Ludwig van Beethoven worked on Symphony No. 6 in F at the same time as - even the first performance of these two works took place at the same concert, in December 1808, and their numbering differed from the one now accepted, and they are dedicated to the same patrons - Count A .Razumovsky and Prince F. Lobkowitz. However, it is difficult to imagine creations in to a greater extent differing from each other in figurative structure. If the “hero” is an unbending fighter against fate, then here the struggle gives way, if not humility, then to the glorification of the simple joys of life associated with the enjoyment of natural beauty.
Symphony No. 6, entitled “Pastoral,” is very unusual for L. Beethoven and differs from all his previous works in this genre. Firstly, it is not four-part, but five-part, but the last parts, starting with the third, are performed without interruption (thus, the number of parts “fluctuates” between five and three). Secondly, this is a program symphony, and not only the work as a whole, but also each of its five parts has a title specifying the content.
The author originally titled the work “Memories of Rural Life.” Being in the lap of nature was one of Beethoven’s favorite ways to spend time: “Oak groves, trees, rocky mountains respond to human thoughts and experiences,” said the composer. This loving perception of nature is reflected in the symphony - there are no conflicts here, everything is done in idyllic tones. Only the fourth part introduces a touch of drama - but this is not the drama of events human life, but an elemental force, a picture of a thunderstorm.
The title of the first part – “Joyful feelings upon arrival in the village” – does not imply any representation, landscape or genre. Illustrativeness is expressed only in character main party: the image of the village is depicted by a simple melody reminiscent folk song. It is accompanied by a sustained fifth (this is an imitation of bagpipes and other folk instruments). Neither the side part nor the final one introduces any special contrast, therefore the development is devoid of conflict: the main intonation of the main part undergoes not so much melodic development as “colored” by different timbres, registers and keys.
If in the first part the focus was on the emotional state, then in the second, entitled “Scene by the Stream”, there are many sound and visual techniques: measured accompaniment conveys the flow of water, melismas convey the voices of birds... “Scene by the Stream” makes a particularly strong impression if you remember that the composer at the time of creating this music could no longer hear the birds chirping in the forest.
The third part is a bright genre scene, echoing the works of , the author gave it the name “A Cheerful Gathering of Villagers.” Its main themes - abrupt and cantilena - are contrasting, but not conflicting, and their presentation is not without humorous touches. For example, the accompanying bassoons sound as if “out of time” with the melody - as it might be in a village orchestra, from which no one expects perfect performance.
The picture of peasant fun continues without interruption into the fourth part - “Thunderstorm. Storm". Depicting the violence of the elements, L. Beethoven uses instruments that were new for symphonic music at that time - the piccolo flute and trombones.
And just like that – without a pause – the finale, called “The Shepherd’s Song,” begins. According to the title, the fifth part is dominated by melodies of a song type. The violas and cellos again imitate the bagpipes, and the solo clarinet resembles a shepherd's horn.
The first performance of Symphony No. 6 did not take place under the most favorable conditions: far from best orchestra, the concert was too long, the hall was cold... Fortunately, this did not affect the fate of the work - it took its rightful place in the repertoire. Many features of this symphony - a free interpretation of the cycle, colorful development techniques - were continued in the symphonic music of romanticism.
Musical Seasons
Word "symphony" translated from Greek as “consonance”. And indeed, the sound of many instruments in an orchestra can only be called music when they are in tune, and do not each produce sounds on its own.
IN Ancient Greece This was the name for a pleasant combination of sounds, singing together in unison. IN Ancient Rome This is how the ensemble or orchestra began to be called. In the Middle Ages a symphony was called secular music in general and some musical instruments.
The word has other meanings, but they all carry the meaning of connection, involvement, harmonious combination; for example, a symphony is also called the principle of relationship between the church and secular power formed in the Byzantine Empire.
But today we will only talk about a musical symphony.
Varieties of symphony
Classical symphony- This is a musical work in sonata cyclic form, intended for performance by a symphony orchestra.
To the symphony (in addition to symphony orchestra) choir and vocals may be included. There are symphonies-suites, symphonies-rhapsodies, symphonies-fantasies, symphonies-ballads, symphonies-legends, symphonies-poems, symphonies-requiems, symphonies-ballets, symphonies-dramas and theatrical symphonies as a type of opera.
