philip Hale to the musical civilization of his time will appear in their true proportions. For more than a generation, from the beginning of the twentieth century to the fifth year of the Great Depression, Hale provided programme notes for

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JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

JOHANN SEBASTIAN BACH

(Born at Eisenach on March 21, 1685; died at Leipsic on July 28, 1750) No matter how well old music may be performed by chorus, orchestra, virtuoso, many audiences are bored by it today. There is one exception: the music of Bach. “He is the forerunner, the prophet that foresaw our epoch and our tastes.” This speech is often heard, as is the remark: “There is not one ultra-modern harmonic thought that is not to be found somewhere in Bach’s music.” Bach is one of the great fetishes in music. The l

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THE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS

THE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS

The six Brandenburg Concertos, completed on March 24, 1721, were written in answer to the wish of a Prussian prince, Christian Ludwig, Margraf of Brandenburg, the youngest son of the Great Elector by a second wife. This prince was provost of the Cathedral at Halberstadt. He was a bachelor, living now at Berlin and now on his estate at Malchow. Fond of music, and not in an idle way, he was extravagant in his tastes and mode of life, and often went beyond his income of nearly fifty thousand thaler

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THE CONCERTOS FOR PIANOFORTE

THE CONCERTOS FOR PIANOFORTE

Little is known about these concertos. It is supposed that the seven were formed by putting together various separate movements, or were arrangements or transcriptions for the clavier. “In all the concertos for clavier, whether for one instrument or many, there are passages for the solo instrument unaccompanied which anticipate the procedure of modern concertos, with considerable use of arpeggios , and even occasional cadenza passages. Bach follows the Italian types in the general scheme and eas

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THE ORCHESTRAL SUITES

THE ORCHESTRAL SUITES

The term “suite” was not given by Bach to the four compositions that now are so named—the suites in C major, B minor, and two in D major. He used the word “ ouverture. ” The original parts of these overtures were handed over in 1854 by the Singakademie of Berlin to the Royal (now Stadt) Library of that city. Bach probably composed the four suites during his stay at Cöthen (1717-23), as Kapellmeister to Prince Leopold of Anhalt-Cöthen. The prince was then nearly twenty-four years old, an amiable,

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LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN

(Born at Bonn, December 16 (?), 1770; died at Vienna, March 26, 1827)...

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SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN C MAJOR, OP. 21

SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN C MAJOR, OP. 21

Why debate whether the music of this First symphony is wholly Mozartian; whether there are traces of the “greater” Beethoven? Let the music be taken for what it is, music of the end of the eighteenth century. At the same time let us recall the fact that when this symphony was played in Paris a hundred years ago, two or three critics protested against the “astonishing success” of Beethoven’s works as “a danger to musical art.” “It is believed,” said one, “that a prodigal use of the most barbaric

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 36

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 36

The symphony is an answer to those who insist that the inner emotions of a composer must find a vent in the music composed at the time. Never was Beethoven more wretched physically and mentally than when he wrote this symphony, music that breathes forth serenity, beauty, gayety, and courage. In 1801 Beethoven’s deafness, which had begun with a roaring in his ears, grew on him. He suffered also from frightful colic. He consulted physician after physician; tried oil of almonds, cold baths and hot

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SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN E FLAT MAJOR “EROICA,” OP. 55

SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN E FLAT MAJOR “EROICA,” OP. 55

It is interesting to note the difference in the expression of heroism between this symphony and Strauss’s Heldenleben . To be sure, Beethoven had Bonaparte at first in mind, while in Heldenleben the hero is—Richard Strauss, defying his enemies, rejoicing vaingloriously in his immortality as a composer. It is not necessary to accept the theories of Beethoven’s commentators. The excellent Nietzel finds that, in the second theme of the first movement, “the hero, having for the first time exerted hi

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SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 60

SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 60

Of the nine symphonies of Beethoven the Fourth and Sixth are the least impressive. The First is historically interesting, and its finale is delightfully gay. The Second is also interesting as showing the development of Beethoven’s musical mind. After the Eroica , the Fourth seems a droop in the flight of imagination. Yet there are noble and strange things in this symphony, things that only Beethoven could have written: the introduction, the mysterious measures with the crescendo that majesticall

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SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN C MINOR, OP. 67

SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN C MINOR, OP. 67

As for the Fifth symphony, what words can be said of its composer more fitting than those of De Quincey’s apostrophe to Shakespeare; “O mighty poet! Thy works are not those of other men, simply and merely great works of art, but are also like the phenomena of nature, like the sun and the sea, the stars and the flowers, the frost and the dew, hailstorm and thunder, which are to be studied with entire submission of our own faculties, and in the perfect faith that in them there can be no too much o

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SYMPHONY NO. 6, IN F MAJOR, “PASTORALE,” OP. 68

SYMPHONY NO. 6, IN F MAJOR, “PASTORALE,” OP. 68

When justly read, this symphony is indeed pastoral, light-hearted, something more than a fearsome length relieved only by the little ornithological passage in which nightingale, quail, and cuckoo are neatly imitated; at least, it is fair to suppose this; we have never heard the nightingale sing. Jean Cocteau, in his amusing little book full of aphorisms designed to make the bourgeois sit up, says that the nightingale sings badly. So we must not be unduly prejudiced by praise of the bird coming f

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SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN A MAJOR, OP. 92

SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN A MAJOR, OP. 92

The rhapsodists have had their say; the commentators have pried and conjectured; the later symphonies are still sublime in their grandeur. They well-nigh express the inexpressible. Nor have the legends, fondly believed for years, done injury to the music. It matters not whether the Seventh symphony be a description of Germany exulting in its deliverance from the French yoke, or the apotheosis of the dance; whether the allegretto picture a procession in the catacombs or be the love dream of an od

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SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN F MAJOR, OP. 93

SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN F MAJOR, OP. 93

Beethoven characterized his Eighth symphony as “a little symphony” and in the same letter spoke of the Seventh as a great one; yet if Czerny is to be believed the composer was vexed because the audience was cool when the Eighth was first performed. He said, “because it is much better” than the Seventh, which was played at the same concert. Authors often pronounce strange judgments on their works, as parents often favor a stupid or unpleasant child; but this composer had a right to be proud of th

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TO JOY

TO JOY

Joy, thou spark from flame immortal Daughter of Elysium! Drunk with fire, O heav’n-born Goddess, We invade thy halidom! Let thy magic bring together All whom earth-born laws divide; All mankind shall be as brothers ’Neath thy tender wings and wide. He that’s had that best good fortune, To his friend a friend to be, He that’s won a noble woman, Let him join our Jubilee! Ay, and who a single other Soul on earth can call his own; But let him who ne’er achieved it Steal away in tears alone. Joy doth

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OVERTURE TO “LEONORE NO. 3,” OP. 72

OVERTURE TO “LEONORE NO. 3,” OP. 72

The overture is in itself a condensation of what is dramatic in an opera that has commonplace, yes, bourgeois pages. Hearing the overture, one is spared the sight of a bulbous and shrieking prima donna; of a tenor whose throat had been seriously affected by a long confinement in a “dem’d moist” dungeon; of the operetta young man and woman chatting with a flatiron among the stage properties; of four persons, each with an individual sentiment, singing the same tune in an approved scholastic form.

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OVERTURE TO “EGMONT,” OP. 84

OVERTURE TO “EGMONT,” OP. 84

Strange things have been done by conductors to Beethoven’s overture. We remember Franz Wüllner in Berlin slackening the pace in the allegro section when he came to the heavy chords that are supposed by some commentators, finders of sunbeams in cucumbers, to represent Alva, and then playing the chords with brutal emphasis and a long pause between them. Another conductor, no less a person than Arthur Nikisch, made a long hold on the short, incisive violin stroke just before the coda , and then bro

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OVERTURE TO “CORIOLANUS,” OP. 62

OVERTURE TO “CORIOLANUS,” OP. 62

Someone said—was it A. W. Thayer?—of this overture that he could not understand it—until he read Collin’s tragedy; that he could not reconcile the music with Shakespeare’s text. Pray, what would the gentleman have had? It is immaterial whether Beethoven had Collin or Shakespeare in mind. The name Coriolanus was enough, even if he knew it only from some schoolboy history of Rome; for in this music we hear the proud voice, we hear the haughty, inexorable bearing of the soldier-patrician. Nor does

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CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 4, IN G MAJOR, OP. 58

CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 4, IN G MAJOR, OP. 58

This concerto was probably composed for the most part, and it was surely completed, in 1806, although Schindler, on advice from Ries, named 1804 as the year, and an edition of the concerto published by Breitkopf &amp; Härtel states that the year 1805 saw the completion. The concerto was performed by Beethoven in one of two private subscription concerts of his works given in the dwelling house of Prince Lobkowitz, Vienna, in March, 1807. The first public performance was in the Theater an der

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CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 5, IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 73

CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 5, IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 73

There are noble pages, also moments of tenderness, in the first movement; there is a majestic, compelling sweep. In the second movement there is simplicity, serenity of contemplation, Buddhistic music of singular detachment, found only in certain measures of Beethoven and Handel; but the finale with the endless repetitions of a Kangaroo theme leads one to long for the end. Beethoven, having made some sketches in 1808, wrote this concerto in 1809 at Vienna. The town was occupied by the French fro

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CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR, OP. 61

CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR, OP. 61

Beethoven composed this concerto in 1806 for the violinist, Franz Clement, who played it for the first time at the latter’s concert in the Theater an der Wien, December 23 of that year. Beethoven, often behindhand in finishing compositions for solo players—according to the testimony of Dr. Bartolini and others—did not have the concerto ready for rehearsal. Clement played it at the concert a vista . The first movement, allegro ma non troppo , in D major, 4-4, begins with a long orchestral ritorne

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HECTOR BERLIOZ

HECTOR BERLIOZ

(Born at La Côte Saint-André, December 11, 1803; died at Paris, March 9, 1869) The more Berlioz is studied, the more the wonder grows at his colossal originality. Yet there are some who still insist that he had little melodic invention. They have ears, and they do not hear. They should read the essay of Romain Rolland, and the essay of Felix Weingartner in his Akkorde , for there are many, unfortunately, who do not trust their own judgment and are eager to accept the sayings of others who are co

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“PROGRAMME OF THE SYMPHONY

“PROGRAMME OF THE SYMPHONY

“A young musician of morbid sensibility and ardent imagination poisons himself with opium in a fit of amorous despair. The narcotic dose, too weak to result in death, plunges him into a heavy sleep accompanied by the strangest visions, during which his sensations, sentiments, and recollections are translated in his sick brain into musical thoughts and images. The beloved woman herself has become for him a melody, like a fixed idea which he finds and hears everywhere....

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“Part I “DREAMS, PASSIONS

“Part I “DREAMS, PASSIONS

“He first recalls that uneasiness of soul, that vague des passions , those moments of causeless melancholy and joy, which he experienced before seeing her whom he loves; then the volcanic love with which she suddenly inspired him, his moments of delirious anguish, of jealous fury, his returns to loving tenderness, and his religious consolations....

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“Part II “A BALL

“Part II “A BALL

“He sees his beloved at a ball, in the midst of the tumult of a brilliant fête....

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“Part III “SCENE IN THE FIELDS

“Part III “SCENE IN THE FIELDS

“One summer evening in the country he hears two shepherds playing a Ranz-des-vaches in alternate dialogue; this pastoral duet, the scene around him, the light rustling of the trees gently swayed by the breeze, some hopes he has recently conceived, all combine to restore an unwonted calm to his heart and to impart a more cheerful coloring to his thoughts; but she appears once more, his heart stops beating, he is agitated with painful presentiments; if she were to betray him!... One of the shepher

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“Part IV “MARCH TO THE SCAFFOLD

“Part IV “MARCH TO THE SCAFFOLD

“He dreams that he has killed his beloved, that he is condemned to death and led to execution. The procession advances to the tones of a march which is now sombre and wild, now brilliant and solemn, in which the dull sound of the tread of heavy feet follows without transition upon the most resounding outburst. At the end, the fixed idea reappears for an instant, like a last love-thought interrupted by the fatal stroke....

