Franz Schubert Symphonies nos. 2 & 5 Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Philippe Herreweghe Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Symphony no.2 in B flat major D125 Symphony no.5 in B flat major D485 Antwerp Symphony Orchestra Philippe Herreweghe Menu Tracklist ------------------------------ English Biographies Français Biographies Deutsch Biografien Nederlands Biografieën Franz Schubert (1797-1828) Symphony no.2 in B flat major, D125 [1] I. Largo – Allegro vivace ___________________________________________________________________________________ 14’08 [2] II. Andante _____________________________________________________________________________________________________7’46 [3] III. Menuetto (Allegro vivace) ________________________________________________________________________________2’28 [4] IV. Presto vivace ______________________________________________________________________________________________ 8’11 Symphony no.5 in B flat major, D485 [5] I. Allegro _______________________________________________________________________________________________________7’23 [6] II. Andante con moto _________________________________________________________________________________________8’44 [7] III. Menuetto (Allegro molto) _________________________________________________________________________________4’55 [8] IV. Allegro vivace ____________________________________________________________________________________________ 6’00 Total Time __________________________________________________________________________________________________________60’09 ANTWERP SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA Concertmaster Wouter Vossen ORCHESTRA Violin 1 Eric Baeten, Peter Manouilov, Nana Hiraide, Yuko Kimura, Claire Lechien, Mara Mikelsone, Christophe Pochet, Natalia Tessak, Floris Uytterhoeven Violin 2 Orsolya Horvath, Miki Tsunoda, Frederic Van Hille, Ilse Pasmans, David Perry, Lydia Seymortier, Marjolijn Van der Jeught, Maartje Van Eggelen, Luce Caron, Judith Peersman Viola Sander Geerts, Ayako Ochi, Barbara Giepner, Rajmund Glowczynski, Krzysztof Kubala, Lisbeth Lannie, Romain Montfort, Alexander Pavtchinskii Cello Marc Vossen, Olivier Robe, Dieter Schützhoff, Claire Bleumer, Diego Liberati, Rares Mihailescu Double bass Ioan Baranga, Christian Vander Borght, Jaroslaw Mroz, Julita Fasseva, Jeremiusz Trzaska Flute Edith Van Dyck, Charlène Deschamps Oboe Piet Van Bockstal, Sébastien Vanlerberghe Clarinet Nele Delafonteyne, Ria Moortgat Bassoon Oliver Engels, Bruno Verrept Horn Eliz Erkalp, Koen Thijs Trumpet Alain De Rudder, Steven Verhaert Timpani Pieterjan Vranckx APPROPRIATION AND REFLECTION though he viewed the imperial choir school as a ‘pris- Michael Kube on’, according to Joseph von Spaun’s account, it did offer him ample opportunity to absorb a range of mu- sical stimuli and develop his own creative talent. The Dr Michael Kube is a full-time Even today, Schubert’s six early symphonies, written most significant influences in the realm of vocal -mu member of the editorial depart- between 1813 and 1818, are still tainted with the sic were the ballads of Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, but ment of the Neue Schubert-Aus- stigma that they are supposedly no more than pren- for chamber and orchestral music they were chiefly gabe as well as a collaborator on tice works by a still juvenile composer. Schubert him- works by Haydn and Mozart. In addition, the orchestra the Berlin classical website Ida- self encouraged this point of view to a certain extent, of the Konvikt opened up for Schubert the broad spec- gio. He teaches music history at when he remarked in a letter to Leopold Kupelwieser trum of the contemporary repertory of symphonies the Musikhochschule Stuttgart and overtures, and the performances he played in and the University of Würzburg. of 1824 that now (ten years later) he wanted to ‘pave the way for the grand symphony’ by composing cham- each evening soon inspired him to make his first own ber music, especially string quartets – he had in mind attempts in these grand genres: the earliest surviving the Symphony in C major D944, already sketched in traces are a fragmentary score, already conceived on summer 1825, which he revised again in March 1828. a large scale, catalogued as D2A, and the Overture, In the light of the later reception of this outstanding probably composed even before 1811, to the comedy English work – promoted by Robert Schumann, who discov- Der Teufel als Hydraulicus D4. ered the score in Vienna, and Felix Mendelssohn, who premiered it at the Leipzig Gewandhaus – the older, The Symphony no.2 in B flat major D125, written supposedly minor works, which remained unprinted in the winter of 1814/15, is no mere youthful work, until 1884/85, simply had to fall by the wayside. As but already a successful achievement