A classical symphony usually has 4 movements:
first part - in fast pace(allegro ) , in sonata form;
second part - in at a slow pace , usually in the form of variations, rondo, rondo sonata, complex three-movement, less often in the form of a sonata;
third part - scherzo or minuet- in a three-part form da capo with a trio (that is, according to the A-trio-A scheme);
fourth part - in fast pace, in sonata form, in rondo or rondo sonata form.
But there are symphonies with fewer (or more) parts. There are also one-movement symphonies.
Program Symphony is a symphony with a specific content, which is set out in the program or expressed in the title. If the symphony has a title, then this title is the minimum program, for example, “Symphony Fantastique” by G. Berlioz.
From the history of the symphony
Creator classic shape symphonies and orchestrations are considered Haydn.
And the prototype of the symphony is the Italian overture(an instrumental orchestral piece performed before the start of any performance: opera, ballet), which developed at the end of the 17th century. Significant contributions to the development of the symphony were made by Mozart And Beethoven. These three composers are called "Viennese classics". Viennese classics created a tall type instrumental music, in which all the wealth of figurative content is embodied in perfect art form. The process of formation of the symphony orchestra - its permanent composition and orchestral groups - also coincided with this time.
V.A. Mozart
Mozart wrote in all forms and genres that existed in his era, special meaning attached importance to opera, but also paid great attention to symphonic music. Due to the fact that throughout his life he worked simultaneously on operas and symphonies, his instrumental music is distinguished by its melodiousness opera aria and dramatic conflict. Mozart created more than 50 symphonies. The most popular were the last three symphonies - No. 39, No. 40 and No. 41 (“Jupiter”).
K. Schlosser "Beethoven at work"
Beethoven created 9 symphonies, but in terms of the development of symphonic form and orchestration, he can be called the largest symphonic composer of the classical period. In his Ninth Symphony, the most famous, cross-cutting theme all its parts into one whole. In this symphony, Beethoven introduced vocal parts, after which other composers began to do so. In the form of a symphony he said a new word R. Schumann.
But already in the second half of the 19th century. the strict forms of the symphony began to change. The four-part system became optional: it appeared one-part symphony (Myaskovsky, Boris Tchaikovsky), symphony from 11 parts(Shostakovich) and even from 24 parts(Hovaness). The classical finale at a fast tempo was supplanted by a slow finale (P.I. Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony, Mahler's Third and Ninth Symphonies).
The authors of the symphonies were F. Schubert, F. Mendelssohn, J. Brahms, A. Dvorak, A. Bruckner, G. Mahler, Jean Sibelius, A. Webern, A. Rubinstein, P. Tchaikovsky, A. Borodin, N. Rimsky- Korsakov, N. Myaskovsky, A. Scriabin, S. Prokofiev, D. Shostakovich and others.
Its composition, as we have already said, took shape in the era of the Viennese classics.
The basis of a symphony orchestra is four groups of instruments: bowed strings(violins, violas, cellos, double basses), woodwinds(flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, saxophone with all their varieties - ancient recorder, shawl, chalumeau, etc., as well as a number folk instruments– balaban, duduk, zhaleika, flute, zurna), brass(horn, trumpet, cornet, flugelhorn, trombone, tuba), drums(timpani, xylophone, vibraphone, bells, drums, triangle, cymbals, tambourine, castanets, tom-tom and others).
Sometimes other instruments are included in the orchestra: harp, piano, organ(keyboard and wind musical instrument, the largest type of musical instrument), celesta(a small keyboard-percussion musical instrument that looks like a piano and sounds like bells), harpsichord.
Harpsichord
Big a symphony orchestra can include up to 110 musicians , small– no more than 50.
The conductor decides how to seat the orchestra. The arrangement of performers in a modern symphony orchestra is aimed at achieving coherent sonority. In 50-70 years. XX century became widespread "American seating": the first and second violins are placed to the left of the conductor; on the right are violas and cellos; in the depths there are woodwinds and brass winds, double basses; on the left are drums.
Symphony orchestra musicians' seating arrangement
Beethoven was the first to give the symphony public purpose, elevated it to the level of philosophy. It was in the symphony that it was embodied with the greatest depth revolutionary democratic composer's worldview.
