∂
Franz Schubert 1797–1828 CD 1
61’44
1 2 3 4
SYMPHONY No.1 in D D82 I. Adagio – Allegro vivace II. Andante III. Menuetto & Trio IV. Allegro vivace
11’11 6’38 4’05 6’07
5 6 7 8
SYMPHONY No.2 in B flat D125 I. Largo – Allegro vivace II. Andante III. Menuetto & Trio: Allegretto IV. Presto vivace
13’55 8’15 3’26 8’06
CD 2
53’50
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SYMPHONY No.3 in D D200 I. Adagio maestoso – Allegro con brio II. Allegretto III. Menuetto & Trio: Vivace IV. Presto vivace SYMPHONY No.4 in C minor ‘Tragic’ D417 I. Adagio molto – Allegro vivace II Andante III. Menuetto & Trio IV. Allegro
8’51 4’07 3’56 5’51 8’39 8’58 3’05 10’22
CD 3
62’51
1 2 3 4
SYMPHONY No.5 in B flat D485 I. Allegro II. Andante con moto III. Menuetto: Allegro molto IV. Allegro vivace
7’14 9’35 5’04 7’39
5 6 7 8
SYMPHONY No.6 in C D589 I. Adagio – Allegro II. Andante III. Scherzo. Presto IV. Allegro moderato
9’46 7’37 6’15 9’41
CD 4
76’19
1 2
SYMPHONY No.8 in B minor ‘Unfinished’ D759 I. Allegro moderato II. Andante con moto
14’16 10’31
3 4 5 6
SYMPHONY No.9 in C ‘The Great’ D944 I. Andante – Allegro ma non troppo – Più moto II. Andante con moto III. Scherzo. Allegro vivace IV. Finale. Allegro vivace
13’31 16’03 10’05 11’53
Camerata Salzburg / Sándor Végh
The Hanover Band / Roy Goodman 2
3
Franz Schubert, unlikely symphonist All seven of Schubert’s completed symphonies – plus the B minor fragment known as the ‘Unfinished’ (though there are several other such) are fairly often played nowadays, but this wasn’t always the case. During Schubert’s life (1797–1828) some of them were performed, but only occasionally and in small circles. His most famous pieces at that time were some of his songs and a small group of piano compositions, mainly for four hands. They perfectly fitted in a bourgeois culture with a high esteem for domestic music making, devoted to music with a basically classical framework and a romantic and melancholic character. The symphony was regarded as a public genre with as its greatest master Ludwig van Beethoven, whose symphonies combined a classical sense of structure with great energy and a strong inclination to heroism. When Schubert’s symphonies were published, some of them only decades after his death, many people criticized them for their combination of length, structure and mood. The mood was decidedly romantic, especially in the ‘Unfinished’ and the ‘Great’ C major symphony which explains their relative popularity since about 1900. But the Beethovenian length with an un-Beethovenian approach to melody and architecture made them highly problematic. In addition many people had a big problem with the first six symphonies: they were not public and problematic enough, since they sounded more like chamber music from a charming Haydn than orchestral music from a wrestling Beethoven. A style with a strong divertimento-like character was basically regarded as superficial and without a serious content, while romanticism strived for emotional and intellectual depth in music. Only the twentieth century, the same age that brought full rehabilitation for Haydn, gave these pieces their deserved recognition. Both Haydn and Schubert bring depth into music, but with unconventional means. Schubert’s symphonies can be divided in two groups. Before 1822 he wrote his first six symphonies (beside some unfinished efforts). He followed lessons in Vienna at a religious school (Konvikt) with an own orchestra in which Schubert played the viola.