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“Part V “WALPURGISNIGHT’S DREAM

“Part V “WALPURGISNIGHT’S DREAM

“He sees himself at the witches’ Sabbath, in the midst of a frightful group of ghosts, magicians, and monsters of all sorts, who have come together for his obsequies. He hears strange noises, groans, ringing laughter, shrieks to which other shrieks seem to reply. The beloved melody again reappears; but it has lost its noble and timid character; it has become an ignoble, trivial, and grotesque dance tune; it is she who comes to the witches’ Sabbath.... Howlings of joy at her arrival ... she takes

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OVERTURE, “THE ROMAN CARNIVAL,” OP. 9

OVERTURE, “THE ROMAN CARNIVAL,” OP. 9

Berlioz’s overture, Le Carnaval Romain , originally intended as an introduction to the second act of Benvenuto Cellini , is dedicated to Prince de Hohenzollern-Hechingen. It was performed for the first time, and under the direction of the composer, at the Salle Herz, Paris, on February 3, 1844. The overture was composed in Paris in 1843, shortly after a journey in Germany. The score and parts were published in June, 1844. The chief thematic material of the overture was taken by Berlioz from his

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ERNEST BLOCH

ERNEST BLOCH

(Born at Geneva, Switzerland, July 24, 1880)...

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“SCHELOMO” (SOLOMON), HEBREW RHAPSODY FOR VIOLONCELLO AND ORCHESTRA

“SCHELOMO” (SOLOMON), HEBREW RHAPSODY FOR VIOLONCELLO AND ORCHESTRA

Mr. Bloch is most inspired when he stands firmly and proudly on Jewish ground. The well equipped composer is seen in all that he writes, but his three Jewish Poems for orchestra, his Psalms, for voice and orchestra, his Schelomo , are far above his what might be called Gentile work, even above his concerto, not to mention the cycloramic America . As he has written in an account of himself and his artistic beliefs, it is the Jewish soul that interests him: “the complex, glowing, agitated soul” th

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ALEXANDER PORPHIRIEVITCH BORODIN

ALEXANDER PORPHIRIEVITCH BORODIN

(Born at St. Petersburg, November 12, 1833; [16] died there February 28, 1887)...

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN B MINOR, OP. 5

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN B MINOR, OP. 5

Only a Russian can do justice to this music, which is wildly Russian; that is to say, the Russia of the Orient. One is tempted, hearing the repetitions of the first leading theme, a motto phrase it may be called, to say with Hamlet: “Leave thy damnable faces and begin,” but the monotony of repetition becomes irrepressive. A Russian critic was reminded more than once in the course of the first and last movements of the ancient Russian knights in their awkwardness, also in their greatness. We are

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JOHANNES BRAHMS

JOHANNES BRAHMS

(Born at Hamburg, May 7, 1833; died at Vienna, April 3, 1897) Those who like to know about composers as human beings rejoice in the knowledge that Beethoven was irascible, the despair of his landladies, given to rough joking; that Haydn was nagged by his shrew of a wife and fell in love in London with a widow; that Mozart was fond of punch and billiards; that César Franck’s trousers were too short. There are many anecdotes about the great, some of them no doubt apocryphal. In the excellent biogr

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SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN C MINOR, OP. 68

SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN C MINOR, OP. 68

Brahms’ First symphony contains remarkable pages, as those of the first movement, passages in the second, and the marvelously poetic introduction to the final allegro . Mr. Apthorp’s belief that this introductory episode may have been suggested to Brahms by the tones of the Alpine horn is not too fanciful, and this impression is made on all that have heard the horn whether in the Oberland or high up in the Canton Vaud. Brahms’ fondness for Switzerland is well known, and he had visited that count

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 73

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 73

The latest biographers of Johannes Brahms differ curiously concerning the character of the Second symphony. The excellent Walter Niemann finds a tragic undercurrent; “ghostly elements glimmering in a supernatural, uncanny way”; even “mysterious Wagnerian visions.” The equally excellent Richard Specht finds sunshine, fair days, warm winds, clarity, and tenderness. Brahms can on occasion be gloomy and crabbed enough. Why cannot Mr. Niemann, a devoted admirer of Johannes, allow him to be cheerful o

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SYMPHONY, NO. 3, IN F MAJOR, OP. 90

SYMPHONY, NO. 3, IN F MAJOR, OP. 90

Some justly prefer the Symphony in F major to the other three. It has no pages equal in imagination to the wonderful introduction to the finale of the First; it has nothing in it like the architectural grandeur of the Fourth’s finale ; but, as a whole, it is the most poetic of the four. Brahms wrote nothing more commanding than the opening of the first movement. Page after page thereafter might be cited in praise. And in this symphony the natural austerity of the composer is mellowed, his melanc

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SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN E MINOR, OP. 98

SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN E MINOR, OP. 98

Much of the Fourth symphony is melancholy and lamentful, but it is relieved by the consolatory beatitude of the andante and the elevating stateliness of the conclusion.... The austerity with which the composer has been reproached—in many instances unjustly—is here pronounced. The solidity of the structure may be admired, but the structure itself is granitic and unrelieved. The symphony has not the epic grandeur of the first, the geniality of the second, the wealth of varied beauty that distingui

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VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY JOSEF HAYDN, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 56a

VARIATIONS ON A THEME BY JOSEF HAYDN, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 56a

At Bonn, in August, 1873, Brahms with Clara Schumann played to a few friends the Variations on a Theme by Haydn in the version (Op. 56b) for two pianofortes. It is not definitely known whether the orchestral version or the one for two pianofortes was the earlier. The orchestral stands first in thematic catalogues of Brahms’ compositions, but the pianoforte version was published first—in November, 1873. The probability is that the orchestral version was the first. The autograph manuscript of Op.

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“TRAGIC” OVERTURE, OP. 81

“TRAGIC” OVERTURE, OP. 81

The Tragic overture is among the greatest works of Brahms; by its structure, and by its depths of feeling. There is no hysterical outburst; no shrieking in despair; no peevish or sullen woe; no obtruding suggestion of personal suffering. The German commentators have cudgeled their brains to find a hero in the music: Hamlet, Faust, this one, that one. They have labored in vain. The soul of Tragedy speaks in the music. Although the Tragic overture is Op. 81 and the Academic is Op. 80, the Tragic w

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ACADEMIC FESTIVAL OVERTURE, OP. 80

ACADEMIC FESTIVAL OVERTURE, OP. 80

Johannes Brahms desired to give thanks publicly to the University of Breslau because he had received from the illustrious dignitaries of that university the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. How best could he express his thanks in music? By something stately, pompous? Or by something profound and cryptic? Brahms acted with shrewdness in the matter; he took for his thematic material well-known students’ songs. These songs are familiar throughout Germany, and it is not as though a composer called up

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CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 1, IN D MINOR, OP. 15

CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE, NO. 1, IN D MINOR, OP. 15

This concerto was played for the first time at Hanover, on January 22, 1859. Brahms was the pianist; Joachim conducted. Brahms, living in Hanover in 1854, worked in the spring and summer on a symphony. The madness of Schumann and his attempt to commit suicide by throwing himself into the Rhine had deeply affected him. He wrote to Joachim in January, 1855, from Düsseldorf, “I have been trying my hand at a symphony during the past summer, have even orchestrated the first movement and composed the

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CONCERTO NO. 2, IN B FLAT MAJOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 83

CONCERTO NO. 2, IN B FLAT MAJOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 83

The choice of this concerto shows the high purpose and the pure aim; for the Second concerto of Brahms is not one to tickle the ear, stun the judgment, and provoke cheap and boisterous applause. And as the Second symphony of Brahms is to the First, so is the Second concerto of Brahms to the First. In each case, while the passion is less stormy, the thoughts are less crabbed and gnarled. Only in the first movement of the B flat major concerto does Brahms “keep up a terrible thinking.” The second

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CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR, OP. 77

CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR, OP. 77

This concerto was written, during the summer and the fall of 1878, at Pörtschach on Lake Wörther in Carinthia for Joseph Joachim, dedicated to him, and first played by him under the direction of the composer at a Gewandhaus concert, Leipsic, on January 1, 1879. Brahms, not confident of his ability to write with full intelligence for the solo violin, was aided by Joachim, who it appears from the correspondence between him and Brahms, gave advice inspired by his own opinions concerning the violini

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ANTON BRUCKNER

ANTON BRUCKNER

(Born at Ansfelden, in Upper Austria, September 4, 1824; died at Vienna, October 11, 1896) Both the admirers of Bruckner and those that dislike his music lay stress on the fact that he was born a peasant and was essentially a peasant to the day of his death, although the Rector Magnificus of the University of Vienna bowed before him when he presented him with the honorary degree of doctor. The detractors find in Bruckner’s peasanthood his salient faults. The former say that by reason of the simp

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SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN E MAJOR

SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN E MAJOR

This certainly is a gigantic work, abounding in lofty and noble pages, abounding also in trivialities, tiresome repetitions, and fussy and insignificant details. As in the other symphonies of Bruckner that we have heard, there is a lack of continuity in each movement; there are impressive preparations that lead to nothing: “In the name of the Prophet—Figs!” The composer had little sense of structure. To use Disraeli’s phrase, he was intoxicated with his own verbosity. His taste in ornamentation

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SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN C MINOR

SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN C MINOR

Bruckner’s Eighth is in all respects to be numbered with his greatest. The structure is nobler, the form more clearly recognized than in his other symphonies. There is less perplexing or boresome detail. The digressions do not cause the main line of musical argument to be forgotten. The interest is more steadily maintained. The instrumentation is richer in color and in contrasts. Above all, the invention shown, both in thematic lines and in wealth of development, is little less than marvelous, f

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JOHN ALDEN CARPENTER

JOHN ALDEN CARPENTER

(Born at Park Ridge, Ill., February 28, 1876)...

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SUITE. “ADVENTURES IN A PERAMBULATOR”

SUITE. “ADVENTURES IN A PERAMBULATOR”

Mr. Carpenter has told us in music the outing of a child. One of his first compositions was a collection of humorous Improving Songs for Children . This fondness for children as subjects for art he shares with Victor Hugo; with Swinburne, who abandoned the shrine of Venus to sing of children’s beauty and innocence—after Watts-Dunton had docked him of his rum. In the Perambulator there is no sentimentalism, no Sunday-school address to “you, little girl with the blue sash”; but his music is as his

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CLAUDE ACHILLE DEBUSSY

CLAUDE ACHILLE DEBUSSY

(Born at Germain [Seine and Oise], August 22, 1862; died at Paris, March 26, 1918) Debussy suffered at the hands of the ultra-orthodox and the snobs in music. The former could not find either melodic lines or the semblance of form in his orchestral and chamber works, his songs and pianoforte pieces. The snobs, secretly bored, thought it the thing to swoon at the mere mention of his name. In New York and Boston, as in Paris, there were “ Pelléastres ,” to use the contemptuous term coined by Jean

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“PRÉLUDE À L’APRÈS-MIDI D’UN FAUNE” (ECLOGUE DE STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ)

“PRÉLUDE À L’APRÈS-MIDI D’UN FAUNE” (ECLOGUE DE STÉPHANE MALLARMÉ)

Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun is a masterpiece of imaginative poetry in tones; it is a thing of flawless beauty. It matters not whether the symbolism of Mallarmé be cryptic or intelligible. It matters not whether the explanation of Gosse or of another be ingenious and plausible. The title is enough to give a clue to the hearer, if a clue be needed. Debussy himself has composed nothing more charming in strictly orchestral music. There is the suggestion of sunlight and warmth, fores

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NOCTURNES

NOCTURNES

Baudelaire’s prose poem, “The Stranger,” might serve as motto for the first nocturne, and for a hint to performance. “ Enigmatical man, whom do you love best? Tell me—your mother, your sister, or your brother? ” “ I have neither father, mother, sister, nor brother. ” “ Your friends? ” “ You now use a word which to this day has been meaningless to me. ” “ Your country? ” “ I do not know under what latitude it lies. ” “ Beauty? ” “ I would love her gladly; goddess and immortal. ” “ Well, what do y

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Debussy and the Sea

Debussy and the Sea

Debussy loved and respected the ocean. In 1905 he wrote from Eastbourne: “The sea rolls with a wholly British correctness. There is a lawn combed and brushed on which little bits of important and imperialistic English frolic. But what a place to work! No noise, no pianos, except the delicious mechanical pianos, no musicians talking about painting, no painters discussing music. In short, a pretty place to cultivate egoism.” At Le Puy near Dieppe, August, 1906: “Here I am again with my old friend