Beethoven created majestic tragedies and dramas in his symphonic works. Beethoven's symphony, addressed to huge human masses, has monumental forms. Thus, the first movement of the “Eroica” symphony is almost twice as large as the first movement of Mozart’s largest symphony, “Jupiter,” and the gigantic dimensions of the 9th symphony are generally incommensurable with any of the previously written symphonic works.
Until the age of 30, Beethoven did not write a symphony at all. Any symphonic work by Beethoven is the fruit of the longest labor. Thus, “Eroica” took 1.5 years to create, the Fifth Symphony – 3 years, the Ninth – 10 years. Most of the symphonies (from the Third to the Ninth) fall during the period of the highest rise of Beethoven's creativity.
Symphony I sums up the quests of the early period. According to Berlioz, “this is no longer Haydn, but not yet Beethoven.” In the Second, Third and Fifth, images of revolutionary heroism are expressed. The Fourth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth are distinguished by their lyrical, genre, scherzo-humorous features. In the Ninth Symphony, Beethoven returns for the last time to the theme of tragic struggle and optimistic life affirmation.
Third Symphony, "Eroica" (1804).
The true flowering of Beethoven's creativity is associated with his Third Symphony (the period of mature creativity). The appearance of this work was preceded by tragic events in the composer's life - the onset of deafness. Realizing that there was no hope for recovery, he plunged into despair, thoughts of death did not leave him. In 1802, Beethoven wrote a will to his brothers, known as the Heiligenstadt.
It was at that terrible moment for the artist that the idea of the 3rd symphony was born and a spiritual turning point began, from which the most fruitful period in Beethoven’s creative life began.
This work reflected Beethoven's passion for the ideals of the French Revolution and Napoleon, who personified in his mind the image of the true folk hero. Having finished the symphony, Beethoven called it "Buonaparte". But soon news came to Vienna that Napoleon had betrayed the revolution and proclaimed himself emperor. Upon learning of this, Beethoven became furious and exclaimed: “This one too ordinary person! Now he will trample underfoot all human rights, follow only his ambition, will put himself above all others and become a tyrant!” According to eyewitnesses, Beethoven walked up to the table, grabbed the title page, tore it from top to bottom and threw it on the floor. Subsequently, the composer gave the symphony a new name - "Heroic"
A new one began with the Third Symphony new era in the history of world symphony. The meaning of the work is as follows: during the titanic struggle, the hero dies, but his feat is immortal.
Part I – Allegro con brio (Es-dur). G.P. is an image of a hero and struggle.
Part II – funeral march (C minor).
Part III – Scherzo.
Part IV - Finale - a feeling of all-encompassing folk fun.
Fifth Symphony,c- moll (1808).
This symphony continues the idea of the heroic struggle of the Third Symphony. “Through darkness - to light,” is how A. Serov defined this concept. The composer did not give this symphony a title. But its content is associated with the words of Beethoven, said in a letter to a friend: “No need for peace! I don’t recognize any peace other than sleep... I’ll grab fate by the throat. She won’t be able to bend me completely.” It was the idea of struggling with fate, with fate, that determined the content of the Fifth Symphony.
After the grandiose epic (Third Symphony), Beethoven creates a laconic drama. If the Third is compared to Homer’s Iliad, then the Fifth Symphony is compared to classicist tragedy and Gluck’s operas.
Part 4 of the symphony is perceived as 4 acts of tragedy. They are connected by the leitmotif with which the work begins, and about which Beethoven himself said: “Thus fate knocks on the door.” This theme is described extremely succinctly, like an epigraph (4 sounds), with a sharply knocking rhythm. This is a symbol of evil that tragically invades a person’s life, like an obstacle that requires incredible effort to overcome.
In Part I rock theme reigns supreme.
In Part II, sometimes its “tapping” is alarming.
In the III movement - Allegro - (Beethoven here refuses both the traditional minuet and the scherzo (“joke”), because the music here is alarming and conflicting) - it sounds with new bitterness.
In the finale (celebration, triumphal march), the theme of rock sounds like a memory of past dramatic events. The finale is a grandiose apotheosis, reaching its apogee in a coda expressing the victorious jubilation of the masses seized with a heroic impulse.
