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Revision as of 10:12, 8 January 2008 by Lawrence H K (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major "Rhenish", opus 97 was written by Robert Schumann in late 1850. It was premiered on February 6, 1851 in Düsseldorf under the direction of the composer. The symphony soon became known as the "Rhenish" although the nickname wasn't Schumann's. In this symphony, perhaps Schumann's brightest and most optimistic symphonic work, Schumann strove to write a work that would have a broad public appeal. He wrote to his biographer, Wilhelm von Wasielewski, that he wanted "popular elements" to dominate this work. Indeed, the symphony's tunefulness and folk-like character helped it to win a warm public and critical reception and the "Rhenish" soon became one of Schumann's greatest successes.
Background
The River Rhine featured prominently in the last years of Schumann's life. On February 19 1854 he threw himself into that river in a failed suicide attempt, while on September 29 1850 it afforded him a far happier experience when he and his wife Clara boarded a boat and cruised down the river to the great city of Cologne. That journey clearly made a profound impression on him, and he wrote enthusiastically about the vast river with its boats and crowds of holiday-makers, the enchanting views from the boat of the Seven Hills and of the impressive spectacle of Cologne Cathedral, arguably the supreme example of Gothic architecture, as first glimpsed rising above the river banks. During their brief stay in the city, Robert and Clara witnessed a great service in the cathedral during which Archbishop Geissel was made a Cardinal. Their short visit over, the Schumanns boarded the boat and sailed back along the river to their new home in another Rhine-side city, Düsseldorf.
Schumann had not wanted to move to Düsseldorf; he had been hoping for the post of Musical Director at Dresden. When that proved unattainable he tried to find similar work in Leipzig and only when that, too, eluded him, did he accept an equivalent post at Düsseldorf. When he and Clara arrived there, on September 2 1850, they were given the kind of hero's welcome he had never previously experienced and it imbued him with a deep love for the Rhineland and its people.
His immediate response to both the riverine journey and the Rhinelanders' enthusiastic reception for both him and his wife, was to compose a new symphony celebrating, as Schumann himself put it, "a piece of Rhenish life". This was to be his final symphony (although, by a quirk of publishing, it appeared, and has been known ever since, as his Third Symphony) and it met with universal acclaim at its première in Düsseldorf on February 6 1851. Schumann conducted a second performance in Cologne three weeks later and this, too, was enthusiastically received. Notwithstanding the obvious pride the Rhinelanders felt at Schumann's generous portrayal of them and their land, the "Rhenish" Symphony is, as Dr Max Alberti writes in his preface to the score, "filled with the spirit of affirmation and joy of life".
Music
Unusual for its time, the Symphony is constructed in five movements. However, Schumann was quick to assure his publisher that the symphony would not be bulky and heavy as a result of the extra movement. In fact, the relative brevity of the third and fourth movements serve to create the illusion of one larger slow movement. The movements for the symphony are as follows:
- I. Lebhaft (E flat major)
- II. Scherzo: Sehr mäßig (C major)
- III. Nicht schnell (A flat major)
- IV. Feierlich (C minor, quasi attacca)
- V. Lebhaft (E flat major)
The symphony opens with a powerful statement in E flat major, a syncopated, fanfare-like theme that is seventeen bars long. The second movement has a more rustic character with its ländler and minuet-like themes. The lyrical third movement serves as an intermezzo between the scherzo and the fourth movement. The fourth movement was said to be inspired by newspaper reports that Schumann read dealing with the elevation of Cologne's Archbishop Geissel to the rank of cardinal. The original title of this movement was In the Character of the Accompaniment to a Solemn Ceremony. The fifth and final movement brings us back to the buoyant mood of the first movement and closes out in radiant splendor.
1st Movement
This movement leaps into life with a purposeful theme representing the strength and unstoppable flow of the great river. The unfettered cheerfulness and exuberance of this movement not only paints a picture of the dancing and general liveliness of the Rhineland, but reflects the wonderful sense of optimism Schumann experienced following his arrival in Düsseldorf.
2nd Movement
Philipp Spitta, one of Schumann's first biographers, wrote "perhaps the gem of the whole (Symphony) is this movement, in which power and beauty are mingled with the romance which in every German heart hovers around the Rhine with its multitude of songs and legends." (This, after all, is the river which is central to Wagner's epic Ring of the Nibelung.) The movement is in the form of a typical Rhineland dance.
3rd Movement
The next pair of movements was originally given the titles "Morning on the Rhine" and "In the style of an accompaniment to a Solemn Ceremony". This movement acts as a kind of gentle interlude with the clarinets and bassoons singing lovingly over the misty violas in a kind of miniature picture of the Rhine as it flows through open countryside on an early autumnal morning.
4th Movement
This movement was inspired by the service the Schumanns witnessed in Cologne Cathedral, and the prominence given to trombones, instruments traditionally associated with sacred music, and the solemn, hymn-like quality of the main theme all imply the grandeur of a religious occasion in a great Gothic cathedral.
5th Movement
There is also something of a homage to Bach, one of Schumann's great heroes, before the doors of the Cathedral are flung open and the music celebrates its return to the open air in this lively movement. It is as if the whole Rhineland is celebrating before a grand consummation when the music from the Cathedral is combined with hints of the earlier movements bringing this splendidly picturesque Rhine journey to its conclusion.
External links
- Piano reduction (pdf)
- Free scores by Symphony No. 3 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)