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“IBÉRIA”: “IMAGES” FOR ORCHESTRA, NO. 2

“IBÉRIA”: “IMAGES” FOR ORCHESTRA, NO. 2

The Images , of which Ibéria is the second movement, are remarkable in many ways and to be ranked among the first compositions of this genius. They are impressionistic, but there is a sense of form; there is also the finest proportion. This music is conspicuous for exquisite effects of color. There are combinations of timbres and also contrasts that were hitherto unknown. There are hints of Spanish melodies; melodies not too openly exposed; there are intoxicating rhythms, sharply defined, or elu

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ANTON DVOŘÁK

ANTON DVOŘÁK

(Born at Mühlhausen [Nelahozeves] near Kralup, Bohemia, September 8, 1841; died at Prague, May 1, 1904) The winning and endearing qualities of childhood were in Dvořák’s best music: artless simplicity, irresistible frankness, delight in nature and life. His music was best when it smacked of the soil, when he remembered his early days, the strains of vagabond musicians, the dances dear to his folk. One of a happily primitive people, he delighted in rhythm and color. He was not the man to translat

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SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E MINOR, “FROM THE NEW WORLD,” OP. 95

SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E MINOR, “FROM THE NEW WORLD,” OP. 95

Dvořák was an Austrian of a sort, and lived his time in Vienna, like the others. But he had Czech blood in his veins, and had, moreover, pretty well formed his style before coming to Vienna; besides, he was a peasant and had not only been brought up in, but had a native affinity for, the peasant musical atmosphere; Vienna taught him no dancing-master tricks. It is at once curious and delightful to note how, in this symphony, Dvořák sticks to his peasant dialect. Once, in the scherzo , he rises t

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EDWARD WILLIAM ELGAR

EDWARD WILLIAM ELGAR

(Born at Broadheath, near Worcester, England, June 2, 1857; died at Worcester, February 23, 1934) Nearly one hundred years ago, William Hazlitt wrote a few words concerning a speech on Indian affairs by the Marquis Wellesley, the eldest brother of the Duke of Wellington. These words may be justly applied to Sir Edward Elgar, composer of The Dream of Gerontius , two symphonies, the popular march Pomp and Circumstance , and other works familiar to our concert audiences. “Seeming to utter volumes i

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THEME

THEME

The theme, or the “Enigma,” is an andante , G minor, 4-4, of a melancholy nature, with a halting and sighing melody. A few measures of musical notation would show more clearly the nature of the following variations than any verbal description, however graphic. Elgar wrote to the late August Johannes Jaeger that he had composed thirteen variations, but, yielding to superstition, he had called the finale the fourteenth....

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VARIATIONS

VARIATIONS

I. “C.A.E.” L’istesso tempo , G minor, 4-4. The initials are Lady Elgar’s. The theme, changed in rhythm, is given to the second violins and violas tremolo; flute and clarinet in octaves. The close, pianississimo , is in G major. II. “H.D.S.-P.” Allegro , G minor, 3-8. The theme finally appears in the violoncellos and basses under a staccato figure for wood-wind, later violins. III. “R.B.T.” Allegretto , G major, 3-8. Fragments of the theme are played by oboe and violins ( pizzicato ) against a c

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MANUEL DE FALLA

MANUEL DE FALLA

(Born at Cadiz, November 23, 1876)...

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BALLET-PANTOMIME: “EL AMOR BRUJO”

BALLET-PANTOMIME: “EL AMOR BRUJO”

The suite derived from de Falla’s “choreographic fantasy,” Love, the Sorcerer , does not suffer so much by its separation from the theatrical situations, action, and stage settings as other suites arranged from ballets. There are many pages that are enjoyable as pure music without thought of a plot and the evolutions of a ballet, without the question of whether this number or that is illustrative of an episode in the ballet. If de Falla expresses the wildness of Spanish gypsy music in a fascinat

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THREE DANCES TAKEN FROM THE BALLET “THE THREE-CORNERED HAT”

THREE DANCES TAKEN FROM THE BALLET “THE THREE-CORNERED HAT”

The score calls for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, bass tuba, kettledrums, side drum, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, xylophone, tam-tam, castanets, celesta, harp, piano, and the usual strings. When the Russian Ballet visited Spain, Serge de Diaghilev was so much interested in the work of de Falla that he commissioned him to write a ballet on the subject of Alarcón’s novel, El Sombrero de Tres Picos . This balle

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CÉSAR FRANCK

CÉSAR FRANCK

(Born at Liège, Belgium, December 10, 1822; died at Paris, November 8, 1890) What a characteristic figure is this artist of the nineteenth century, whose profile stands out so boldly from the surroundings in which he lived! An artist of another age, whose work makes one think of that of the great Bach! Franck went through this life as a dreamer, seeing little or nothing of that which passed about him, thinking only of his art, and living only for it. True artists are subject to this kind of hypn

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SYMPHONY IN D MINOR

SYMPHONY IN D MINOR

As the “ Pelléastres ” for a time did Debussy harm, so the “Franckists” injured the reputation of César Franck. They insisted on his aloofness from earthly strife, joy, sorrow, passion. They proclaimed him a mystic, dwelling in the seventh heaven and hearing, if not the celestial choir, at least the music of the spheres. His compositions were of plenary inspiration: not a note could be added; not a note could be taken away. A reaction was inevitable. Younger composers, escaping his influence, we

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GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL

GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL

(Born at Halle, February 23, 1685; died at London, April 14, 1759) “Mr. Georg Frideric Handel,” Mr. Runciman once wrote, “is by far the most superb personage one meets, in the history of music. He alone, of all the musicians, lived his life straight through in the grand manner.” [29] When Handel wrote “ pomposo ” on a page, he wrote not idly. What magnificent simplicity in outlines!... For melodic lines of such chaste and noble beauty, such Olympian authority, no one has approached Handel. “With

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TWELVE CONCERTI GROSSI, FOR STRING ORCHESTRA

TWELVE CONCERTI GROSSI, FOR STRING ORCHESTRA

Handel apparently took a peculiar pride in his Concerti Grossi. He published them himself, and by subscription. They would probably be more popular today if all conductors realized the fact that music in Handel’s time was performed with varied and free inflections; that his players undoubtedly employed many means of expression. As German organists of forty years ago insisted that Bach’s preludes, fugues, toccatas, should be played with full organ and rigidity of tempo, although those who heard B

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FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN

FRANZ JOSEF HAYDN

(Born at Rohrau, Lower Austria, March 31, 1732; died at Vienna, May 31, 1809) Haydn has been sadly misunderstood by present followers of tradition who have spoken of him as a man of the old school, while Mozart was a forerunner of Beethoven. Thus they erred. Mozart summed up the school of his day and wrote imperishable music. There has been only one Mozart, and there is no probability of another being born for generations to come; but Haydn was often nearer in spirit to the young Beethoven. It i

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LONDON SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 104, IN D MAJOR (B. & H. NO. 2)

LONDON SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 104, IN D MAJOR (B. & H. NO. 2)

Haydn’s symphony is ever fresh, spontaneous, yet contrapuntally worked in a masterly manner. What a skillful employment of little themes in themselves of slight significance save for their Blakelike innocence and gayety! Yet in the introduction there is a deeper note, for, contrary to current and easy belief, Haydn’s music is not all beer, skittles, and dancing. There are even gloomy pages in some of his quartets; tragic pages in his Seven Last Words , and the prelude to The Creation , depicting

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LONDON SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 94, IN G MAJOR, “SURPRISE” (B. & H. NO. 6)

LONDON SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 94, IN G MAJOR, “SURPRISE” (B. & H. NO. 6)

This symphony, known as the “ Surprise ,” and in Germany as the symphony “with the drumstroke,” is the third of the twelve Salomon symphonies as arranged in the order of their appearance in the catalogue of the Philharmonic Society (London). Composed in 1791, this symphony was performed for the first time on March 23, 1792, at the sixth Salomon concert in London. It pleased immediately and greatly. The Oracle characterized the second movement as one of Haydn’s happiest inventions, and likened th

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PARIS SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 88, IN G MAJOR (B. & H. NO. 13)

PARIS SYMPHONIESSYMPHONY NO. 88, IN G MAJOR (B. & H. NO. 13)

The Parisian orchestra, which Haydn undoubtedly had in mind, was a large one—forty violins, twelve violoncellos, eight double basses—so that the composer could be sure of strong contrasts in performance by the string section. Fortunate composer—whose symphonies one can, sitting back, enjoy without inquiring into psychological intention or noting attempts at realism in musical seascapes and landscapes—music not inspired by book or picture—just music; now pompous, now merry, and in more serious mo

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PAUL HINDEMITH

PAUL HINDEMITH

(Born at Hanau, on November 16, 1895)...

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“KONZERTMUSIK” FOR STRING AND BRASS INSTRUMENTS

“KONZERTMUSIK” FOR STRING AND BRASS INSTRUMENTS

There was a time in Germany when Hindemith was regarded as the white-haired boy; the hope for the glorious future; greater even than Schönberg. In England, they look on Hindemith coolly—an able and fair-minded critic there has remarked: “The more one hears of the later Hindemith, the more exasperating his work becomes. From time to time some little theme is shown at first in sympathetic fashion, then submitted to the most mechanical processes known to music. Any pleasant jingle seems to mesmeriz

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ARTHUR HONNEGER

ARTHUR HONNEGER

(Born at Havre, France, on March 10, 1892)...

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“PACIFIC 231,” ORCHESTRAL MOVEMENT

“PACIFIC 231,” ORCHESTRAL MOVEMENT

Some say that Honegger had no business to summon a locomotive engine for inspiration. No doubt this music of Honegger’s is “clever,” but cleverness in music quickly palls. Louis Antoine Jullien years ago in this country excited wild enthusiasm by his Firemen’s Quadrille , in which a conflagration, the bells, the rush of the firemen, the squirting and the shout of the foreman, “Wash her, Thirteen!” were graphically portrayed. But there is majestic poetry in great machines, even in railway engines

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PAUL MARIE THÉODORE VINCENT d’INDY

PAUL MARIE THÉODORE VINCENT d’INDY

(Born at Paris, March 27, 1852; [34] died at Paris on December 2, 1931) Vincent d’Indy’s music has often been charged with the atrocious crimes of austerity and aloofness; it has been called cerebral. It is true that d’Indy uses his head, not loses it, in composition; that his music will never be popular with the multitude; it lacks an obvious appeal to those who say, with an air of finality: “I know what I like.” It is not sugary; it is not theatrical. To say that it is cold is to say that it i

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 57

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 57

The majority of the pages in d’Indy’s symphony contain music lofty and noble. Only the finale sinks below the prevailing high level, and there are fine moments in the introduction to this finale . It is natural that the influence of César Franck is shown especially in the two middle movements. So great was d’Indy’s devotion to his master that he proudly admitted the influence; but d’Indy was no mere copyist; the greatest pages of the symphony are his own. The Symphony in B flat major, composed i

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SYMPHONIC VARIATIONS, “ISTAR,” OP. 42

SYMPHONIC VARIATIONS, “ISTAR,” OP. 42

Istar , the Symphony on a Mountain Air , and A Summer Day on the Mountain were composed in the period of d’Indy’s life when he was concerned chiefly with making music, and not telling young composers how it should be made. Those three compositions, with the Symphony in B flat major, will represent him honorably in the years to come. One should not underrate his work as a teacher, his high ideals. His technic did not leave him in his later works, but his brain was more in evidence than any source

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FRANZ LISZT

FRANZ LISZT

(Born at Raiding, near Oedenburg, Hungary, October 22, 1811; died at Bayreuth, July 31, 1886) Liszt suffered as a composer from foolish adulation and still more absurd denunciation. It was not so many years ago that otherwise fair-minded musicians, professors in conservatories, composers of smug, respectable music, pianists and violinists of nimble fingers and lukewarm blood, would leave the concert hall with an air whenever one of Liszt’s works was about to be performed. Liszt also suffered fro

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A “FAUST” SYMPHONY IN THREE CHARACTER PICTURES (AFTER GOETHE)

A “FAUST” SYMPHONY IN THREE CHARACTER PICTURES (AFTER GOETHE)

Perhaps in the first movement there are a few passages that might be cut out or condensed, but no one would wish the movement “Gretchen” to be changed in any way; of all the music that is associated with the innocent maiden of Goethe’s poem, this is surely the most expressive, the most beautiful. The remorseful, crazed Gretchen is not in Liszt’s picture. We find her in the prison music of Boïto. And how paltry does the music of Mephistopheles conceived by Gounod seem in comparison with the ironi

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SYMPHONIC POEM, NO. 3, “LES PRÉLUDES” (AFTER LAMARTINE)

SYMPHONIC POEM, NO. 3, “LES PRÉLUDES” (AFTER LAMARTINE)

According to statements of Richard Pohl, this symphonic poem was begun at Marseilles in 1834 and completed at Weimar in 1850, According to L. Ramann’s chronological catalogue of Liszt’s works, The Preludes was composed in 1854 and published in 1856. Theodor Müller-Reuter says that the poem was composed at Weimar in 1849-50 from sketches made in earlier years, and this statement seems to be the correct one. Ramann tells the following story about the origin of The Preludes . Liszt, it seems, began

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PIANOFORTE CONCERTO, NO. 1, IN E FLAT

PIANOFORTE CONCERTO, NO. 1, IN E FLAT

Liszt’s E flat concerto, long the subject of scurrilous criticism because forsooth a triangle was indicated in the score, has long been the virtuoso concerto par excellence . But its virtuosity is of an unusual order. It does not display its innate quality to the precise and composed technician; it cannot be played complacently or casually. It demands an audacious, unhesitating bravura, large rhetorical phrases, bold accents, and a careless contempt for its difficulties. Its octave cadenzas sugg

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CHARLES MARTIN LOEFFLER

CHARLES MARTIN LOEFFLER

(Born at Mühlhausen [Alsace], January 30, 1861; died at Medfield, Mass., May 19, 1935)...