Sixth Symphony, "Pastoral" (F- dur, 1808).
Nature and merging with it, a sense of peace of mind, images of folk life - this is the content of this symphony. Among Beethoven's nine symphonies, the Sixth is the only program one, i.e. has a general name and each part is entitled:
Part I – “Joyful feelings upon arrival in the village”
Part II – “Scene by the Stream”
Part III – “A cheerful gathering of villagers”
Part IV – “Thunderstorm”
Part V – “The Shepherd’s Song. A song of thanksgiving to the deity after a thunderstorm.”
Beethoven sought to avoid naive figurativeness and in the subtitle to the title emphasized “more an expression of feeling than painting.”
Nature, as it were, reconciles Beethoven with life: in his adoration of nature, he strives to find oblivion from sorrows and anxieties, a source of joy and inspiration. Deaf Beethoven, secluded from people, often wandered in the forests on the outskirts of Vienna: “Almighty! I'm happy in the forests where every tree speaks of you. There, in peace, we can serve you.”
The "pastoral" symphony is often considered a harbinger of musical romanticism. A “free” interpretation of the symphonic cycle (5 parts, at the same time, since the last three parts are performed without interruption, then three parts), as well as a type of programming that anticipates the works of Berlioz, Liszt and other romantics.
Ninth Symphony (d- moll, 1824).
The Ninth Symphony is one of the masterpieces of world musical culture. Here Beethoven again turns to the theme of heroic struggle, which takes on a pan-human, universal scale. In terms of the grandeur of its artistic concept, the Ninth Symphony surpasses all works created by Beethoven before it. It is not for nothing that A. Serov wrote that “all the great activity of the brilliant symphonist tended toward this “ninth wave.”
The sublime ethical idea of the work - an appeal to all humanity with a call for friendship, for the fraternal unity of millions - is embodied in the finale, which is the semantic center of the symphony. It is here that Beethoven first introduces a choir and solo singers. This discovery of Beethoven was used more than once by composers of the 19th and 20th centuries (Berlioz, Mahler, Shostakovich). Beethoven used lines from Schiller's ode "To Joy" (the idea of freedom, brotherhood, the happiness of mankind):
People are brothers among themselves!
Hug, millions!
Join in the joy of one!
Beethoven needed word, for the pathos of oratorical speech has an increased power of influence.
The Ninth Symphony contains programmatic features. The finale repeats all the themes of the previous movements - a kind of musical explanation of the symphony's concept, followed by a verbal one.
The dramaturgy of the cycle is also interesting: first there are two fast parts with dramatic images, then the third part is slow and the finale. Thus, all continuous figurative development moves steadily towards the finale - the result of the life struggle, various aspects of which are given in the previous parts.
The success of the first performance of the Ninth Symphony in 1824 was triumphant. Beethoven was greeted with five rounds of applause, while even imperial family According to etiquette, one was supposed to greet only three times. Deaf Beethoven could no longer hear the applause. Only when he was turned to face the audience, he was able to see the delight that gripped the listeners.
But, despite all this, the second performance of the symphony took place a few days later in a half-empty hall.
Overtures.
In total, Beethoven has 11 overtures. Almost all of them appeared as an introduction to an opera, ballet, or theatrical play. If previously the purpose of the overture was to prepare for the perception of musical and dramatic action, then with Beethoven the overture develops into an independent work. With Beethoven, the overture ceases to be an introduction to the subsequent action and turns into an independent genre, subject to its own internal laws of development.
Beethoven's best overtures are Coriolanus, Leonora No. 2 2, Egmont. Overture "Egmont" - based on Goethe's tragedy. Its theme is the struggle of the Dutch people against the Spanish enslavers in the 16th century. Hero Egmont, fighting for freedom, dies. In the overture, again, all development moves from darkness to light, from suffering to joy (as in the Fifth and Ninth Symphonies).
LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN (1770-1827) The work of the brilliant German composer Beethoven is the greatest treasure of world culture, an entire era in the history of music. It had a huge influence on the development of art in the 19th century. In shaping the worldview of Beethoven the artist, the decisive role was played by the ideas of French bourgeois revolution 1789. Brotherhood of man, heroic deed in the name of freedom - central themes his creativity. Beethoven's music, strong-willed and indomitable in its depiction of struggle, courageous and restrained in its expression of suffering and sorrowful reflection, captivates with its optimism and high humanism. Heroic images Beethoven's works are intertwined with deep, concentrated lyrics and images of nature. His musical genius most fully manifested himself in the field of instrumental music - in nine symphonies, five piano and violin concertos, thirty-two piano sonatas, and string quartets.
Beethoven's works are characterized by scale of forms, richness and sculptural relief of images, expressiveness and clarity musical language saturated with strong-willed rhythms and heroic melodies
Ludwig van Beethoven was born on December 16, 1770 in the Rhine town of Bonn in the family of a court singer. The childhood of the future composer, spent in constant material need, was joyless and harsh. The boy was taught to play the violin, piano and organ. He made rapid progress and already from 1784 he served in the court chapel.
Since 1792, Beethoven settled in Vienna. He soon gained fame as a wonderful pianist and improviser. Beethoven's playing amazed his contemporaries with its powerful impulse and emotional strength. In the first decade of Beethoven's stay in the Austrian capital, two of his symphonies, six quartets, seventeen piano sonatas and other works were created. However, the composer, who was in the prime of his life, was struck by a serious illness - Beethoven began to lose his hearing. Only an unbending will and faith in his high calling as a musician-citizen helped him endure this blow of fate. In 1804, the Third (“Heroic”) Symphony was completed, which marked the beginning of a new, even more fruitful stage in the composer’s work. Following the “Eroica,” Beethoven’s only opera “Fidelio” (1805), the Fourth Symphony (1806), a year later the “Coriolanus” overture, and in 1808 the famous Fifth and Sixth (“Pastoral”) symphonies were written. The same period includes music for Goethe's tragedy "Egmont", the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies, a number of piano sonatas, among which stand out No. 21 ("Aurora") and No. 23 ("Appassionata") and many other remarkable works.
In subsequent years creative productivity Beethoven has noticeably decreased. He completely lost his hearing. The composer perceived with bitterness the political reaction that came after the Congress of Vienna (1815). Only in 1818 did he again turn to creativity. Beethoven's late works are marked by features of philosophical depth and the search for new forms and means of expression. At the same time, the pathos of heroic struggle did not fade away in the work of the great composer. On May 7, 1824, the grandiose Ninth Symphony was performed for the first time, unparalleled in its power of thought, breadth of concept, and perfection of execution. Its main idea is the unity of millions; choral finale of this a work of genius based on the text of F. Schiller's ode "To Joy" is dedicated to the glorification of freedom, the singing of boundless joy and an all-encompassing feeling of brotherly love.
Recent years Beethoven's life was overshadowed by severe hardships, illness and loneliness. He died on March 26, 1827 in Vienna.
Beethoven's contribution to world culture determined primarily by his symphonic works. He was the greatest symphonist, and it was in symphonic music that his worldview and basic artistic principles were most fully embodied.
Beethoven's path as a symphonist spanned almost a quarter of a century (1800 - 1824), but his influence spread throughout the entire 19th and even to a large extent into the 20th century. In the 19th century, every symphonic composer had to decide for himself whether he would continue one of the lines of Beethoven’s symphony or try to create something fundamentally different. One way or another, but without Beethoven the symphony music XIX century would be completely different.
Beethoven wrote 9 symphonies (10 remained in sketches). Compared to 104 by Haydn or 41 by Mozart, this is not much, but each of them is an event. The conditions under which they were composed and performed were radically different from those under Haydn and Mozart. For Beethoven, a symphony is, firstly, a purely social genre, performed mainly in large halls by an orchestra that was quite respectable by the standards of that time; and secondly, the genre is ideologically very significant, which does not allow writing such essays at once in series of 6 pieces. Therefore, Beethoven's symphonies, as a rule, are much larger than even Mozart's (except for the 1st and 8th) and are fundamentally individual in concept. Every symphony gives the only solution– both figurative and dramatic.
True, in sequence Beethoven symphonies Some patterns are revealed that have long been noticed by musicians. Thus, odd-numbered symphonies are more explosive, heroic or dramatic (except for the 1st), and even-numbered symphonies are more “peaceful”, genre-based (mostly the 4th, 6th and 8th). This may be explained by the fact that Beethoven often conceived symphonies in pairs and even wrote them simultaneously or immediately after each other (5 and 6 even “swapped” numbers at the premiere; 7 and 8 followed in a row).
