Franz Schubert "Unfinished Symphony"
Few people know, but one of the most recognizable works of Schubert did not receive recognition during his lifetime. In the music text of the essay, all the most characteristic features of the romantic period are encrypted. Amazing aftertaste leaves the music. There is a mystery in it, because it did not fit into the standards. After reading the page, everyone will be able to learn interesting facts, history and content, as well as enjoy the beautiful performance.
History of creation
The composer actively worked on the work from 1822 to 1823. Initially, the piano version was composed, then two of the three parts were orchestrated. Scherzo remained in the outline. Musicologists suggest that the author’s decision that the continuation of thoughts would be redundant and lead to a loss of ideological content, but this fact is not confirmed. Until now, no one knows why he was forced to abandon the classical form.
Nevertheless, the fact that the composition is not completed is completely refuted, since after the work was finished Schubert was actively involved in other projects. As noted by his friends, he did not proceed to new works until he completed the old. Moreover, he gave the score to Anselm Hüttenbrenner, who himself was a fairly well-known musician with a specialization in the symphonic genre. But he, fearing that a friend would be disgraced, disregarded the score. Soon and Franz forgot about his own work.
Even after the death of Schubert, the manuscript was gathering dust from Huttenbrenner. One fine day of 1865, the Austrian conductor Gerbek assorted unreleased notes. He was looking for interesting works for a concert dedicated to the Viennese music of the past. So the record was still unknown. In the same year, the premiere was held, which was a resounding success with the public.
A year later, the symphony was printed and began to be performed around the world. So the glory of genius came to Franz Schubert.
Interesting Facts
- There is a version that parts III and IV were lost, since they were not kept with close friends, to whom the author often showed his own creations.
- Conductor Johann Gerbeck, who first performed the symphony, discovered it completely by accident.
- Schubert constantly forgot about his own works. So he could improvise for hours, creating true masterpieces. When Franz brought the notes of his works, he always said the same thing: "What a wonderful thing! And who is the author?"
- Some musicians tried to finish the completion. These include English musicologist Brian Newbould and Russian scientist Anton Safronov.
- At the first performance as a supplement the final from the “Third Symphony” was performed.
- This is an absolutely finished work, since two years have passed since its creation, when it nevertheless decided to show the symphony to its closest friend.
- The presentation took place only forty years after the death of the first romantic.
- The unreleased musical notes were found Scherzo's score sketches.
- Friends Schubert frankly believed that a large form is not given to him in the essay. They often laughed at Franz for his attempts to create a complete symphonic cycle.
- It is believed that the author did not have time to complete the composition due to death, which of course is a myth.
Conductors
It is no secret that the composition is quite famous in music circles. It is performed on the big stage by the best symphony orchestras. But not everyone succeeds in bringing the listener closer to the true intonational sound characteristic of that era.
Exemplary performances are considered to be:
- Nikolaus Harnoncourt emphasized transparency and lightness. Dynamically accurate music made the music more sophisticated and elegant.
- Leonard Bernstein has views that are different from the previous musician. Drama and heat are fundamental to his interpretation.
- Herbert von Karajan singles out the topic of introduction, defining the main place for her.
Content
The "unfinished" symphony is complete, the content says. The composer raises eternal questions about the fate of man. In the two-part cycle, as if the question is desperately asked: "What is the difference between fiction and fantasy, where to find the limits of reality?"
The symphony consists of two parts, while they are not opposed to each other, but complement each other. The only thing that needs to be noted is the difference in the mood of the lyrics:
- I. Lyrical experiences.
- Ii. Contemplation, enlightened dreaminess.
Throughout I parts the hero is in search of the ideal. He rushes about, his soul is plagued by vague doubts, he loses faith in finding happiness. Further, there is an understanding that happiness is inside, it does not need to be searched around the world. You just have to live and enjoy every given day. Life is beautiful in contemplation.