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“A PAGAN POEM” (AFTER VIRGIL), OP. 14, FOR ORCHESTRA, PIANOFORTE, ENGLISH HORN, AND THREE TRUMPETS OBBLIGATI

“A PAGAN POEM” (AFTER VIRGIL), OP. 14, FOR ORCHESTRA, PIANOFORTE, ENGLISH HORN, AND THREE TRUMPETS OBBLIGATI

The music of the Pagan Poem is highly imaginative. Its pages are pages of beauty and passion. The strangeness of the opening is not forced or experimental. The composer himself first saw in his mind’s eye the scene and heard the sorcerer’s chant. And here is no love song of familiar type given to caterwauling ’cellos. There is no conventional lament of approved crape and tears. A dolorous theme, broadly and nobly thought, is sung by the English horn. The spell works. Daphnis now hastens toward t

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EDWARD MacDOWELL

EDWARD MacDOWELL

(Born in New York, December 18, 1861; died there, January 23, 1908)...

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ORCHESTRAL SUITE NO. 2, IN E MINOR, “INDIAN,” OP. 48

ORCHESTRAL SUITE NO. 2, IN E MINOR, “INDIAN,” OP. 48

The music has the characteristic force and tenderness of this composer when he was writing for himself and not directly for the general public. It is not necessary to lug in any question of whether this be distinctively American music, for the best pages of the suite are not parochial—they are not national. They are universal in their appeal to sensitive hearers of any land. The movements that are the most poetically imaginative, that have the greatest distinction, are the “Legend,” “In War Time

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GUSTAV MAHLER

GUSTAV MAHLER

(Born at Kalischt in Bohemia, on July 7, 1860; died at Vienna on May 18, 1911) Those who without undue prejudice discuss Mahler the composer, admitting his faults, discussing them at length, dwelling on undeniable fine qualities, assert that his artistic life was greater than his own musical works, which, greatly planned, did not attain fulfillment and were often imitative. The sincerity of the composer was never doubted; the failure to secure that for which he strove is therefore the more pathe

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THE SYMPHONIES

THE SYMPHONIES

No. 1. D major. Begun in December, 1883; completed at Budapest in 1888; produced at Budapest, Mahler, conductor, on November 20, 1889; published in 1898. The Budapest programme described it as a “symphonic poem in two parts.” When it was performed at the Tonkünstler Fest at Weimar on June 3, 1894, through the insistence of Richard Strauss and Dr. Kretzschmar, it was known as “ Titan ” (after Jean Paul Richter’s romance). No. 2. C minor. Begun and completed in 1894. First performed at a Philharmo

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SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN C SHARP MINOR IN THREE PARTS

SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN C SHARP MINOR IN THREE PARTS

The symphony is like unto the great image that stood before Nebuchadnezzar in a vision. “And the form thereof was terrible. The image’s head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, his belly and his thighs of brass; his legs of iron, his feet part of iron and part of clay.” There are musical thoughts that are lovely and noble. By their side are themes of a vulgarity that is masked only by adroit contrapuntal treatment or by the blare of instrumentation which gives a plausible and mo

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FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY

FELIX MENDELSSOHN-BARTHOLDY

(Born at Hamburg, February 3, 1809; died at Leipsic, November 4, 1847) Mendelssohn in his maturity wrote his music as he looks in his picture, smiling and with a stickpin in his ruffled shirt. When at seventeen he wrote his overture to A Midsummer Night’s Dream , he was a romanticist. What might he not have accomplished if he had been poor and less respectable! He wrote this overture before he had been spoiled by flattery; before he became a composer of priggish formulas. Aubrey Beardsley pictur

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SYMPHONY IN A MAJOR, “ITALIAN,” OP. 90

SYMPHONY IN A MAJOR, “ITALIAN,” OP. 90

How much of Italy is there in this symphony of Mendelssohn? Suppose there were no title. The last movement might easily be recognized as a saltarello ; but how about the other movements? The first is light and gay, but there is no geographical or national mood at once established, there is no authoritative characterization. I doubt whether even a tambourine would be of material assistance. It was not necessary for the composer to go to Naples to write the andante . As for the scherzo , the horns

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OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC TO SHAKESPEARE’S LAY, “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”

OVERTURE AND INCIDENTAL MUSIC TO SHAKESPEARE’S LAY, “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM”

Translations by Schlegel and Tieck of Shakespeare’s plays were read by Mendelssohn and his sister Fanny in 1826. The overture, A Midsummer Night’s Dream , was written in July and August of that year. Klingemann tells us that part of the score was written “in the summer, in the open air, in the Mendelssohns’ garden at Berlin, for I was present.” This garden belonged to a house in the Leipziger Strasse (No. 3). It was near the Potsdam gate, and when Abraham Mendelssohn, the father, bought it, his

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CONCERT OVERTURE, “THE HEBRIDES,” OR “FINGAL’S CAVE,” OP. 26

CONCERT OVERTURE, “THE HEBRIDES,” OR “FINGAL’S CAVE,” OP. 26

In the Hebrides overture, Mendelssohn shook off his priggish formalism. He had been deeply affected by the sight of Staffa and Fingal’s Cave; he was not ashamed to translate his emotions into music without obsequious obedience to the old pedagogic traditions. Here he is poetic, picturing the wildness of the far-off scene without too deliberate attempt at realism. Here is the suggestion—and with the small orchestra of the period!—as Mr. Apthorp put it, of screaming sea birds, whistling winds, the

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CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN E MINOR, OP. 64

CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN E MINOR, OP. 64

The concerto does not call for any true depth of emotional display. The sentiment is amiable and genteel, with a dash of becoming melancholy, and the strength is the conventional strength of a man who in music had little virility. Beautifully made, a polished piece of mechanism, the concerto always, under favorable circumstances, interests and promotes contagious good feeling. Mendelssohn in his youth composed a violin concerto with accompaniment of stringed instruments, also a concerto for viol

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MODESTE PETROVITCH MOUSSORGSKY

MODESTE PETROVITCH MOUSSORGSKY

(Born at Karevo, district of Toropeta, in the government of Pskov, on March 28, 1835; died at St. Petersburg on March 28, 1881)...

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“A NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN” (“UNE NUIT SUR LE MONT-CHAUVE”); FANTASY FOR ORCHESTRAPosthumous Work Completed and Orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov

“A NIGHT ON BALD MOUNTAIN” (“UNE NUIT SUR LE MONT-CHAUVE”); FANTASY FOR ORCHESTRAPosthumous Work Completed and Orchestrated by Rimsky-Korsakov

Moussorgsky’s fantasy was composed in 1867 and was thus one of the few early Russian orchestral compositions of a fantastically picturesque nature. In the original form it was no doubt crude, for Moussorgsky had little technic for the larger forms of music; he despised “style,” and believed that much knowledge would prevent him from attaining the realism that was his goal. That he himself was not satisfied with this symphonic poem is shown by the fact that he revised it two or three times. He di

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WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

(Born at Salzburg, January 27, 1756; died at Vienna, December 5, 1791) In this life that is “so daily,” as Jules Laforgue complained, a life of tomorrow rather than of today, we are inclined to patronize the ancient worthies who in their own period were very modern, or to speak jauntily of them as bores, with their works of “only historical interest.” Mozart has not escaped. Many concertgoers yawn at his name and wonder why such men as Richard Strauss or Vincent d’Indy could praise him with glow

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SYMPHONY IN E FLAT MAJOR (KOECHEL NO. 543)

SYMPHONY IN E FLAT MAJOR (KOECHEL NO. 543)

Mozart wrote his symphony when in a condition of distress, but who would know from the music of the composer’s poverty and gloom? The iteration of the chief theme of the second movement soon frets the nerves, not from any poignancy of emotion, but from its very placidity. And how seldom in Mozart’s music is there any emotional burst as we understand emotion today! There are a few passages in the first movement of the G minor symphony, pages in certain chamber works, and in the Requiem , and ther

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SYMPHONY IN G MINOR (KOECHEL NO. 550)

SYMPHONY IN G MINOR (KOECHEL NO. 550)

It seems as if Mozart lost his classic serenity whenever he chose the key of G minor. In the immortal symphony there is, except in the beautiful, characteristically Mozartian andante , a feverishness, an intensity not to be found in his other symphonies; and so in the perfect flower of his chamber music there is a direct, passionate appeal of one theme (G minor again) that reminds one of the terribly earnest Verdi of the ’fifties. Some years ago, a prominent writer about music, a wild-eyed worsh

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SYMPHONY IN C MAJOR, “JUPITER” (KOECHEL NO. 551)

SYMPHONY IN C MAJOR, “JUPITER” (KOECHEL NO. 551)

Hearing the andante , the minuet , and the wonderful finale , one no longer questions the famous and subtle saying of Rossini. When asked who was the greatest composer, he answered “Beethoven”; he then said, “But Mozart is the only one.” Let the first movement pass with its second theme that reminds one of charming music in The Marriage of Figaro . The andante could have been written only by Mozart. There is spiritualized sensuousness; there is perfect form, exquisite proportion, and euphony. Ha

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OVERTURE TO THE OPERA, “THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO”

OVERTURE TO THE OPERA, “THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO”

Le Nozze di Figaro: dramma giocoso in quadro atti; poesia di Lorenzo Da Ponte, aggiustata dalla commedia del Beaumarchais, “Le Mariage de Figaro”; musica di W. A. Mozart , was composed at Vienna in 1786 and produced there on May 1 of the same year. The overture opens ( presto , D major, 4-4) immediately with the first theme; the first part of it is a running passage of seven measures in eighth notes (strings and bassoons in octaves), and the second part is given for four measures to wind instrum

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OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “THE MAGIC FLUTE”

OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “THE MAGIC FLUTE”

Emanuel Johann Schikaneder, the author of the libretto of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), was a wandering theater director, poet, composer, and play actor. Vain, improvident, shrewd, a bore, he nevertheless had good qualities that won for him the friendship of Mozart. In 1791 Schikaneder was the director of the Auf der Wieden, a little theater where comic operas were performed. He no doubt would have made a success of his venture, had he curbed his ambition. On the verge of failure, he made a

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CONCERTOS FOR VIOLIN

CONCERTOS FOR VIOLIN

Mozart composed five violin concertos at Salzburg in 1775. The accompaniment of the five concertos is scored for the same instruments: two oboes, two horns, strings. In 1776 Mozart wrote a sixth concerto—E flat major—with an accompaniment scored for flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, and strings. A seventh was discovered by Dr. Kopfermann in 1907. There is some doubt as to its genuineness. These concertos were undoubtedly written for Mozart’s own use. As a child, he played the violin as

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MOZART AS PIANIST

MOZART AS PIANIST

From Mozart’s letters, one learns something about his own manner of playing the piano: “Herr Stein sees and hears that I am more of a player than Beecke—that without making grimaces of any kind I play so expressively that, according to his own confession, no one shows off his pianoforte as well as I. That I always remain strictly in time surprises everyone; they cannot understand that the left hand should not in the least be concerned in a tempo rubato . When they play, the left hand always foll

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SERGE SERGIEVICH PROKOFIEFF

SERGE SERGIEVICH PROKOFIEFF

(Born at Sontsovka, Russia, April 24, 1891)...