Chamber instrumental
Besides string quartets, Beethoven left many other chamber instrumental works: a septet, three string quintets, six piano trios, ten violin sonatas, five cello sonatas. Among them, in addition to the Septet described above, a string quintet (C major op, 29, 1801) stands out. It's relative early work Beethoven is distinguished by a subtlety and freedom of expression reminiscent of Schubert's style.
Large artistic value present violin and cello sonatas. All ten violin sonatas are essentially duets for piano and violin, so significant is the piano part in them. They all push the old boundaries chamber music. This is especially noticeable in the Ninth Sonata in a minor (op. 44, 1803), dedicated to the Parisian violinist Rudolf Kreutzer, on the original of which Beethoven wrote: “Sonata for piano and obligate violin, written in concert style - like a concert”. The same age as the “Eroica Symphony” and “Appassionata,” the “Kreutzer Sonata” is related to them both in ideological concept, and in the novelty of expressive techniques, and in the symphonic development. Against the background of all Beethoven's sonata violin literature, it stands out for its drama, integrity of form and scale.
The Sixth Piano Trio in B major (Op. 97, 1811), which belongs to Beethoven’s most inspired works, gravitates towards the symphonic style. The images of deep reflection in the slow variation movement, the heightened contrasts between the movements, the tonal plan and the structure of the cycle anticipate the Ninth Symphony. Strict architectonics and purposeful thematic development are combined with a broad, flowing melody, saturated with diverse color shades.
“Music is higher than any wisdom and philosophy...”
Beethoven and the symphony
The word "symphony" is used very often when talking about the works of Ludwig van Beethoven. The composer devoted a significant part of his life to improving the symphony genre. What is this form of composition, which is the most important part of Beethoven’s legacy and is successfully developing today?
Origins
A major symphony is called musical composition, written for orchestra. Thus, the concept of “symphony” does not refer to any specific genre of music. Many symphonies are tone works in four movements, with the sonata considered the first form. They are usually classified as classical symphonies. However, even the works of some famous masters of the classical period - such as Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven - do not fit into this model.
The word "symphony" comes from the Greek, which means "to sound together." Isidore of Seville was the first to use the Latin form of this word to designate a double-headed drum, and in the 12th to 14th centuries in France the word meant “organ organ.” Meaning “to sound together,” it also appears in the titles of some works by composers of the 16th and 17th centuries, including Giovanni Gabriele and Heinrich Schutz.
In the 17th century, throughout much of the Baroque period, the terms "symphony" and "sinphony" were applied to a number of different compositions, including instrumental works, used in operas, sonatas and concertos - usually as part of a larger work. In the 18th century, the operatic sinphony, or Italian overture, developed a standard structure of three contrasting parts: fast, slow and fast dance. This form is considered to be the immediate predecessor of the orchestral symphony. For much of the 18th century, the terms "overture", "symphony" and "sinphony" were considered interchangeable.
Another important precursor to the symphony was the ripieno concerto, a relatively little-studied form reminiscent of a concerto for strings and basso continuo, but without solo instruments. The earliest of Ripieno's concertos are considered to be the works of Giuseppe Torelli. Antonio Vivaldi also wrote works of this type. Perhaps the most famous Ripieno concerto is the Brandenburg Concerto by Johann Sebastian Bach.
Symphony in the 18th century
Early symphonies were written in three movements with the following alternation of tempos: fast - slow - fast. Symphonies also differ from Italian overtures in that they are intended for independent concert performance rather than for performance on the opera stage, although works originally written as overtures were later sometimes used as symphonies and vice versa. Most of the early symphonies were written in major key.
Symphonies created in the 18th century for concert, opera or church performance were performed mixed with works of other genres or lined up in a chain composed of suites or overtures. Vocal music dominated, in which symphonies served as preludes, interludes and postludes (final movements).
At that time, most symphonies were short, lasting between ten and twenty minutes.
