A Faust Symphony - Franz Liszt
Channel: Sergio Cánovas
Date: 12/03/2024

Philadelphia Orchestra & Westminster Choir conducted by Riccardo Muti. Gösta Winbergh as the tenor.

I - Faust. Lento assai - Allegro impetuoso - Lento assai - Allegro agitato ed appassionato assai - Meno mosso, misterioso e molto tranquillo - Affettuoso, poco andante - Allegro con fuoco - Grandioso. Poco meno mosso - Un poco accelerando il tempo - Tempo I. Allegro agitato assai - Come prima. Allegro agitato ed appassionato assai - Lento assai - Andante mesto - Allegro agitato ed appassionato molto - Affettuoso, poco andante - Maestoso - Poco a poco animando sino al fff (Allegro con fuoco) - Allegro con fuoco - Andante maestoso assai - Più mosso, molto agitato: 0:00
II - Gretchen. Andante soave - [...] - Andante soave. Tempo I: 30:53
III - Mephistopheles. Allegro vivace, ironico - Sempre allegro - Allegro vivace - Un poco animato - Alla breve - Il tempo un poco moderato (ma poco) - Alla breve - Sempre animato - Sempre più di fuoco - Sempre allegro animato - Alla breve - Un poco stringendo - Andante - Allegro - Allegro vivace - Poco più mosso - Un poco animato - Allegro non troppo, ma deciso assai - Alla breve - Sempre alla breve - Alla breve - Poco andante, ma sempre alla breve - Chorus misticus. Andante mistico - Sempre alla breve - Marcato e grandioso: 53:03

Liszt's Faust Symphony was composed between 1854-5, being inspired by Berlioz's "The Damnation of Faust". Originally written for small orchestra, it was revised and reorchestrated between 1857-61, also being added the final chorus mysticus. It was premiered in Weimar on September 5 of 1857 for the inauguration of the Goethe-Schiller Monument, performed by the Staatskapelle Weimar conducted by the composer. In 1880, Liszt added some ten bars to the second movement.

Having little to do with a traditional symphony of the period, Liszt does not attempt to tell the story of Goethe's drama. Instead, each movement is a musical portrayal of the main characters of the tragedy: Faust, Gretchen (or Marguerite) and Mephistopheles. The piece follows the logic of the then brand-new form of the symphonic poem, which Lizst had created in that decade. Liszt employs the use of thematic transformation, in which a basic theme is reprised throughout a musical work, but it undergoes constant transformations and disguises and is made to appear in several contrasting roles.

Goethe's Faust had a huge artistic impact when published, being considered as one of the masterpieces of German literature. Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann and Berlioz had written pieces related to the magnum opus one way or another. The first part narrates how Faust sells his soul to Mephistopheles to obtain youth, power and knowledge. Faust then seduces the innocent Gretchen, but in the process her mother is poisoned and her brother is killed in a duel against Faust. Gretchen discovers she is pregnant and drowns her illegitimate child, being convicted and executed for the murder. Only at the end of the second part, after travelling and experiencing what the world has to offer, Faust's soul is redeemed by the love of Gretchen.

The first movement describes Faust within a complex sonata structure; his eruditeness, passions, longings, struggles and ultimately his noble spirit. It begins with a slow theme with the twelve notes of the chromatic scale on muted violas and cello. It represents the mysterious studies of Faust and his strive for knowledge. This is promptly succeeded by a second theme on oboe, which represents Faust’s emotions and yearnings. A third theme then unleashes with great violence and agitation, depicting Faust's insatiable appetite for the pleasures of life. A fourth and expressive theme on woodwinds and cellos present Faust the romantic, yearning for love. A final fifth theme in form of a heroic fanfare represents Faust's determination as well as the noble spirit that remains within.

After this extensive exposition, a short but exhilarating development combines and transforms these materials before reaching a massive climax of overwhelming force. The ensuing diminuendo leads us to a condensed and varied recapitulation of the themes heard before. Faust's opening theme is subjected to a series of variations before being triumphally transformed. The rest of themes then follows, before the music rises in a soaring climax with the heroic fifth theme combined with the rest. After several explosive dissonances, the movement ends with cellos and basses recalling briefly the theme representing Faust's feelings.

[Description continued in the comments section]

[Activate subtitles to see the lyrics]

Pictures (from left to right): "Marguerite Leaving Church" (1838), "Faust and Mephistopheles" (1848), "Faust and Marguerite in Walpurgis Night" (1846) all by Dutch-French painter Ary Scheffer.

Sources: https://tinyurl.com/2cvffd6k, https://tinyurl.com/29ek7wbj and https://tinyurl.com/2bm4et8o

To check the score: https://tinyurl.com/2734wpho