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SCYTHIAN SUITE, “ALA AND LOLLI,” OP. 20

SCYTHIAN SUITE, “ALA AND LOLLI,” OP. 20

The ancient Scythians, wildly savage, had horrid manners and customs. Herodotus tells us at pleasing length how they sacrificed one in a hundred of their enemies to Mars; how in battle they scalped their foes and drank their blood; how they burned false prophets among their many soothsayers; how they strangled servants of their dead king and seated them upon horses stuffed with chaff to place about the monument. Truly a splendidly barbarous folk. And in his Scythian suite, Prokofieff has written

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CLASSICAL SYMPHONY, OP. 25

CLASSICAL SYMPHONY, OP. 25

Prokofieff’s symphony is a delightful little work, fresh, melodious, vivacious, with significant themes; masterly, not pedantic treatment of them; charming orchestration achieved by apparently simple means, but showing consummate skill. The first movement and the finale are in many measures truly Mozartean in mood, the larghetto and the gavotte are more modern but in no way agressively contradictory. This symphony, begun in 1916, was completed in 1917. The first performance was at Leningrad by t

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SERGEI VASSILIEVICH RACHMANINOFF

SERGEI VASSILIEVICH RACHMANINOFF

(Born at Onega in the government of Novgorod, April 1, 1873)...

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN E MINOR, OP. 27

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN E MINOR, OP. 27

The composition is a long one; it lasts about an hour. The first two movements seem by far the strongest, architecturally and emotionally. The third movement seems insufferably long drawn out and sentimental. The fourth movement gains on a second hearing—has a more decided profile, and seems less episodic. The reasons for the popularity of this symphony are not far to seek. The themes are eminently melodious, and some of them are of singular beauty; there is rich coloring; there are beautiful nu

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CONCERTO NO. 2, IN C MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE WITH ORCHESTRA, OP. 18

CONCERTO NO. 2, IN C MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE WITH ORCHESTRA, OP. 18

The concerto is of uneven worth. The first movement is labored and has little marked character. It might have been written by any German, technically well-trained, who was acquainted with the music of Tchaikovsky. The adagio and the finale have more racial spirit and are well designed to win the favor of the crowd; the adagio by its agreeable sentiment, the finale by the sharply defined themes, the hustle and rush, the crescendo of excitement, with the apotheosis, full vigor of the orchestra wit

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JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL

JOSEPH MAURICE RAVEL

(Born at Ciboure, Basses Pyrénées, March 7, 1875)...

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“MA MÈRE L’OYE” (MOTHER GOOSE), FIVE CHILDREN’S PIECES

“MA MÈRE L’OYE” (MOTHER GOOSE), FIVE CHILDREN’S PIECES

Ravel’s music is of the most delicate texture, lacework with exquisite thoughts orchestrated as for the little orchestra of ivory instruments imagined by Jules Laforgue. Although to the eye the structure of the score is simple, the performance demands the utmost skill on the part of the players and the finest taste of an imaginative conductor. It would be hard to say which of the five movements is the most beautiful in fancy. The “Pavane” has a subtle, melancholy charm. “Hop o’ my Thumb” is curi

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“DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ,” BALLET IN ONE ACT, ORCHESTRAL FRAGMENTS, SECOND SERIES “DAYBREAK,” “PANTOMIME,” “GENERAL DANCE”

“DAPHNIS ET CHLOÉ,” BALLET IN ONE ACT, ORCHESTRAL FRAGMENTS, SECOND SERIES “DAYBREAK,” “PANTOMIME,” “GENERAL DANCE”

Ravel’s cunningly and gorgeously orchestrated ballet bears separation from the stage and stage effects, the dancers and the mimes. Nor is it necessary for one’s enjoyment to be concerned with the adventures of Daphnis and Chloe. Here is something more than purple patches of instrumental color and dexterous juggling with surprising combinations of timbres. There is form, there is melody, there are ravishing harmonic devices; there is, above all, poetic imagination. Ravel composed his ballet, Daph

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BOLERO

BOLERO

Bolero does not fare the better by repetition. It is the clever trick of a super-refined composer. The trick is amazingly well performed, but it is only a trick. The surprise of a first performance does not affect one a second time. Still, there is the expectation of something going to happen, of a final, thunderous proclamation of the inherently negligible tune. According to the old saw, surprise is the chief element of wit. Perhaps—but honest laughter follows the first cracking of a joke. Afte

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OTTERINO RESPIGHI

OTTERINO RESPIGHI

(Born on July 9, 1879, at Bologna, Italy)...

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SYMPHONIC POEM, “PINES OF ROME”

SYMPHONIC POEM, “PINES OF ROME”

Respighi wrote Pines of Rome as a companion piece to his Fountains of Rome . He may yet write “ Hills of Rome ,” but it would have to be in seven movements. In the Fountains of Rome he set no bird a-singing. In the third section [of the Pines of Rome] “Pines of the Janiculum,” he introduces a nightingale. Perhaps he had in mind the reply of the good King Agesilaus, who, when a man was recommended to him as a skillful imitator of that justly famous bird, replied: “I have heard the nightingale its

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NICOLAS ANDREJEVITCH RIMSKY-KORSAKOV

NICOLAS ANDREJEVITCH RIMSKY-KORSAKOV

(Born at Tikhvin, in the government of Novgorod, March 18, 1844; died at St. Petersburg, June 21, 1908)...

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SYMPHONIC SUITE, “SCHEHERAZADE” (AFTER “THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT”), OP. 35

SYMPHONIC SUITE, “SCHEHERAZADE” (AFTER “THE THOUSAND NIGHTS AND A NIGHT”), OP. 35

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an argument for his score. The music is in illustration of Sindbad the Sailor , the storm at sea, the shipwreck, the tale of one of the three Kalandars, a tale of a prince and a princess. The argument is not wholly clear, and probably this was the composer’s intention. What prince and what princess? There are so many in The Thousand Nights and a Night . Who will be so rash as to name the one of the three Kalandars? In the last movement there is a festival at Baghdad, and lo

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CAPRICE ON SPANISH THEMES, OP. 34

CAPRICE ON SPANISH THEMES, OP. 34

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio Espagnol was performed for the first time in St. Petersburg at a Russian Symphony concert, October 31, 1887. The composer conducted. The caprice was published in 1887, yet we find Tchaikovsky writing to Rimsky-Korsakov in 1886 (November 11): “I must add that your Spanish Caprice is a colossal masterpiece of instrumentation, and you may regard yourself as the greatest master of the present day.” Rimsky-Korsakov wrote in his Autobiography : “The opinion formed by both c

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CHARLES CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

CHARLES CAMILLE SAINT-SAËNS

(Born at Paris, October 9, 1835; died at Algiers, December 16, 1921) An enemy of Saint-Saëns—and Saint-Saëns made enemies by his barbed words—might have applied to him the lines of Juvenal: Grammaticus, rhetor, geometres, pictor, aliptes, Augur, Schoenobates, medicus, magus, omnia novit. Graeculus esuriens in coelum, jusseris, ibit — [42] for Saint-Saëns was not satisfied with the making of music or the career of a virtuoso. Organist, pianist, caricaturist, dabbler in science, enamored of mathem

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SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN C MINOR (WITH ORGAN), OP. 78

SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN C MINOR (WITH ORGAN), OP. 78

Saint-Saëns’ Symphony in C minor has the finest and most characteristic qualities of the best French music: logical construction, lucidity, frankness, euphony. The workmanship is masterly. There is no hesitation. The composer knew exactly what he wanted and how to express himself. A few of the themes that when first exposed might seem to some insignificant assume importance and even grandeur in the development. The chief theme of the adagio , the theme for strings, is very French in its sustaine

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ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

ARNOLD SCHOENBERG

(Born at Vienna, September 13, 1874)...

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“VERKLÄRTE NACHT” (RADIANT NIGHT), ARRANGED FOR STRING ORCHESTRA, OP. 4

“VERKLÄRTE NACHT” (RADIANT NIGHT), ARRANGED FOR STRING ORCHESTRA, OP. 4

Schoenberg’s music, to be enjoyed, does not need either the original verse or the paraphrase. Indeed, it would be better if the argument were not printed for the concertgoer. As it is, he may be too anxious to discover the emancipated woman and the good, easy-going, complaisant man in the music, and be oblivious of the strains of beauty and passion. For this music, on the whole prolix, has beautiful and passionate pages of compelling eloquence. Other pages are a sandy, dreary waste. The impressi

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FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT

FRANZ PETER SCHUBERT

(Born at Lichtenthal, near Vienna, January 31, 1797; died at Vienna, November 19, 1828) Schubert was a clumsy man, short, round-shouldered, tallow-faced, with a great shock of black hair, with penetrating though spectacled eyes, strong-jawed, stubby-fingered. He shuffled in his walk, and he expressed himself in speech with difficulty. He described himself as unhappy, miserable; but his practical jokes delighted tavern companions, and he was proud of his performance of The Erlking on a comb. He k

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SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN B MINOR (“UNFINISHED”)

SYMPHONY NO. 8, IN B MINOR (“UNFINISHED”)

Let us be thankful that Schubert never finished the work. Possibly the lost arms of the Venus of Milo might disappoint if they were found and restored. The few measures of the scherzo that are in the manuscript furnish but slight hope that here at last Schubert would not, as in so many of his works of long breath, maintain a steady decrescendo of interest. Surely, no one would deny the melancholy beauty of the first movement of Schubert’s symphony, with its lyricism that is appealingly feminine,

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SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN C MAJOR

SYMPHONY NO. 7, IN C MAJOR

There are some who are not persuaded by Schumann and Weingartner into enjoying the extreme length of the symphony. They would fain have the work undergo some process of condensation, and yet it would be difficult for them to indicate the measures or sections that should be omitted. It is still a marvelous work in certain respects. The Hungarian dash in the second theme of the first movement; the wonderful trombone passage; the melodic charm of the andante and the infinite beauty of the detail—bu

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ROBERT ALEXANDER SCHUMANN

ROBERT ALEXANDER SCHUMANN

(Born at Zwickau, Saxony, June 8, 1810; died at Endenich, near Bonn, July 29, 1856) It has been urged against Schumann that his symphonies were thought for the pianoforte and then orchestrated crudely, as by an amateur. This, however, is not the fatal objection. He had his own orchestral speech. Good, bad, or indifferent, it was his own. He could not have otherwise expressed himself through the orchestral instruments. His speech is to be accepted or rejected as the hearer is impressed chiefly by

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SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 38

SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN B FLAT MAJOR, OP. 38

The opening is imposing with need of re-orchestration. Charming is the lyric passage in the scherzo that puts one in mind of Schubert’s “Hark, Hark, the Lark”; but for the most part there is rhythmic uniformity and boresome repetition that no change in the instrumentation could redeem. As the thick orchestration stands, if the music is played according to Schumann’s directions, Weingartner says, it is impossible to produce a true forte or an expressive pianissimo . Schumann was married to Clara

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN C MAJOR, OP. 61

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN C MAJOR, OP. 61

With the exception of the introduction to the first movement and the adagio , in which the romantic dreamer Schumann is revealed, the symphony has aged. And in this symphony, more than the other three, the orchestration seems hopelessly crude, ineffective, distressing to the ear, while the musical contents are seldom worthy of a more tasteful dress. Yet there are few adagios to be compared with this dramatic song of Schumann. If he had only had the courage to cut out that meaningless and incongr

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SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN E FLAT MAJOR, “RHENISH,” OP. 97

SYMPHONY NO. 3, IN E FLAT MAJOR, “RHENISH,” OP. 97

This music has not the buoyancy and exciting rush of the First symphony, or the romantic spirit of the one in D minor. Nor are there pages equal in sheer beauty to those of the adagio in the Second symphony. One wishes that the first movement was not in so continuously heroic, exultant vein; that there was at least a breathing spell. The second movement expresses a sort of clumsy joviality. The third might be a pretty piano piece that had been orchestrated. The fourth movement, the “cathedral sc

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SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN D MINOR, OP. 120

SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN D MINOR, OP. 120

Weingartner regards the D minor symphony of Schumann as inferior to the first and second of the same composer. I fail to see why. Surely this symphony does not fall behind its companions; it is the one of Schumann’s four that can be heard with full enjoyment. The middle movements breathe a romantic spirit that Schumann himself never surpassed as expressions of gentle, dreamy melancholy. I know of few more haunting pages in orchestral music than those of the trio in the scherzo . This symphony wa

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CONCERTO IN A MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 54

CONCERTO IN A MINOR, FOR PIANOFORTE AND ORCHESTRA, OP. 54

After Schumann heard for the first time Mendelssohn play his own Concerto in G minor, he wrote that he would never dream of composing a concerto in three movements, each one complete in itself. It is said that he began to write a pianoforte concerto when he was only seventeen and ignorant of musical form; that in 1836 he sketched a concerto in F major when he was living at Heidelberg. In January, 1839, he wrote from Vienna to Clara Wieck, his betrothed: “My concerto is a compromise between a sym

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ALEXANDER NICOLAIEVITCH SCRIABIN

ALEXANDER NICOLAIEVITCH SCRIABIN

(Born at Moscow on Christmas Day, 1871; died there on April 14, 1915)...