"Italian" symphonies, usually used as overtures and intermissions in opera productions, traditionally had a three-movement form: a fast movement (allegro), a slow movement and another fast movement. It is according to this scheme that all of Mozart’s early symphonies were written. The early three-part form was gradually replaced by the four-part form that dominated at the end of the 18th century and throughout most of the 19th century. This symphonic form, created by German composers, became associated with the "classical" style of Haydn and the late Mozart. An additional “dance” part appeared, and the first part was recognized as “first among equals.”
The standard four-part form consisted of:
1) a fast part in binary or - in a later period - sonata form;
2) slow part;
3) minuet or trio in three-part form;
4) a fast movement in the form of a sonata, rondo or sonata-rondo.
Variations on this structure, such as changing the order of the two middle parts or adding a slow introduction to the first fast part, were considered common. The first symphony known to us to include a minuet as a third movement was a work in D major written in 1740 by Georg Matthias Mann, and the first composer to consistently add the minuet as a component of the four-movement form was Jan Stamitz.
The early symphonies were composed mainly by Viennese and Mannheim composers. Early representatives Viennese school there were Georg Christoph Wagenzeil, Wenzel Raymond Birk and Georg Mathias Monn, and Jan Stamitz worked in Mannheim. True, this does not mean that symphonies were performed only in these two cities: they were composed throughout Europe.
The most famous symphonists of the late 18th century were Joseph Haydn, who wrote 108 symphonies in 36 years, and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who created 56 symphonies in 24 years.
Symphony in the 19th century
With the advent of permanent professional orchestras in 1790-1820, the symphony began to occupy an increasingly prominent place in concert life. Beethoven's first academic concerto, Christ on the Mount of Olives, became more famous than his first two symphonies and his piano concerto.
Beethoven significantly expanded previous ideas about the symphony genre. His Third (“Heroic”) Symphony is distinguished by its scale and emotional content, far surpassing in this respect all works created before symphonic genre, and in the Ninth Symphony the composer took the unprecedented step of including parts for soloist and choir in the last movement, turning the work into a chorale symphony.
Hector Berlioz used the same principle when writing his "dramatic symphony" Romeo and Juliet. Beethoven and Franz Schubert replaced the traditional minuet with a more lively scherzo. In the “Pastoral Symphony,” Beethoven inserted a fragment of the “storm” before the final movement, and Berlioz, in his programmatic “Symphony Fantastique,” used a march and a waltz, and also wrote it in five, rather than four, parts, as is customary.
Robert Schumann and Felix Mendelssohn, leading German composers, expanded the harmonic vocabulary of Romantic music with their symphonies. Some composers - for example, the Frenchman Hector Berlioz and the Hungarian Franz Liszt - wrote clearly expressed program symphonies. The works of Johannes Brahms, who took the work of Schumann and Mendelssohn as a starting point, were distinguished by their particular structural rigor. Other prominent symphonists of the second half of the 19th century centuries there were Anton Bruckner, Antonin Dvorak and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
Symphony in the twentieth century
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Gustav Mahler wrote several large-scale symphonies. The eighth of them was called the “Symphony of a Thousand”: that is how many musicians were required to perform it.
In the twentieth century, further stylistic and semantic development of compositions called symphonies took place. Some composers, including Sergei Rachmaninov and Carl Nielsen, continued to compose traditional four-movement symphonies, while other authors experimented widely with the form: Jean Sibelius's Seventh Symphony, for example, consists of just one movement.
However, certain trends persisted: symphonies were still orchestral works, and symphonies with vocal parts or with solo parts for individual instruments were the exception, not the rule. If a work is called a symphony, then this implies a fairly high level of its complexity and the seriousness of the author’s intentions. The term “symfonietta” also appeared: this is the name for works that are somewhat lighter than the traditional symphony. The most famous are the symphoniettas of Leos Janacek.
The 20th century also saw an increase in the number musical compositions, in the form of typical symphonies, to which the authors gave a different designation. Thus, musicologists often consider Béla Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra and Gustav Mahler’s “Song of the Earth” as symphonies.
Other composers, on the contrary, are increasingly calling works that can hardly be classified as symphonies into this genre. This may indicate the authors' desire to emphasize their artistic intentions, which are not directly related to any symphonic tradition.
On the poster: Beethoven at work (painting by William Fassbender (1873-1938))
