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Introduction to Act 3 Fervaal----- d'Indy
Rakoczy March h--------------- Berlioz
For the opening concert Of the eve
ming series Of the National Symphony
Orchestra we have kept the first half
OF the program in the romantic vein.
The "Euryanthe" overture by Weber
is the very embodiment of the spirit
Of romanticism which swept over
Europe in the early part of the nine
teenth century.
BEETHOVEN, the first great demo-
crat in music. had broken the
shackles which music had worn with
much grace but which were neverthe-
less preventing its human liberation.
the essential spirit of the revolution
of 1893. Beethoven had sounded the
tocsin. although for a long time after
ward. especially in the period of his
maturity, he himself was apt to re-
turn to a Journalism which was not
always imbued with the inspiration
necessary to make us forget the limi-
tations Of its exterior aspects. 1t was
in his great works only (of which the
piano concerto on this program is a
conspicuous example) that he success
fully combined inspiration, formal SIM
plicity and formal perfection which,
in their combination. gave as the high
est result, a spiritual exaltation Of the
noblest kind.
Although, as say, it was Beethoven
who first broke the shackles Of the
conventional form, it remained for
Weber not only to break through" !"
but to offer to music the fruits Of
this freedom which were so essen
TALLY romantic. His melody. his har-
mony. and, more than all, his genius
for Instrumentation gave music and
its composers an impetus which sent
it deeply into the romantic spirit of
the times.
More than "Freischutz" and "Ober-
on" even, is "Euryanthe" representative
of this spirit I would like to empha-
size to the listener the middle section
of this overture, the eerie strains in the
flddles Significant of the appearance
of Emma, ghostly figure in the
opera) followed by the mysterious
fugal movement, then the return to
the main theme and the recapitula-
tion Of the second theme of 20 Selig-
keit ich fasz dich kaum," so warm. so
luscious and vital, and overwhelming
in the forceful loveliness, that it
rightfully belongs among the i'm
mortal melodies Of all times.
i CCHUMANN'S symphony is the op-
posite of this external and bril-
liant romanticism of Weber. 1t is ro-
mantle, too, but in more introspec-
tive. should nearly say, in a more
German way. 1t is the romanticism
Of the literary artists of the day, a
continual soaring upward from initial
moods of nhappiness-which was the
typical quality of Novalis and Tieck
and Jean Paul Richter, all Of whom
had been inspired by Goethe's early
work, "Leider des Junger Werthen."
The symphony, then, has somber
| intensity in its slow introduction. a
brooding quality which leads into the
allegro, full of struggle between its
minor main there and its romantic,
yearning second subject, as we'll as in
| the darkness of its orchestral coloring.
1t is a contrast of ''himmel hoch
jauchzend, yum Tode betrubt' (heav-
enly happiness and depths of despair)
of the "Sturm und Drang" period.
The slow movement is typical Schu-
mann in its lovely melodic line, the
Schumann of the piano and chamber
music works, and especially Of the
superb lieder. The second part Of this
| movement is based on the melody OF
the introduction, nearly peasant-like.
The scherzo is full of manly vigor
and strength, the trio in the scherzo
resembling a German Lander" After
another return to the introduction of
the first movement, the finale starts
with a rhythmic figure which has a
strong affinity to that of the last move
ment of Beethovens Fifth" In con-
trast to the other movements, the finale
| is joyous. yes, even triumphant in its
spirit, with its lyrically soaring counter
theme, ending the symphony (Which
is played without the usual interrupt
tions) in happy major fashion.
Because of the uninterrupted the
matte relations kept throughout these
four movements, venture for once
into a short technical exposition of
the work: The Introductory figure of
the first movement (Which is without
a recapitulation) recurs, as I pointed
out, in the andante and again in the
| trio of the scherzo. A phrase derived
from the main theme in the develop
ment section of the first movement be-
comes the principal motive in the last
movement, thus taking the place, as it
were, of q recapitulation which is
absent in the first movement.
for piano and orchestra, will be
played by the great South American
pianist, Guiomar Novaes. In asking
Nine. Novaes to play this work, I
had in mind the presentation Of Bee
thoven's three greatest works for piano
and orchestra. The two other con-
certos (Nos. 8 and 81 will be played by
Harold Bauer and Myra Hess. respec-
lively, thus giving full view of this
important part of Beethoven's creative
achievement.
OF these three concertos. the one of
this concert is undoubtedly the most
poetic, the third the more classic and
the fifth. the so-called Emperor Con-
certo," the more romantic. In the
slow movement of the work Beethoven
reaches those spiritual elevations
which are his more than any other
composers, the dialogue between piano
and orchestra taking US to the heights
Of musical regions.
EDNDY is one Of those composers.
I = - l.