Mahler and the Symphony Since Beethoven Beethoven's 9th marked the zenith of classical style. With virtuoso orchestras capable to doing justice to these works, Mahler and, later, Shostakovich fashioned a sym phonic repertoire that is as relevant to today's audiences as Beethoven's.
Agenda This is roughly the day’s agenda. This 1-day seminar is a distilled from two previous 8-week courses on the symphony since Beethoven. Each 8-week syllabus is attached for your convenience.
10:00 – 11:00 A.M. Mahler: Symphonies 1-4 11:00 – 12:00 A.M. Symphonies by Berlioz, Mendelssohn, and Schumann 12:00 – 12:30 Mahler: Symphonies 5-7 12:30-1:30 Lunch 1:30 – 2:30 Bruckner, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvorak 2:30 – 3:15 Mahler: 8th Symphony and the “Farewell” Trilogy (Das Lied von der Erde and Symphonies 9-10) 3:15 – 4:00 Shostakovich and the Northern Symphony (Sibelius and Vaughn Williams)
Stravinsky and Modernist Symphonies
EIGHT-WEEK SYLLABUS – VERSION 1
Course Description. Beethoven’s legacy proved an inspiration and obstacle to the next generation of symphonists, who struggled with the implications of Beethoven’s formal innovations, but managed to infuse the symphonic genre with greatly expanded thematic dimension inspired by the philosophy, literature, and even visual arts that shaped their own experience. Our core repertoire will be the symphonies of Mendelssohn (including the ‘Scottish’ and the ‘Italian’ Symphonies), Schumann (including the Rhenish), Brahms, Bruckner, and Mahler. Syllabus
Weeks 1-2: Adversity and Triumph
• Brahms Symphony No. 1 (1876) • Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 (1888) • Sibelius Symphony No. 2 (1902) • Nielsen Symphony No. 5 (1922) • Shostakovich Symphony No. 5 (1937) • Prokofiev Symphony No. 5 (1944) • Copland Symphony No. 3 (1946)
Week 3: Pastoral Symphonies
• Schumann Symphony No. 1 (1841) • Brahms Symphony No. 2 (1877) • Dvořák Symphony No. 6 (1880) • Also: an overview of Mendelssohn’s symphonies
Week 4: Concentration and Logic
• Sibelius Symphony No. 4 (1911),
• Symphony No. 7 (1924) • D’indy Symphony No 2 (1872) • Martinů Symphony No. 3 (1944)
Weeks 5-6: The Symphony As Autobiography
• Schumann Symphony No. 2 (1846) • Brahms Symphony No. 3 (1883) • Shostakovich Symphony No. 15 (1971) • An overview of the symphonies of Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Gustav Mahler. • A look at the symphonies of Berlioz
Week 7-8: Monumentality
• Bruckner Symphony No. 8 (1887) • Saint-Saëns Symphony No. 3 (1883) • Messiaen’s Turangilila Symphony (1949) • Also: a brief history of symphonies in 20th century.
EIGHT WEEK SYLLABUS – VERSION 2 Graham School of Continuing Studies History of the Symphony in the 19th Century
Description: This course examines the transition from Beethoven to the explosive renaissance of symphonic composition in the second generation of Romanticism. Brahms's unique combination of classically conceived structure with Romantic rhetoric, Bruckner's grandiose sublimity, Mahler's agonized introspection, and the egocentric gargantuanism of Richard Strauss form the framework of an era that saw the upheavel of European culture and civilization in the modern era. Works studied include Beethoven's third, sixth, and ninth symphonies, Bruckner's seventh and ninth symphonies, Mahler's "Wunderhorn" symphonies and symphonic trilogy, and Strauss's Ein Heldenleben.