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“THE POEM OF ECSTASY” (LE POÈME DE L’EXTASE), OP. 54

“THE POEM OF ECSTASY” (LE POÈME DE L’EXTASE), OP. 54

A singular and at times interesting composition. Victor Hugo has said that agony when at its height is mute. Some, on hearing Scriabin’s score, have wished, no doubt, that this were true of ecstasy. Is the music really ecstatic? There are anthropological sociologists who find extreme voluptuousness in physical pain. Mantegazza has a chapter on this subject, a chapter that is not for the jeune fille . We are told that Scriabin in this music wished to express the ecstasy of untrammeled action, the

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JEAN JULIUS CHRISTIAN SIBELIUS

JEAN JULIUS CHRISTIAN SIBELIUS

(Born at Tavastehus, Finland, December 8, 1865) Some, judging the music of Sibelius or rhapsodizing over it, have laid great stress on the fact that Finland is a wild and desolate country. They therefore argue that the music of Sibelius must be bleak and grim. They are also convinced that Sibelius himself must be a stern-visaged man, something of a Berserk, savage and unapproachable, to write as he does. But travelers assure us that in Finland there are smiling landscapes, and we know from perso

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SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN E MINOR, OP. 39

SYMPHONY NO. 1, IN E MINOR, OP. 39

There is a marked difference between the mood and the orchestral expression of this First symphony and those of the composer’s Fifth and Seventh. Sibelius was not young in years when he wrote the First—he was thirty-four—but this symphony was the work of one musically young. It is seldom that a first symphony rests on firm foundations architectonically planned, logically continuous in flow of musical thought, as is the First symphony of Brahms, who had written much chamber music before he ventur

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SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 43

SYMPHONY NO. 2, IN D MAJOR, OP. 43

Mr. Paul Rosenfeld, who writes about certain modern composers as if he had summered and wintered with them and been through them with a dark lantern, finds this symphony of a “pastoral” nature, full of “home sounds, of cattle.” The music reveals a “pale, evanescent sunlight,” and through the music sounds “the burden of a lowly tragedy.” This is entertaining reading, to be sure, but to be charged with these impressions Mr. Rosenfeld must have heard a tea-table performance of the symphony. There i

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SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN A MINOR, OP. 63

SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN A MINOR, OP. 63

The fourth symphony is strangely different in character from those that precede and follow it. Was Sibelius experimenting, endeavoring to strike out a new path? Was he dissatisfied with the result? When it was performed in New York as a new piece, Mr. Henderson, the most sympathetic of those reviewing the symphony, thought that Sibelius had “parted company with himself and joined the futurists.” One of the critics went so far as to describe the work as “inconsequential as the ravings of a drunke

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SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 82

SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E FLAT MAJOR, OP. 82

There is not a sensuous note, not a single bid for immediate popularity; but there is something in the symphony that will be permanent. It is skillfully constructed in a new manner; skillfully scored with most ingenious effects not too laboriously contrived, and with a comparatively small orchestra. The young composer of today, looking at the score, will rub his eyes in wonder and exclaim: “What! No English horn, no bass clarinet, only four horns, no celesta, xylophone, harp, tam-tam? What’s the

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SYMPHONY NO. 7, OP. 105(In one movement)

SYMPHONY NO. 7, OP. 105(In one movement)

Mr. Lawrence Gilman was right in characterizing Sibelius’ Seventh symphony as “enigmatic, puissant.” Is it also, as he says, “strangely moving”? It is not a symphony for an afternoon’s careless pleasure. The music of Sibelius seldom accepts the canons of obvious beauty. His musical soul is proud, regardless of popular applause. In his latest works he seems to be writing for himself; to be absorbed in introspection and the expression of what he finds that is dear and important to himself alone. T

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“FINLANDIA,” SYMPHONIC POEM FOR ORCHESTRA, OP. 26, NO. 7

“FINLANDIA,” SYMPHONIC POEM FOR ORCHESTRA, OP. 26, NO. 7

It is said that Finlandia , although it was composed as far back as 1894, evokes such enthusiasm in the composer’s native land that performance of it was forbidden by the oppressing Russian. The question is, does Finlandia evoke enthusiasm in Madrid, Dresden, Boston? For after all it is something more than a national document. It is picturesque, with suggestions of prayers and hymns, revolts and revolutions. There is more of Finland in the symphonies, the violin concerto, and A Saga of Sibelius

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“THE SWAN OF TUONELA” (“TUONELAN JOUTSEN”), LEGEND FROM THE FINNISH FOLK EPIC “KALEVALA”

“THE SWAN OF TUONELA” (“TUONELAN JOUTSEN”), LEGEND FROM THE FINNISH FOLK EPIC “KALEVALA”

Here is no swan, singing before death, a fable that suggested to Villiers de l’Isle-Adam one of his cruelest tales, and served Anna Pavlowa for an entrancing, memorable dance-pantomime to Saint-Saëns’ familiar music. This is the swan that glides and sings on the river of black water around Tuonela, the Kingdom of Death. Sibelius, to whom the Finnish epic Kalevala furnished subjects for several of his earlier compositions, by economic means, by an unerring choice of his instruments, portrays the

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RICHARD STRAUSS

RICHARD STRAUSS

(Born at Munich, June 11, 1864)...

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“DON JUAN,” TONE POEM (AFTER NICOLAUS LENAU), OP. 20

“DON JUAN,” TONE POEM (AFTER NICOLAUS LENAU), OP. 20

Some of Strauss’s wild-eyed worshipers, not content with the quotations that serve as mottoes, have invented ingenious analyses in which we are told the precise meaning of each theme in Don Juan , and how this section represents his passion for a widow and that for a maiden. But did not Strauss himself say that the theme which represents, according to an analyst, Don Juan rushing off to new triumphs was intended as his drunken entrance into a ballroom? And is it not possible that when Strauss wr

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“TOD UND VERKLÄRUNG” (DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION) TONE POEM, OP. 24

“TOD UND VERKLÄRUNG” (DEATH AND TRANSFIGURATION) TONE POEM, OP. 24

“Death and Transfiguration” is now more old-fashioned than the G minor symphony of Mozart. The anguish of the dying man, who does not make the graceful and gracious apology of Charles II on his deathbed, no longer moves us. His recollections seem sentimental and vapid, while the trombone passages once considered as terrific, awe-inspiring, are not so significant as the single horn of Charon in Gluck’s Alceste . Don Juan , on the other hand, holds its own by its defiant spirit, expressing the arr

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“TILL EULENSPIEGEL’S MERRY PRANKS, AFTER THE OLD-FASHIONED ROGUISH MANNER—IN RONDO FORM,” OP. 28

“TILL EULENSPIEGEL’S MERRY PRANKS, AFTER THE OLD-FASHIONED ROGUISH MANNER—IN RONDO FORM,” OP. 28

Till Eulenspiegel disputes with Don Juan the first position among the symphonic poems of Strauss. The opening of Thus Spake Zarathustra is colossal in its elemental grandeur; the death music in Don Quixote is incomparably beautiful; there are a few pages in A Hero’s Life that remind one of Beethoven at his best; the love music in the Domestic symphony is memorable; but Till Eulenspiegel and Don Juan are continuously impressive, each in its way, and are free from the suspicion of effects made for

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“THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA,” TONE POEM (FREELY AFTER FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE), OP. 30

“THUS SPAKE ZARATHUSTRA,” TONE POEM (FREELY AFTER FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHE), OP. 30

Strauss’s huge “machine” has aged. The opening measures are still stupendous. The “Grave Song” and “Night Song” are not without compelling beauty, but on the whole, Nietzschian philosophy and music do not dwell together in harmony. Dismiss the thought of Nietzsche; consider the music as absolute music, and there is much that is boresome and inherently cheap, if not vulgar, in spite, or by reason of the bombast and pretentiousness. The full title of this composition is Also sprach Zarathustra, To

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Introduction

Introduction

Mässiges Zeitmass ( moderato ), D major, 4-4. Don Quixote plunged himself deeply in his reading of books of knighthood, “and in the end, through his little sleep and much reading, he dried up his brains in such sort, as he lost wholly his judgment. His fantasy was filled with those things that he read, of enchantments, quarrels, battles, challenges, wounds, wooings, loves, tempests, and other impossible follies.” [49] The first theme (wind instruments) foreshadows the typical Don Quixote motive,

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Theme

Theme

“Don Quixote, the knight of the sorrowful countenance; Sancho Panza.” Moderato , D minor, 4-4. The Don Quixote theme is announced by solo violoncello. It is of close kin to the theme of the introduction. Sancho Panza is typified by a theme given first to bass clarinet and tenor tuba; but afterward the solo viola is the characteristic instrument of Sancho....

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Variation I

Variation I

The Knight and the Squire set out on their journey. “In a leisurely manner,” D minor, 12-8. The beautiful Dulcinea of Toboso inspires the Knight (a version of the “Ideal Woman” theme), who soon sees some windmills (brass) and prepares to attack. A breeze arises (wood-wind and strings), and the Knight, angry at the challenge, attacks, and is knocked down by the sails (run in wood-wind, harp glissando , heavy drum-beats)....

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Variation II

Variation II

The Victorious Battle against the Host of the Great Emperor Alifanfaron. “Warlike,” D major, 4-4. There is a cloud of dust; surely a great army approaches; the Knight rushes to fight, in spite of the warnings of Sancho, who sees the sheep. There is a pastoral figure (wood-wind), and out of the dust cloud (strings) comes a chorus of “Ba-a-a-a” (muted brass). Don Quixote charges and puts the foes to confusion....

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Variation III

Variation III

The Dialogues of the Knight and the Squire. Moderato , 4-4. Sancho questions the worth of such a life. Don Quixote speaks of honor and glory (first theme), but Sancho sees nothing in them. The dispute waxes hot. Don Quixote speaks nobly of the ideal. Sancho prefers the easy, comfortable realities of life. At last his master is angry and bids him hold his tongue....

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Variation IV

Variation IV

The Adventure with the Penitents. “Somewhat broader,” D minor, 4-4. A church theme (wind instruments) announces the approach of a band of pilgrims. Don Quixote sees in them shameless robbers, desperate villains. He attacks them. They knock him senseless and go on their prayerful way. Sancho, sorely disturbed, rejoices when his master shows signs of life, and after he has helped him, lies down by his side and goes to sleep (bass tuba, double bassoon)....

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Variation V

Variation V

The Knight’s Vigil. “Very slow,” 4-4. Don Quixote, ashamed to sleep, holds watch by his armor. Dulcinea, answering his prayers, appears in a vision (the “Ideal Woman” theme, horn). A cadenza for harp and violins leads to a passage portraying his rapture....

