Click here for Full Issue of Fidelio Volume 12, Number 4, Winter 2003
fr i e n d , t h e G e r m a n p o e t H e i n r i c h
Heine. I n many respects, this symphony,
"tightly" organized in a manner typical
of Schumann, is a polemical counter­
assault against the Romantic perversions
of such composers as Hector Berlioz,
and a defense of the polyphonic method
of } .S. Bach. (For those who doubt Schu­
m a n n ' s i n d e b t e d n e s s to B a c h , it is a
wonderful discovery to see how many of
h i s L ieder p l a y fu l l y b o r r o w p i a n o
accompaniments from Bach's keyboard
works.)
In the symphony, the o r c h e s t r a is
orga n i zed a r o u n d a p o l y p h o n i c d i a ­
logue, in w h i c h modal a n d harmonic
development unfold in a clear pathway,
culminating in the final movement, in a
surprisingly energetic fugue that pro­
vokes the listener to think of another
composer, the Ludwig van Beethoven
whom Schumann so revered . Because
much of the buildup to that point is not
as technically demanding as Beethoven's
own symphonies, the piece is perfect for
developing an orchestra's capability to
"vocalize" musical ideas from one sec­
tion across to anoth e r . S c h i ff gained
ground as even the string players began
to realize that such designations as "soft"
and "loud" are not traffic signals on a
musical score, but part of a musical lan­
guage based on human singing.
The final composition of the evening
was Beethoven's fi rst piano concerto,
Opus 15 in C major. Because of the work
done on the Schumann, the Beethoven
performance was nearly spectacular. The
transition between the first and second
movements, from humor to melancholy,
successfully conveyed Beethoven's grasp,
even in this composition written in his
youth, of the Schillerian concept of the
Sublime. The energy-throughput in the
orchestra kept improving; the soloist
gave of himself to the fullest; and the
young Beethoven's eternal Promethean
view of man filled the hall.
In s u m , the c o n c e r t was t r u l y a n
experience t o remembe r . T h a n k y o u
Andras S c h i ff, w e l c o m e to A m e r i c a ,
and please come back many times more.
-Renee Sigerson
Andras Schiff was last interviewed in Fide­
lia in the Winter/Spring 2002 issue (Vol.
Xl, No. 1 -2).
FIGURE l .
/ Turns
Lebhaft
I
"-
j'#---'�!N11 1JJ p. V " l iN �
,� VilrrBul11"'--C-=-Violin I, Flutes, Oboes
The work represents Schumann's
s t r uggle to master the d i scoveries
Schumann 's
o f Beethov e n , partic u l a r l y h i s F i fth
but a l s o J . S . B a c h , of
Fourth Symphony
Symphony,
in D Minor
million times more than we imagine."
whom Schumann s a i d: " H e k new a
S c h u m a n n refe r red to this work
as a " s y m phony i n one movement."
.
U
n l i k e o t h e r c o m p o se r s , Robert
A s i n B e e t h o v e n ' s more a d v a n c e d
Schumann often concentrated on
w o r k s , the m o v e m e n t s p r oc e e d
the problem of one musical medium at
d i rectly into one anothe r. The transi­
a time. His first
pieces were all for
tion from the third movement to the
1 840, he concen­
trated on the Classical Lied, producing
fo u r t h is e s p e c i a l l y p o w e r fu l , a n d
23
solo piano. In the year
all of his great song cycles. The follow­
ing y e a r , he t u r n e d his attention
to
invokes t h e transition from the third
to t h e fo u r t h m o v e m e n t o f B e e ­
thoven's Fifth Symphony.
orchestral writing, producing his first
B e e t h o v e n ' s F i ft h r e p r e s e n ted a
two symphonies, h i s piano concerto ,
great step forward in his mastery o f
and other w o r k s . T e n y e a r s later, h e
"Motivfuhrung." A four-note germ, o r
revised his Second Symphony, a n d i t
" c e l l , " that opens t h e w o r k , recurs i n
became known as h i s Fourth.
