Symphony No. 9 (Schubert)
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The Symphony No. 9 in C major, D. 944, known as the Great, is the final symphony completed by Franz Schubert. Nicknamed The Great C major originally to distinguish it from his Symphony No. 6, the Little C major ([1],[2]), the subtitle is usually now taken as a reference to the symphony's majesty. A typical performance takes around 55 minutes.
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[edit] Composition and early reception
For a long time, also, it was believed to be a work of Schubert’s last year, 1828. It was true that, in the last months of his life, he did start drafting a symphony – but this was the work in D major now accepted as Symphony No.10, which has been realized for performance by Brian Newbould[citation needed]. In fact, we now know that the 'Great' was largely composed in sketch in the summer of 1825: that, indeed, it was the work to which Schubert was referring in a letter of March 1824 when he said he was preparing himself to write 'a grand symphony'. By the spring or summer of 1826 it was completely scored, and in October Schubert, who was quite unable to pay for a performance, sent it to the Vienna Philharmonic Society with a dedication. In response they made him a small payment, arranged for the copying of the orchestral parts, and at some point in the latter half of 1827 actually gave the work a play-through (the exact date and the conductor are unknown) – though it was decided to be too long and difficult for a public performance.
In 1838, 10 years after Schubert's death, Robert Schumann visited Vienna and found the dusty manuscript of the symphony. He took it back to Leipzig, where it was performed publicly for the first time by Felix Mendelssohn at the Leipzig Gewandhaus on 21 March 1839. Schumann celebrated the event in the Neue Zeitschrift with an ecstatic article in which, in a phrase destined to become famous, he hailed the symphony for its 'heavenly length'. Legend claims during a rehearsal of the first movement one musician was reported as asking another if he had managed to hear a tune yet. On the other hand, having heard its first performance, Schumann is reported to have said he thought it the greatest instrumental work since the death of Beethoven.
[edit] Numbering
There continues to be some controversy over the numbering of this symphony, with German-speaking scholars sometimes numbering it as symphony No. 7, some versions of the Deutsch catalog (the standard catalogue of Schubert's works, compiled by Otto Erich Deutsch) listing it as No. 8, and English-speaking scholars often listing it as No. 9. Many American orchestras have dropped the numbering altogether since the mid-1980s and in printed programs merely title it the "Great" C-major Symphony.
[edit] Form
Following the standard symphonic form, there are four movements:
- Andante - Allegro ma non troppo - Piu Moto
- Andante con moto
- Scherzo. Allegro vivace - Trio - Scherzo. Da Capo Al Fine
- Finale. Allegro vivace - Allegro vivace
Often considered Schubert’s finest piece for orchestra, the Great C-Major Symphony is also one of the composer’s most innovative pieces. Thematic development in the style of Beethoven is still present in the work, but Schubert puts far more emphasis on melody, which one might expect from the composer of some six hundred lieder. In fact, this new style prompted Schumann to pursue his own symphonic ambitions. The symphony is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A and C, 2 bassoons, 2 horns in C, 2 trumpets in A and C, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings. Beethoven had always used the trombone as an effect, and therefore very sparingly, or, in the case of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, also to double the alto, tenor, and bass parts of the chorus as was common in sacred music and opera at the time. However, in both Schubert’s Unfinished Symphony and the Ninth Symphony, trombones are liberated from these roles and have far more substantial parts.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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