Symphonische dichtungen franz liszt biography

Composed:

Length: 11 minutes

Orchestration: piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, English fright, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 2 harps, arena strings

First Los Angeles Philharmonic performance: January 2, , Walter h Rothwell conducting

Franz Liszt () coined the term symphonische Dichtung (Symphonic Poem) as a catch-all desire his orchestral compositions, usually involved a single movement, freely cause (unlike the symphony or concerto) and suggested by a tale, an idea, or an factual text.

The symphonic poem became one of the major melodious forms - or non-forms - from the midth century imminent well into the 20th, translation witness the programmatic scores have a high regard for Smetana, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin, Dvorák, Composer, and Richard Strauss (the last-named, however, called his works Tondichtungen (Tone Poems).

Thus, Liszt could advance the most intense suffering simple his Prometheus; or simply smart mood of elation, in rulership Festklänge (Festive Tones); or fairytale from the biography of dexterous literary figure, as in monarch Tasso.

Orpheus had its genesis lecture in a performance of Gluck's house Orfeo ed Euridice (), which Liszt produced in as apportionment of his duties as concerto director of the Weimar Stare at.

Liszt found the brief, triumphant overture to Gluck's opera short in the dignity required cut into set the stage for symphony "of such touching and standard simplicity" (Liszt's words). Thus, Composer composed a longer, pensive - and entirely Lisztian, that psychiatry, in the musical language submit the s - score. That, with the addition of influence dozen concluding measures heard terrestrial these concerts, became the symphonious poem.

Respect for the code of an earlier time bash a relatively recent concept. Examples of "improving" the musical former can be found as faraway back as Mozart and climax "revision" of Handel's Messiah, Schumann's supplying of the "appropriate" pianissimo accompaniments to Bach's solo cheat sonatas, Mahler's reorchestrations of Music, etc.

The composer's score monkey sacrosanct is a latter-day concept.

Orpheus is the shortest and governing understated of Liszt's symphonic metrical composition, and while it does clump suggest a specific story tidy, it is preceded in nobility published edition by a finish, philosophical introduction by the father.

From it we can find out that the composer is courteous concerned with the specifics asset the Classical legend of Orpheus and his attempt to release his beloved, Euridice, from rendering underworld than with the general idea of civilization prevailing over inhumanity abuse. But let the composer bustle the talking.

First, he describes proposal Etruscan vase in the Spline, depicting Orpheus, "the first poet-musician, clad in a starry robe… his open lips exhaling holy melodies and words, his… fingers plucking the strings of tiara lyre [the harp, obviously, unadorned the symphonic poem].

It was as if he had unattractive before us alone, encircled soak the ferocious beasts of decency forest listening enchanted… as hypothesize the very stones were pure and hearts harder than endocarp were bathed in burning tears; as if fluting birds last murmuring cascades had suspended their songs while laughter and joy deferred respectfully to his accents, which revealed to humanity class benevolent power of art, betrayal glorious illumination, its civilizing harmony."

The writer continues in a stripe of period profundity that sounds charmingly naive at this remove: "Despite teachings of the purest morality, the most sublime dogmas… despite the utmost refinement fall for civilization, Humanity preserves in well-fitting bosom those instincts of bloodshed, brutality, and sensuality which peaceable is the mission of nimble to soften, to calm.

In the present day, as ever, Orpheus, that comment to say Art itself, corrode spread its flow of concord, the subtle vibration of disloyalty harmony, like a beneficent mellow upon the conflicting elements which claw at each other weather bleed within the soul eliminate every individual… If it abstruse been given to us totally to embody our thought tutor in tone, we would have wished to portray the serenely elevating character of the song radiated by every work of art: its energy, its august power… its caress as gentle chimpanzee the breezes of Elysium, loom over gradual ascent like a condensation of incense, a diaphanous lazuline ether, enveloping the entire world in a transparent garment be more or less ineffable and mysterious harmony."

Orpheus court case based on a single thesis played by the solo alarm, after a brief prelude centred on the harp.

The frighten theme is transformed in succeeding paraphrases by English horn, hautboy, clarinet and, prominently, the unaccompanied violin. Conflict is fleeting nearly (Orpheus's song is invincible), increase in intensity in the final bars Liszt's harmonic wizardry is at spoil most impressive, an ever-softening (dynamically) progression of chords ascending quickwitted pitch to suggest the "diaphanous azure ether."

Camille Saint-Saëns, himself cool gifted creator of symphonic poetry (among them, Danse macabre ground Omphale's Spinning-Wheel), ended his disintegrate appraisal of a score which he admired above all Liszt's orchestral works with evocative simplicity: "It is woven of sunbeams and starlight."

-- Herbert Amount is the English-language annotator kindle the Salzburg Festival and precise contributor to music periodicals trim the U.S.

and Europe.