4
For this orchestra Schubert wrote between 1813 and 1818 his first six symphonies. In 1822 he got seriously ill, recovered partly, but realized his illness was in the end fatal. After that experience his style changed. First he composed a number of orchestral works he didn’t complete, followed by two substantial works: his Unfinished symphony (1822) and the big C-major symphony (1825-1826). Although there are indeed great differences between the earlier and the later symphonies, as romantic authors emphasized, the similarities are just as striking. The ghost of Haydn and Mozart resonates in many respects of the first six symphonies. The orchestra doesn’t expand the average Mozart orchestra and the parts for the instruments can be played by a good amateur (just as Haydn and Mozart Schubert knew the orchestra as an orchestral musician). All the movements have clear motives and melodies. Like Mozart Schubert likes to develop melodies, especially long melodies, but by contrast he is much more daring in his harmony. Not so much by introducing unexpected chords and uncommon harmonic changes, but by introducing expected chords and changes at unexpected moments. Harmonically his music is much more static and Schubert likes to postpone harmonic solutions, especially in long movements, such as the finales of the first three symphonies. Even when the given pattern is quite rigid, as in the scherzo, the small deviations in all the first six symphonies betray a new approach to consonant and discord. The clear distinction between harmony in the tonic and the dominant is loosened in favor of a much richer language, not only in the development section where by convention harmonic richness is stimulated, but also in the exposition and the recapitulation of many movements. The result is a certain loss of conciseness (so typical for the music of Haydn and Mozart) and of energy (since Schubert unlike Beethoven is very spare with great dynamic contrasts), but an increase in lyric expansion. Already in the earlier symphonies one observes Schubert’s inclination to long passages without great dramatic contrasts but with basically a continuous sonority. Even in his Fourth symphony, nicknamed by Schubert ‘Tragic’ and in the ‘tragic’ key of C minor, Schubert is more a lyric than a tragic composer. The opening movement has the hallmarks of a tragic
5
symphony: the key, the punctuated rhythms, the slow introduction with many long-held discords, the emphasis in the instrumentation on the winds and the many sudden dynamic accents. The nickname however applies to only the first movement. The second is a beautiful cantabile, the third a scherzo with spiky rhythmic accents (no more tragic than the scherzo in the light-hearted Fifth Symphony) and the finale combines joyful melodies with a heavy instrumentation. This new approach to harmony and structure goes hand in hand with a rather conventional style of orchestration, at least in the early symphonies. Schubert knew some of the symphonies by Haydn and Mozart. Strings give the heart of the sound and winds are often best heard in small dialogues. Most of the symphonies were intimate pieces. Orchestras were small and played in small concert halls and private houses. Small in this case also meant relatively short. The Sixth Symphony could be seen as Schubert’s comment on Rossini, who became hugely popular in Vienna after 1815. Schubert took from the Italian his persistent melodic style, the quickly repeated notes in the accompaniment and the use of short motives and combined them with his unorthodox approach to consonance and discord, and a Haydnesque style of orchestration. The last two symphonies were, after a short initial hesitation, held in high esteem by romantic authors. The drama in the music, which in earlier compositions sheltered behind a façade of Haydn-esque beauty and charm, comes to the front. Everything in the earlier pieces that is moderated by a sense of classicism is now fully exploited in the name of a new expression and innovative approach to form. On a large scale, the classical framework has remained, but in the organization of the details Schubert is much more daring. The ‘Unfinished’ is almost just as long as the previous finished symphonies and it not unlikely that Schubert had more movements in mind than the two we have now. The ‘Great’ C major is even longer than Beethoven’s ‘Eroica’ and ‘Pastorale’ symphonies. The ‘Unfinished’ Symphony is remarkable for several reasons. First the new approach to instrumentation: the symphony opens in a dark mood and with low, soft playing
6
instruments, but what looks like an introduction appears to be a main theme. Schubert is much more daring than before in the placing of consonants and discords. He takes gestures from other tragic music of the time, but the mood constantly fluctuates between introvert pessimism and extravert tragedy. Harmony is a major element in this new expression. Just as adventurous is the second movement. The listener can detect a classical framework, but the proportions are very unorthodox. Just as remarkable is the fact that this new emotional world is created with almost the same means Schubert used in the earlier symphonies. The ‘Great’ C major is in a sense the ‘Unfinished’ made finished and with tragedy changed into joy. Expansion by endlessly repeating themes in different contexts is the main ingredient of the structure. The second movement repeats a few motives with harmonies apparently connected by association, but in the end Schubert remains faithful to his classical models. Much more than in his earlier symphonies Schubert exploits the possibilities of long passages within one key. The orchestra has hardly changed since the first symphonies, but the sound is more mellow. All these aspects contribute to a remarkable work of art: it is classic and romantic, has the vitality of the classical period and the melancholy of Schubert’s personality and combines the clear and concise architecture of the late 18th-century with the more adventurous and relaxing structure of most romantic music. When these symphonies were first presented (the ‘Great’ C major around 1840, the ‘Unfinished’ about 25 years later), musicians initially found the scores too difficult to play. After that, it took the audience several decades to admit that Schubert had mastered Beethoven’s favorite genres such as the symphony, string quartet and piano sonata in his own way, ignoring the mentality of the Classical tradition. Schubert is one of the first composers of music often described as poetic: on the one hand classic and clear, on the other dreamy and diffuse. C Emanuel Overbeeke, 2011
7