The cycle is opened by the gloomy introduction, which summarizes the whole complex of images characteristic of romanticism: eternity, anxiety, languor. The melody is descending, creates the flavor of the midnight fog. This is the obscure consciousness of the lyrical hero, in which everything is in chaos. The theme of the introduction plays a formative role, it also carries the main idea of the work. In the future, it will appear before the development and code. It is noteworthy that the musical episode is contrasted with the intonation material following it.
In the main party comes the voice of the hero. This minor song theme in the mournful timbre of a flute with an oboe is a bright indicator of Schubert's compositional personality. Lyrics of the song allows you to express all the emotional heat. The characteristic accompaniment adds to the thrill and excitement. The pendulum begins to sway. Mood is bordered by elegy and nocturne.
A more active image is traced in the side game. A syncopated rhythm, a simple harmonic repository - all this is also song attributes, but the character has changed to a more positive and cheerful one. The tonality in G major, is in a tertiary ratio, perfectly conveys the mood. Further, the composer will actively play with the mood of the party, then overshadowing it, then making it again energetic.
The dynamics gradually increase, the sonority increases. The dotted rhythm personifies uneven heartbeat. Music loses playfulness and begins to submit to the atmosphere of tragedy and drama. Suddenly, a new episode invades the key in C minor. This is a breakthrough of the situation. General pause. No more words. But you need to get up and move on. The determination to continue the path is reflected in the dynamics of the forte, but it was suppressed by the symbol of the tragic - the chord of the altered subdominant. After emotional exclamations, the material of the Secondary Party is restored.
The development consists of two sections. It is preceded by the introductory material, the theme of which turns into arious singing against the background of the accompaniment. The theme sounds at the climax point in chord texture. It has exhausted all interrogative intonations, it sounds in the affirmative. A semantic metamorphosis has occurred. The theme materialized from thought to reality. Conflict has opened through transformation.
In a reprise, there will be no dramatic collisions; everything happened. The code is focused on the intonation of the entry, which creates the impression of an arch.
II part. Andante con moto is the personification of sad detachment. Gentle harmonious colors have unusual tonal transitions. The change of major and minor gives rise to the idea of changes in the life of the lyrical hero. Mostly bright sounding string group in combination with wind instruments. This method of orchestration allows us to express the poetry and contemplative mood associated with being in nature. The lyrical hero finally found his safe haven, which gives him peace and balance. Nothing more disturbs, does not darken his mind. The hero became free.
The work has become innovative in this genre, and became a model of the era of Romanticism. The characteristic features of the new time include the following qualities:
- Drama improvement;
- The emergence of another on the structure of the conflict;
- Distinction of characters;
- To the program;
- A different view;
- New style;
- Internal and external scale change;
- Increase the form of statements;
- Rejection of a cyclic structure;
- Updated composition.
The main distinction of Schubert's works in a large form is the external preservation of the traditional structure with serious changes in the thematism. In the era of the romantics, it was not customary to hide their own feelings; they could no longer fit into the standards of classicism.
One should not underestimate the artistic significance of this symphonic work. Thanks to the composer, a new lyrical and dramatic type of symphony in instrumental music appeared. In the future, many geniuses used the work as a model for building the correct dramaturgical line.
"Unfinished Symphony" in the cinema
Symphony number 8 - a sample of the romantic look at the usual. Many filmmakers used music in their own movies to convey the atmosphere and mood.
- Mozart in the jungle (2015)
- Love is the perfect crime (2013)
- Sicilian chord (2012)
- American Dad (2010)
- Coasts of Agnès (2008)
- Redemption at Noon (2005)
- The Ghost Adventures of Casper and Wendy (2002)
- War of Foyle (2002)
- Minority Report (2002)
- Naughty Anime (1993)
- Too beautiful for you (1989)
- Pingu (1986)
- Detective (1985)
- Doctor Who (1981)
The music of Franz Schubert not only decorated the above-mentioned films, but also brought films to the largest cinema arena. The films received awards for musical arrangement.
Schubert's Eighth Symphony is not fading away, but beauty that has blossomed over the years. Lyrical intonation, magical sound, harmony in combination with novelty - that is what will be infinitely appreciated by the listener.
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