in its own right. a result, Schubert’s Second Symphony D125 was not This may be seen in the remarkable cyclic organisa- heard at a public concert until 1877, the same year in tion of the score: tonally, on the one hand, through which Johannes Brahms’s Symphony no.2 in D major the emphasis on the subdominant E flat (which is the op.73 was premiered. key of the slow movement, but it is equally impor- tant in the outer movements); and in motivic terms, It is not only his First Symphony, which Schubert ac- on the other, through the construction of the themes, tually wrote while he was still a pupil at the Stadtkon- which conspicuously rely on repeated notes. The con- vikt in Vienna, that reflects the musical experiences fidence Schubert must have felt in his compositional garnered there, but the subsequent works too. For skill is shown by the scheme of the slow introduc- > Menu tion to the first movement, which within a few bars himself had designated ‘Tragic’ in reference to its subsides from a powerful fortissimo accent back to key of C minor, the new work exudes an incredible pianissimo. Moreover, at only ten bars this section lightness, both in the invention of the themes and in is extremely concise, whereas the ensuing Allegro the reduced scoring, which gets by without trum- vivace already gives a glimpse of the spacious design pets, drums and clarinets, and with just a single flute. so characteristic of Schubert, which Schumann lat- Above all, however, one can scarcely help feeling that er described as ‘heavenly length’. In addition to the the ‘spirit of Mozart’ has come back to life in this two obligatory themes, the exposition also includes composition. Hence, in the opening movement, it is an unusually extensive modulatory passage with de- not thematic working and skilfully interwoven tex- velopment-like features. The driving impulse of the tures that are to the fore, but rather the impression nearly omnipresent main theme may well have been of music that seems to flow by in an uninterrupted suggested by Beethoven’s Overture to The Creatures stream. Accordingly, Schubert dispenses with a slow of Prometheus op.43. The Andante with five vari- introduction at the start, and merely writes a four- ations that follows, on the other hand, displays sig- bar curtain-raiser. In addition to this, there are me- nificant parallels with similar movements in the late lodic echoes – in the slow movement, but especially oeuvre of Joseph Haydn, both in structural terms and in the Menuetto, which cannot be imagined without in some idiosyncrasies of instrumentation. With the the model of Mozart’s Symphony in G minor K550. forceful Menuetto (Allegro vivace), Schubert shifts Here one can virtually hear how the young Schubert the symphony towards a completely different field of translated his wide-ranging musical experiences into expression, while the Trio offers further contrast in its his own language, and the early devotion to this very almost folklike simplicity. The last movement, more work recalled by Joseph von Spaun: ‘The adagios of than 700 bars long, is governed by a single rhythmic Haydn’s symphonies moved him profoundly and of the impulse, combined with vigorous tutti accents, which G minor Symphony by Mozart he often said that it pro- again point to Schubert’s early preoccupation with duced in him a violent emotion without his knowing the music of Beethoven. exactly why.’ It is all the more surprising, then, that Schubert did not hark back to Mozart’s finale, with On 3 October 1816, just a few weeks before his nine- its adventurous journey through the circle of fifths, in teenth birthday, Schubert completed the Symphony his own last movement, but rather conceived it in the no.5 in B flat major D485. Quite unlike the Fourth style of a finale à la Haydn. Symphony, written only six months earlier, which he > Menu APPROPRIATION ET RÉFLEXION Symphonie, composée alors qu’il y étudiait encore, Michael Kube ainsi que dans les œuvres suivantes. Schubert assi- milait l’institution scolaire impériale à une prison, ainsi que nous le savons par Joseph von Spaun, mais Le Dr Michael Kube est membre Aujourd’hui encore, les six premières symphonies de elle lui permit de profiter de différentes stimulations à temps plein de la direction édi- Schubert, parues entre 1813 et 1818, conservent musicales et de développer son propre talent créatif. toriale de la Neue Schubert-Aus- l’image de pièces d’études écrites par un compositeur Ses principaux modèles furent, dans le domaine vocal, gabe ainsi que collaborateur du encore jeune, point de vue qui fut d’une façon ou d’une les ballades de Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, et dans ceux portail classique berlinois Ida- autre encouragé par Schubert lui-même : dans une de la musique de chambre et orchestrale, les œuvres gio. Il enseigne l’histoire