Week 1: Symphonies and Nature Liszt: The Satanic and Divine • Beethoven 6th Symphony ( “Pastoral” - • Faust Symphony (1854) 1808) • Dante Symphony (1857) • Mahler 3rd Symphony (1896) • Nielsen 3rd Symphony (1910-11) Week 5: “Brahms the Progressive” • Symphony No. 1 (1876) Week 2: In the Shadow of Beethoven - An • Symphony No. 2 (1877) overview • Symphony No. 3 (1883) • Symphony No. 4 (1885) • Beethoven’s ubiquity • Beethoven’s heroic paradigm Bruckner: Beethoven and God (or is • Beethoven and the sublime that redundant?) o The heroic sublime Due to revisions, the chronology of o The pastoral sublime Bruckner’s symphonies is quite complex. A o The utopian sublime Separate handout will be provided.
Symphonic Responses By: Week 6: Mahler: The Agony and the Ecstasy • Symphonies TBD • Schubert, Berlioz, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Brahms, Bruckner, Strauss and Elgar Tchaikovsky, Suk, Mahler, Strauss Strauss: • Symphonia Domestica (Domestic Week 3: Berlioz and the program symphony Symphony), Op. 53 (1904) • Symphonie Fantastique (1830) • Harold in Italy (with obbligato viola) Elgar Symphonies 1-2 (1907-11) (1834) • “Dramatic Symphony” Romeo et Juliette (with chorus) (1839) Week 7: Eastern European Tradition • Symphonie Funebre et Triumphale (giant Suk: wind band) (1840) • Asrael Symphony (1905-1906)
Mendelssohn: Reformation, Beethoven Anxiety and Travelogues Tchaikovsky & Dvorak • Symphony Nr. 1, 1824 • TBD • Symphony Nr. 2, “Lobegesang”, 1840 • Symphony Nr. 3, “Scottish”, 1842 Week 8: The French Tradition • Symphony Nr. 4, “Italian” 1833 Saint-Saens: • Symphony Nr. 5, “Reformation”, 1830 • Organ Symphony Franck Week 4: Schumann: The Master, the Amateur • Symphony in D Minor and the Poet D’Indy: • Symphony No. 1 in B flat, "Spring", (1841) • Symphony on a French Mountain Air • Symphony No. 2 in C (1845-46) Dukas: • Symphony No. 3 in E flat, "Rhenish" • Symphony in C (1850) • Symphony No. 4 in D minor (1841; rev. 1851)
Recommended Media The Orchestra (iPad app) – Musical performances with scrolling score and commentary from Conductor Esa Pekka Salonen and musicians of the Philharmonia.
KeepingScore.org – A project of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra. Interactive website that merges orchestral works with historical context. Photos, timelines, and commentary. DVD version on Netflix.
Recommended Readings Classical Music for Dummies, by David Pogue and Scott Speck
After Beethoven: Imperatives of Originality in the Symphony, by Mark Evan Bonds
The Symphony: A Listener's Guide, by Michael Steinberg
For the Love of Music: Invitations to Listening, by Michael Steinberg, Larry Rothe
Late Idyll: The Second Symphony of Johannes Brahms, by Rheinhold Brinkman
Beethoven and His World, Princeton University Press
Mendelssohn: A Life in Music, by R. Larry Todd
Mendelssohn (Master Musicians Series), by Philip Radcliffe, Peter Ward Jones
The Cambridge Companion to Mendelssohn, Cambridge University Press
Schumann on Music: A Selection from the Writings, by Robert Schumann
Schumann (Master Musicians Series), by Eric Frederick Jensen
Robert Schumann: Herald of a "New Poetic Age", by John Daverio
Robert Schumann (Life&Times series), by Barbara Meier
Crossing Paths: Schubert, Schumann, and Brahms, by John Daverio
Johannes Brahms: A Biography, by Jan Swafford
The Cambridge Companion to Bruckner (Cambridge Companions to Music), Cambridge University Press
Bruckner (Master Musicians), by Derek Watson
The essence of Bruckner: An essay towards the understanding of his music, by Robert Wilfred Levick Simpson
Mahler: A Musical Physiognomy, by Theodor W. Adorno
A Composers’ World, Paul Hindemith
Richard Strauss: Man, Musician, Enigma, by Michael Kennedy