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Variation VI

Variation VI

The Meeting with Dulcinea. G major, 2-4, 3-4. A common country wench comes along (wood-wind, tambourine), and Sancho by way of jest points her out to his master as Dulcinea. The Knight cannot believe it. Sancho swears it is so. The Knight suddenly knows that some magic has worked this transformation, and he vows vengeance....

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Variation VII

Variation VII

The Ride through the Air. D minor, 8-4. Knight and Squire sit, blindfolded, on a wooden horse, which, they have been made to believe, will bear them through the air. Their respective themes soar skyward. The wind whistles about them (chromatic flute passages, harp, drum roll, wind machine). They stop suddenly (long-held bassoon note), and, looking about them, they think themselves still on the ground. “The persistent tremolo of the double basses on one note may be taken to mean that the two did

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Variation VIII

Variation VIII

The Journey in the Enchanted Bark. Don Quixote sees an empty boat, and he is sure it is sent by some mysterious power, that he may do a glorious deed. He and Sancho embark. His typical theme is changed into a barcarolle. The boat upsets, but they succeed in gaining the shore; and they give thanks for their safety (wind instruments religioso )....

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Variation IX

Variation IX

The Combat with Two Magicians. “Quickly and stormily,” D minor, 4-4. Don Quixote is again on his famous horse, eager for adventure. Two peaceable monks are jogging along on their mules, and the Knight sees in them the base magicians who have worked him harm. He charges them and puts them to flight. The two themes are a version of the Don Quixote motive and an ecclesiastical phrase for the bassoons....

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Variation X

Variation X

Don Quixote, defeated by the Knight of the White Moon, returns home and resolves to be a shepherd. “Know, sir,” said the Knight of the White Moon, “that I am styled the Bachelor Samson Carrasco, and am one of Don Quixote’s town; whose wild madness hath moved as many of us as know him to compassion, and me amongst the rest most; and believing that the best means to procure his health is to keep him quiet, and so to have him in his own house, I thought upon this device.” So said this knight after

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Finale

Finale

The Death of Don Quixote. “Very peacefully,” D major, 4-4. The typical theme of the Knight takes a new form. The queer harmonies in a section of this theme are now conventional, commonplace. “They stood all gazing one upon another, wondering at Don Quixote’s sound reasons, although they made some doubt to believe them. One of the signs which induced them to conjecture that he was near unto death’s door was that with such facility he was from a stark fool become a wise man. For, to the words alre

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The Hero

The Hero

The chief theme, which is typical of the hero, the whole and noble man, is announced at once by horn, violas and violoncellos, and the violins soon enter. This theme, E flat major, 4-4, is said to contain within itself four distinct motives, which collectively illustrate the will power and self-confidence of the hero, and their characteristic features are used throughout the work in this sense. Further themes closely related follow. They portray various sides of the hero’s character—his pride, e

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The Hero’s Antagonists

The Hero’s Antagonists

They are jealous, they envy him, they sneer at his aims and endeavors, they are suspicious of his sincerity, they see nothing except for their own gain; and through flute and oboe they mock and snarl. They are represented by about a half-a-dozen themes, of which one is most important. Diminutions of the preceding heroic themes show their belittlement of his greatness. (It has been said that Strauss thus wished to paint the critics who had not been prudent enough to proclaim him great.) “Fifths i

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The Hero’s Helpmate

The Hero’s Helpmate

This is an amorous episode. The hero is shy. The solo violin represents the loved one, who at first is coy, coquettish, and disdains his humble suit. There is a love theme, and there are also two “thematic illustrations of feminine caprice” much used later on. At last she rewards him. The themes given to the solo violin, and basses, violoncellos, and bassoon, are developed in the love duet. A new theme is given to the oboe, and a theme played by the violins is typical of the crowning of happines

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The Hero’s Battlefield

The Hero’s Battlefield

There is a flourish of trumpets without. The hero rushes joyfully to arms. The enemy sends out his challenge. The battle rages. The typical heroic theme is brought into sharp contrast with that of the challenger, and the theme of the beloved one shines forth amid the din and the shock of the fight. The foe is slain. The themes lead into a song of victory. And now what is there for the hero? The world does not rejoice in his triumph. It looks on him with indifferent eyes....

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The Hero’s Mission of Peace

The Hero’s Mission of Peace

This section describes the growth of the hero’s soul. The composer uses thematic material from Don Juan , Also sprach Zarathustra , Tod und Verklärung , Don Quixote , Till Eulenspiegel’s lustige Streiche , Guntram , Macbeth , and his song, “Traum durch die Dämmerung.” Jean Marnold claims that there are twenty-three of these reminiscences, quotations, which Strauss introduces suddenly, or successively, or simultaneously, “and the hearer that has not been warned cannot at the time notice the sligh

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The Hero’s Escape from the World, and Conclusion

The Hero’s Escape from the World, and Conclusion

The world is still cold. At first the hero rages, but resignation and content soon take possession of his soul. The bluster of nature reminds him of his old days of war. Again he sees the beloved one, and in peace and contemplation his soul takes flight. For the last time the hero’s theme is heard as it rises to a sonorous, impressive climax. And then is solemn music, such as might serve funeral rites....

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IGOR FEDOROVITCH STRAVINSKY

IGOR FEDOROVITCH STRAVINSKY

(Born at Oranienbaum, near St. Petersburg, on June 5, 1882) As for Stravinsky, we personally prefer the Stravinsky of the Sacre du Printemps to the Stravinsky who of late has been attempting to compose in the manner of Bach. To begin with, we do not hear music now with the ears of the earlier centuries, and the old idiom today has no pertinence except when it has been handed down to us by a master of it, who broke through the idiom and made a universal language of it for many years to come. Stra

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SUITE FROM “L’OISEAU DE FEU” (THE FIRE-BIRD)A Danced Legend

SUITE FROM “L’OISEAU DE FEU” (THE FIRE-BIRD)A Danced Legend

In the summer of 1909 Diaghilev asked Stravinsky to write a ballet founded on the old Russian legend of the Fire-Bird. The score was ready in May, 1910. The scenario was the work of Fokine. The first performance of L’Oiseau de Feu , a Conte dansé , in two scenes, was at the Paris Opéra on June 25, 1910. The Fire-Bird, Tamara Karsavina; The Beautiful Tsarevna, Mme Fokina; Ivan Tsarevitch, Fokine; Kastcheï, Boulgakov. Gabriel Pierné conducted. The stage settings were by Golovine and Bakst. Balakir

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SUITE FROM THE BALLET, “PETROUCHKA”

SUITE FROM THE BALLET, “PETROUCHKA”

Carnival—The Magician—Russian Dance—Petrouchka—The Arab—Dance of the Ballerina—Carnival—Nurses’ Dance—The Bear and the Peasant Playing a Hand-Organ—The Merchant and the Gypsies—The Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms—The Masqueraders—The Quarrel of the Arab and Petrouchka, and the Death of Petrouchka. The ballet Petrouchka: Scènes burlesques en 4 Tableaux , scenario by Alexandre Benois, was completed by Stravinsky at Rome in May (13-26), 1911. It was produced by Diaghilev at the Châtelet, Paris, on

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I. The Adoration of the Earth

I. The Adoration of the Earth

Introduction—Harbingers of Spring—Dance of the Adolescents—Abduction—Spring Rounds—Games of the Rival Cities—The Procession of the Wise Men—The Adoration of the Earth (The Wise Man)—Dance of the Earth....

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II. The Sacrifice

II. The Sacrifice

Introduction—Mysterious Circles of the Adolescents—Glorification of the Chosen One—Evocation of the Ancestors—Ritual of the Ancestors—The Sacrificial Dance of the Chosen One. The Rite of Spring , or more literally according to the Russian Spring Consecration , scenery and costumes designed by Nicolas Roerich, choreography by W. Nijinsky, was produced at the Théâtre des Champs Élysées on May 29, 1913, by the Diaghilev Ballet Russe. Mr. Monteux conducted. The chief dancers were M. Nijinsky and Mll

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JOSEPH DEEMS TAYLOR

JOSEPH DEEMS TAYLOR

(Born at New York, December 22, 1885) It is a pleasure to find an American composer of talent who is willing to write music that is cheerful, not portentous; whose fancy is delicate; who uses a large orchestra discreetly, not chiefly to make a thunderous noise. Mr. Taylor for his inspiration went to a book that for years has pleased children from the tender age to that of white hair; he did not ransack the Grecian or the Scandinavian mythology; he had no thesis, no exposition of colors; he did n

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Ia. Dedication

Ia. Dedication

Carroll precedes the tale with a charming poetical foreword, the first stanza of which the music aims to express. It runs: Child of the pure, unclouded brow And dreaming eyes of wonder! Though time be fleet, and I and thou Are half a life asunder, Thy loving smile will surely hail The love gift of a fairy tale. A simple song theme, briefly developed, leads to...

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Ib. The Garden of Live Flowers

Ib. The Garden of Live Flowers

(The score contains this extract from the book: “‘O Tiger Lily,’ said Alice, addressing herself to one that was waving gracefully about in the wind, ‘I wish you could talk.’ “‘We can talk,’ said the Tiger-Lily, ‘when there’s anybody worth talking to.’ “‘And can the flowers talk?’ “‘As well as you can,’ said the Tiger-Lily, ‘and a great deal louder.’”) Shortly after Alice had entered the looking-glass country she came to a lovely garden in which the flowers were talking—in the words of the Tiger-

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II. Jabberwocky

II. Jabberwocky

This is the poem that so puzzled Alice, and which Humpty-Dumpty finally explained to her. The theme of that frightful beast, the Jabberwock, is first announced by the full orchestra. The clarinet then begins the tale, recounting how on a “brillig” afternoon, the “slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe.” Muttered imprecations by the bassoon warn us to “beware the Jabberwock, my son.” A miniature march signalizes the approach of our hero, taking “his vorpal sword in hand.” Trouble starts amo

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III. Looking-Glass Insects

III. Looking-Glass Insects

(The score contains extracts from the dialogue of Alice and the gnat “about the size of a chicken” about various insects, among them the bread-and-butter-fly. “‘And what does it live on?’ “‘Weak tea with cream in it.’ “‘Supposing it couldn’t find any?’ “‘Then it would die, of course.’ “‘But that must happen very often,’ said Alice thoughtfully. “‘It always happens,’ said the gnat.”) Here we find the vociferous diptera that made such an impression upon Alice—the Bee-elephant, the Gnat, the Rockin

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IV. The White Knight

IV. The White Knight

(The score contains extracts from the conversation of the White Knight, and an account of his leave-taking.) He was a toy Don Quixote, mild, chivalrous, ridiculous, and rather touching. He carried a mouse-trap on his saddle-bow, “because, if they do come, I don’t choose to have them running about.” He couldn’t ride very well, but he was a gentle soul, with good intentions. There are two themes: the first, a sort of instrumental prance, being the Knight’s own conception of himself as a slashing,

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PETER ILITCH TCHAIKOVSKY

PETER ILITCH TCHAIKOVSKY

(Born at Votkinsk, in the government of Viatka, Russia, May 7, 1840; died at St. Petersburg, November 6, 1893) It is true that in more than one page of his symphonies Tchaikovsky narrowly escapes the reproach of vulgarity; but the earnestness, the sincerity of the speech makes its way even before the development and the amplification make them seem inevitable. The heart of Tchaikovsky was that of a little child; the brain was that of a man weary of the world and all its vanities. And so we have

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SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN F MINOR, OP. 36

SYMPHONY NO. 4, IN F MINOR, OP. 36

If Tchaikovsky had a programme in mind when he composed his Fifth and Sixth symphonies, he never published it to the world; but for the Fourth he wrote an elaborate one. Does the music gain by it? To us the Fourth symphony is interesting because it seems nearer to the Russian spirit and life as portrayed by Dostoivsky than the later ones. Even the ornamentation, the arabesques, that in another’s music would seem as so many excrescences, perhaps frivolous, are here in place. The neurotic, self-to

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SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E MINOR, OP. 64

SYMPHONY NO. 5, IN E MINOR, OP. 64

Tchaikovsky was singularly reticent in his letters concerning the Fifth symphony, but who can refrain from thinking with Ernest Newman that this symphony was written to a programme; that the work “embodies an emotional sequence of some kind”? There is the tread of inexorable fate; this tread disturbs the beauty of the andante ; it checks the forced gayety of the dancers in the waltz, and is the triumphant spirit in the finale something more than a heroic defiance of the inevitable, a brave stand