ironically different forms throughout
Although Johannes Brahms appears
the entire symphony. The entire sym­
a "germ" that is not
to have preferred the earlier version (he
phony flows from
c a l l e d the l a t e r o n e " o v e r d ressed " ) ,
the four notes, as notes per se, but a con­
C l a r a Schumann decided to publish
cept
only the later version.
mastery of the problem of the "One and
in the composer's mind. Beethoven's
t h e Many," a l ­
Violin I
FIGURE 2 .
lowed
him
to
develop a more
-
"
•
sft
Viol in
p o w e r fu l l y d i f­
fe ren tiated piece
(the Many), but at
the s a m e t i m e a
II
more
coherent
o n e , a n d fro m a
m u c h more u n i ­
'"""
'Cell()�. Violas
fi e d c o n c e p t o f
'Cellos, Violas, Contrabas$es
82
© 2003 Schiller Institute, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission strictly prohibited.
More
FIGURE 4.
becomes
clear, when you dis­
and the pieces it i nspi red by Mozart and
Beethoven [SEE Figure
c o v e r the r o l e t h a t
FIGURE S .
these bel canto turns
and does not even look at polyphonic
play th roughout the
i ronies. Those inclined to i n v estigate
work, such as in the
farther, will find, more and more, how
song for solo oboe in
the work unfolds from a single, ironic
the second move-
concept.
ment [SEE Figure
ment," Schumann w a s determined to
c o v e r fo r y o u r s e l f,
F ii rtwangler as a metric for all other
the Bach-like trans­
performances. Compared to Fiirtwan­
fo r m a t i o n
of the
gler, most performances are unl isten­
1 , and
a b l e : they t r e a t the s y m p h o n y a s a
in another
l ightweight piece, and play it far too
2,
"theme" from the first movement
Figure
25 years, this reviewer has
1 953 performance by Wilhelm
For about
used a
the appoggiatura in Figure
In t h i s " sy m p h o n y i n one m o v e ­
4].
See i f y o u c a n d i s ­
turn i n Figure
change (the One).
9].
All this barely scratches the surface,
5].
[SEE
quickly. (Fiirtwangler told his orches­
tra, that there was nothing to this piece
master that principle. After a powerful
Then, look at the seemingly com­
slow i n t r o d u c t i o n i n D m i n o r , the
pletely different slow introduction [SEE
are those o f the " pe r i o d - i ns t r u m e n t!
main subject proceeds in groups of four
Figure
period-practice" people, such as Niko­
6].
Not only does it end with a
if simply rattled off.) Particularly bad
sixteenth notes, which take d i fferent
turn, but the first six notes, F-E-D-C # ­
laus Harnoncourt and Roy Goodman,
fo rms, including a vocal "turn" [SEE
D-E, bear a resemblance to these s i x
who make a bloody mess of the music.
1 ]. This idea dominates the first
n o t e s t h a t s t a n d o u t fr o m t h e m a i n
H a r n o n c o u r t p r o d u c e d a p u r ported
movement, and soon becomes a n
"subject" [SEE Figure
version of the early
appoggiatura, another idea from the bel
canto voice [SEE Figure 2]; but it also
notes of the introduction also undergo
an i ronic transformation from slow and
comes back , in recogn izable for m , in
s e r i o u s , to q u i c k a n d p l a y fu l , in t h e
al though different from Fiirtwangler's,
8].
was i n the same s p i r i t , and does not
Figure
7].
These first six
the t r a n s i tion to a n d opening o f the
third movement scherzo [SEE Figure
fourth movement [SEE Figure
The scherzo also quotes t h e characteris­
3], which
is itself a direct quote from the first.
FIGURE 6.
First six notes
Langsam
1 84 1 edition, which
only succeeds in castrating Schumann .
Andras
S c h i ff s
p e r fo r m a n c e ,
suffer by comparison.
tic intervals of Bach's Musical Offering,
-Fred Haight
FIGURE 7.
Turn
1 4 " I@1� 1 � I�} LjlJ
pp
Violins, Bassoons
FIGURE 8.
Lebhaft
I
�
�
I r I F r F I �r
F r I r F Qr I F r F i r r F i r F r I F r F I F
mai 6th
.�
.!<
ji;"
"-
3
""
>
�
I
Music typesetting by John Sigerson
83