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SYMPHONY NO. 6, IN B MINOR, “PATHETIC,” OP. 74

SYMPHONY NO. 6, IN B MINOR, “PATHETIC,” OP. 74

We well remember the sensation the Sixth symphony made in Boston when Mr. Paur brought it out. When the late William Foster Apthorp described the music as “obscene,” a singular word to apply to it, indignant denunciatory letters were sent to the Evening Transcript , written by persons who, as Charles Reade once said of letter writers to newspapers, had no other waste-pipe for their intellect. This symphony was at the first so popular that some predicted its life would be short. It is still an am

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“ROMEO AND JULIET,” OVERTURE FANTASIA (AFTER SHAKESPEARE)

“ROMEO AND JULIET,” OVERTURE FANTASIA (AFTER SHAKESPEARE)

The Romeo and Juliet overture would be worth a journey if only to hear Tchaikovsky’s love music. Here is the incomparable expression in tones of the Southern passion of Juliet, and it is strangely Shakespearean. The remainder of the overture is rather rank Russian, with the exception of the music of Friar Laurence and the noble requiem at the end. This overture fantasia was begun and completed in 1869. The first performance was at a concert of the Musical Society, Moscow, on March 16, 1870; Nich

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CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE NO. 1, IN B FLAT MINOR, OP. 23

CONCERTO FOR PIANOFORTE NO. 1, IN B FLAT MINOR, OP. 23

There was an old Grecian gentleman who apologized for the sumptuous funeral provided for his little child. There are men who have built a lordly portico for a dwelling place, and then, for some reason or other, lack of funds or through caprice, contented themselves with a tasteless, shabbily furnished mansion. The opening section of Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto has a compelling melodic sentence, treated gorgeously, and with magnificent breadth and sweep. What follows is a curious mixture of engr

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CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR OP. 35

CONCERTO FOR VIOLIN, IN D MAJOR OP. 35

Hanslick’s volumes of collected reviews and essays are many. It is possible that in the days to come he will be remembered only by the fact that he said, apropos of Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto, that it stank in the ear. In spite of Hanslick’s dictum, the concerto still lives, whatever its obvious faults: its endless repetitions, its measures of sheer padding. Why cannot someone arrange Gems from Tchaikovsky’s Concerto after the manner of various anthologies (including Crumbs of Comfort )? Long

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RICHARD WAGNER

RICHARD WAGNER

(Born at Leipsic, May 22, 1813; died at Venice, February 13, 1883) It is not easy for anyone who did not live through the period of the Wagnerian excitement to understand the fierceness of the controversy. The younger generation reads at its ease accounts of protests against compositions by Strauss, Reger, Schönberg; how this or that piece was hissed by some in a concert hall and applauded by others; it reads and is amused, but it regards the discussion as academic. The Wagner question, like the

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OVERTURE TO “RIENZI, THE LAST OF THE TRIBUNES”

OVERTURE TO “RIENZI, THE LAST OF THE TRIBUNES”

The overture to Rienzi is at the best mere circus music. It is a good thing to hear it once in a while, for it shows that Wagner, on occasion, could be more vulgar than Meyerbeer, whom he so cordially disliked. Wagner left Königsberg in the early summer of 1837 to visit Dresden, and there he read Bärmann’s translation into German of Bulwer’s Rienzi . And thus was revived his long-cherished idea of making the last of the Tribunes the hero of a grand opera. “My impatience with a degrading plight n

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OVERTURE TO “DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER” (“THE FLYING DUTCHMAN”)

OVERTURE TO “DER FLIEGENDE HOLLÄNDER” (“THE FLYING DUTCHMAN”)

The overture to The Flying Dutchman gives the condensed and essential drama. We are relieved of the avaricious father who is delighted at the thought of handing his daughter to the mysterious stranger; nor does one have to hear the bleatings of the saphead lover. No wonder Senta preferred the Dutchman. Wagner’s overture is a stormy seascape. The Dutchman knew no calm seas. The music that typifies him is one of Wagner’s happiest inventions. Poor Vanderdecken sings nothing so compelling, not even

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OVERTURE TO TANNHÄUSER

OVERTURE TO TANNHÄUSER

Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg , Romantic Opera in three acts, book and music by Wagner, was produced at the Royal Opera House in Dresden, under the direction of the composer, on October 19, 1845. The overture was written in Dresden, probably in March-April, 1845. The first performance of it as a concert piece was at a concert at Leipsic for the benefit of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Pension Fund, February 12, 1846. Mendelssohn conducted it from manuscript. Wagner’s own programme of th

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PRELUDE TO “LOHENGRIN”

PRELUDE TO “LOHENGRIN”

We remember how at one of Theodore Thomas’s concerts at Central Park Garden in New York—it was in the ’seventies—when this prelude was played we heard strong hissing from many who would not have “the music of the future.” And so today there are “lovers of music” who cannot endure the music of the present and swear it cannot be the music of future, for they have ears but they do not and will not hear. “Ephraim is joined to idols; let him alone.” Lohengrin , an opera in three acts, was performed f

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PRELUDE AND LIEBESTOD FROM “TRISTAN UND ISOLDE”

PRELUDE AND LIEBESTOD FROM “TRISTAN UND ISOLDE”

The subject of Tristan und Isolde was first mentioned by Wagner in a letter to Liszt in the latter part of 1854; the poem was written at Zürich in the summer of 1857, and finished in September of that year. The composition of the first act was completed at Zürich, December 31, 1857 (some say, but only in the sketch); the second act was completed at Venice in March, 1859; the third act at Lucerne in August, 1859. Wagner himself frequently conducted the prelude and Love-Death, arranged by him for

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PRELUDE TO “DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG”

PRELUDE TO “DIE MEISTERSINGER VON NÜRNBERG”

The idea of the opera occurred to Wagner at Marienbad in 1845. He then sketched a scenario which differed widely from the one finally adopted. It is possible that certain scenes were written while he was at work on Lohengrin ; there is a legend that the quintet was finished in 1845. Some add to this quintet the songs of Sachs and Walther. Wagner wrote to a friend on March 12, 1862: “Tomorrow I hope at least to begin the composition of Die Meistersinger ”—the libretto was completed at Paris in 18

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A SIEGFRIED IDYL

A SIEGFRIED IDYL

Cosima Liszt, daughter of Franz Liszt and the Countess d’Agoult, was born at Bellagio, Italy, on Christmas Day, 1837. She was married to Hans von Bülow at Berlin, August 18, 1857. They were divorced in the fall of 1869. Richard Wagner married Minna Planer on November 24, 1836, at Königsberg. They separated in August, 1861. She died at Dresden, January 25, 1866. Wagner and Cosima were married at Lucerne, August 25, 1870. Their son, Siegfried Wagner, was born at Triebschen, near Lucerne, on June 6

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“THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES,” FROM “DIE WALKÜRE”

“THE RIDE OF THE VALKYRIES,” FROM “DIE WALKÜRE”

After an instrumental introduction to Act III of The Valkyrie , the curtain rises. “On the summit of a rocky mountain. On the right a pine wood encloses the stage. On the left is the entrance to a cave; above this the rock rises to its highest point. At the back the view is entirely open; rocks of various heights form a parapet to the precipice. Occasionally clouds fly past the mountain peak as if driven by storm. Gerhilde, Ortlinde, Waltraute, and Schwertleite have ensconced themselves on the r

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PRELUDE TO “PARSIFAL”

PRELUDE TO “PARSIFAL”

Wagner, with his theatrical sense, was right: this music is not so impressive when it is performed, no matter how well, outside of the Bayreuth theater consecrated to the music dramas. We heard Parsifal the year it was produced at Bayreuth. No performance of the prelude has since awakened the same emotions. There was the silence of deep devotion; the presence of the worshipers, fanatics in the great majority; the expectation of marvelous scenes to come as the wailing first phrase rose from the u

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“GOOD FRIDAY SPELL,” FROM “PARSIFAL”

“GOOD FRIDAY SPELL,” FROM “PARSIFAL”

When Parsifal turns slowly towards the meadow, a hymn of tender thanksgiving arises from the orchestra. The melody is played by flute and oboe, which muted strings sustain. In the development of this theme occur several figures—“Kundry’s Sigh,” the “Holy Supper,” the “Spear,” the “Grail” harmonies, the “Complaint of the Flower Girls,” which are all finally absorbed in the “Good Friday” melody. This pastoral is suddenly interrupted by the sound of distant bells, sounding mournfully from afar. Gur

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CARL MARIA VON WEBER

CARL MARIA VON WEBER

(Born at Eutin, Oldenburg, December 18, 1786; died at London, June 5, 1826) Mr. William Apthorp frequently spoke of the “Weberian flourish,” of the chivalric spirit shown, not only in Weber’s overtures to Euryanthe and Oberon , but in much of his music for the piano. Weber’s operas are wholly unknown as stage works to the younger generation. Oberon is a dull opera, with some beautiful music. Euryanthe , too, is dull, dull beyond redemption, although at Dresden years ago we saw a most carefully p

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OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “OBERON”

OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “OBERON”

Oberon; or, the Elf-King’s Oath , a romantic opera in three acts, book by James Robinson Planché, who founded it on Villeneuve’s story “Huon de Bordeaux” and Sotheby’s English translation of Wieland’s German poem, “Oberon,” was first performed at Covent Garden, London, on April 12, 1826. Weber conducted. The first performance in New York was at the Park Theatre on October 9, 1828. Weber was asked by Charles Kemble in 1824 to write an opera for the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden. Weber chose “Obero

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OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “DER FREISCHÜTZ”

OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “DER FREISCHÜTZ”

What would conductors do without these three overtures of Weber? They are to them in time of perplexity what Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci are to opera managers. And yet, in spite of countless performances, the overture to Der Freischütz is not stale. The part song for the horns still charms the ear, although it is now associated with “when the sun glorious” and other sacred words for service in the meeting house. The Samiel motive is still dramatically sinister and brings back memories of

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OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “EURYANTHE”

OVERTURE TO THE OPERA “EURYANTHE”

The overture is not without a certain old-fashioned but veritable pomp; it has the spirit of ceremony which the admirers of Weber call “the chivalric spirit.” It would be perhaps an idle task for an ultra-modern to insist that the only music in this overture that appeals to the men and women of the younger generation is that of the short episode which was originally intended to accompany a pantomimic scene on the stage, a scene of old-fashioned romantic melodrama, with tomb, kneeling heroine, gl

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RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

RALPH VAUGHAN WILLIAMS

(Born at Down Ampney on the Borders of Gloucestershire and Wiltshire, England, on October 12, 1872) It is doubtful whether without the title and descriptive programme a hearer, as the music was playing, would say, “Aha! London—I hear the Thames, the roar and bustle of the streets. Now we are in foggy, dismal Bloomsbury. Let’s go to the Thames Embankment. And now we see the march of the unemployed.” No. The austere, remote Delius wrote a symphonic poem Paris , which is anything but the Paris of L

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“Second Movement

“Second Movement

“In the second movement the composer paints us a picture of that region of London which lies between Holborn and the Euston Road, known as Bloomsbury. Dusk is falling. It is the damp and foggy twilight of a late November day. Those who know their London know this region of melancholy streets over which seems to brood an air of shabby gentility—a sad dignity of having seen better days. In the gathering gloom there is something ghostlike. A silence hangs over the neighborhood broken only by the po

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“Third Movement

“Third Movement

“In this movement one must imagine one’s self sitting late on a Saturday night on one of the benches of the Temple Embankment (that part of the Thames Embankment lying between the Houses of Parliament and Waterloo Bridge). On our side of the river all is quiet, and in the silence one hears from a distance coming from the other side of the river all the noises of Saturday night in the slums. (The ‘other’ side, the south side of the river Thames, is a vast network of very poor quarters and slums.)

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“Fourth Movement

“Fourth Movement

“The last movement deals almost entirely with the cruder aspect of London, the London of the unemployed and unfortunate. After the opening bars we hear the ‘Hunger March’—a ghostly march past of those whom the city grinds and crushes, the great army of those who are cold and hungry and unable to get work. “We hear again the noise and bustle of the streets (reminiscences of the first movement), but these now also take on the cruder aspect. There are sharp discords in the music. This is London as

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