Define symphony as a genre. Music genres

(from the Greek “consonance”) - a piece for orchestra, consisting of several parts. The symphony is the most musical form of concert orchestral music.

Classic structure

Due to the relative similarity of the structure to the sonata, the symphony can be called a grand sonata for orchestra. Sonata and symphony, as well as trio, quartet, etc. belong to the “sonata-symphonic cycle” - a cyclic musical form of a work in which it is customary to present at least one of the parts (usually the first) in sonata form. The sonata-symphonic cycle is the largest cyclic form among purely instrumental forms.

Like a sonata, a classical symphony has four movements:
- the first part, at a fast tempo, is written in sonata form;
- the second part, in slow movement, is written in the form of a rondo, less often in the form of a sonata or variation form;
- third movement, scherzo or minuet in tripartite form;
- the fourth movement, at a fast tempo, in sonata form or in the form of a rondo, rondo sonata.
If the first movement is written at a moderate tempo, then, on the contrary, it may be followed by a fast second and slow third movement (for example, Beethoven's 9th symphony).

Considering that the symphony is designed for a large orchestra, each part in it is written in broader and more detail than, for example, in an ordinary piano sonata, since the wealth of expressive means of a symphony orchestra provides for a detailed presentation of musical thought.

History of the symphony

The term symphony was used in ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, and mainly to describe various instruments, especially those capable of producing more than one sound at a time. Thus, in Germany, until the mid-18th century, symphony was a general term for varieties of harpsichords - spinets and virginels; in France, this was the name for barrel organs, harpsichords, two-headed drums, etc.

The word symphony, to designate "sounding together" musical works, began to appear in the titles of some works of the 16th and 17th centuries, by composers such as Giovanni Gabrieli (Sacrae symphoniae, 1597, and Symphoniae sacrae 1615), Adriano Banchieri (Eclesiastiche Sinfonie, 1607 ), Lodovico Grossi da Viadana (Sinfonie musicali, 1610) and Heinrich Schütz (Symphoniae sacrae, 1629).

The prototype of the symphony can be considered to be that which took shape under Domenico Scarlatti at the end of the 17th century. This form was already called a symphony and consisted of three contrasting parts: allegro, andante and allegro, which merged into one whole. It is this form that is often seen as the direct forerunner of the orchestral symphony. The terms "overture" and "symphony" were used interchangeably for much of the 18th century.

Other important ancestors of the symphony were the orchestral suite, consisting of several movements in the simplest forms and mostly in the same key, and the ripieno concerto, a form reminiscent of the concerto for strings and continuo, but without solo instruments. The works of Giuseppe Torelli were created in this form, and perhaps the most famous ripieno concerto is Johann Sebastian Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.

He is considered the founder of the classical symphony model. In a classical symphony, only the first and last movements have the same tonality, and the middle ones are written in keys related to the main one, which determines the tonality of the entire symphony. Outstanding representatives of classical symphony are Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven dramatically expanded the symphony. His Symphony No. 3 ("Eroica") has a scale and emotional range that surpasses all earlier works, his Symphony No. 5 is perhaps the most famous symphony ever written. His Symphony No. 9 becomes one of the first "choral symphonies" with the inclusion of parts for soloists and chorus in the last movement.

The romantic symphony was a combination of classical form with romantic expression. The software trend is also developing. Appear. The main distinguishing feature of romanticism was the growth of form, composition of the orchestra and density of sound. The most outstanding authors of symphonies of this era include Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn, Hector Berlioz, Johannes Brahms, P. I. Tchaikovsky, A. Bruckner and Gustav Mahler.

Beginning in the second half of the 19th century and especially in the 20th century, there was a further transformation of the symphony. The four-movement structure has become optional: symphonies can contain from one (7th Symphony) to eleven (14th Symphony by D. Shostakovich) movements or more. Many composers experimented with the meter of symphonies, such as Gustav Mahler's 8th Symphony, called "Symphony of a Thousand Participants" (due to the strength of the orchestra and choirs required to perform it). The use of sonata form becomes optional.
After L. Beethoven's 9th Symphony, composers more often began to introduce vocal parts into symphonies. However, the scale and content of the musical material remains constant.

List of prominent symphony authors
Joseph Haydn - 108 symphonies
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - 41 (56) symphonies
Ludwig van Beethoven - 9 symphonies
Franz Schubert - 9 symphonies
Robert Schumann - 4 symphonies
Felix Mendelssohn - 5 symphonies
Hector Berlioz - several program symphonies
Antonin Dvorak - 9 symphonies
Johannes Brahms - 4 symphonies
Pyotr Tchaikovsky - 6 symphonies (as well as the Manfred symphony)
Anton Bruckner - 10 symphonies
Gustav Mahler - 10 symphonies
- 7 symphonies
Sergei Rachmaninov - 3 symphonies
Igor Stravinsky - 5 symphonies
Sergei Prokofiev - 7 symphonies
Dmitri Shostakovich - 15 symphonies (also several chamber symphonies)
Alfred Schnittke - 9 symphonies

Symphony is the most monumental form of instrumental music. Moreover, this statement is true for any era - both for the work of the Viennese classics, and for the romantics, and for composers of later movements...

Alexander Maikapar

Musical genres: Symphony

The word symphony comes from the Greek "symphonia" and has several meanings. Theologians call this a guide to the use of words found in the Bible. The term is translated by them as agreement and agreement. Musicians translate this word as consonance.

The topic of this essay is the symphony as a musical genre. It turns out that in a musical context, the term symphony contains several different meanings. Thus, Bach called his wonderful pieces for the clavier symphonies, meaning that they represent a harmonic combination, a combination - consonance - of several (in this case, three) voices. But this use of the term was an exception already in the time of Bach - in the first half of the 18th century. Moreover, in the work of Bach himself, it denoted music of a completely different style.

And now we have come close to the main topic of our essay - the symphony as a large multi-part orchestral work. In this sense, the symphony appeared around 1730, when the orchestral introduction to the opera was separated from the opera itself and turned into an independent orchestral work, taking as a basis a three-part overture of the Italian type.

The kinship of the symphony with the overture is manifested not only in the fact that each of the three sections of the overture: fast-slow-fast (and sometimes even the slow introduction to it) turned into an independent separate part of the symphony, but also in the fact that the overture gave the symphony an idea contrast of the main themes (usually masculine and feminine) and thus endowed the symphony with the dramatic (and dramaturgical) tension and intrigue necessary for music of large forms.

Constructive principles of the symphony

Mountains of musicological books and articles are devoted to the analysis of the form of the symphony and its evolution. The artistic material represented by the symphony genre is enormous both in quantity and variety of forms. Here we can characterize the most general principles.

1. Symphony is the most monumental form of instrumental music. Moreover, this statement is true for any era - for the work of the Viennese classics, and for the romantics, and for composers of later movements. The Eighth Symphony (1906) by Gustav Mahler, for example, grandiose in artistic design, was written for a huge - even according to the ideas of the early 20th century - cast of performers: a large symphony orchestra expanded to include 22 woodwinds and 17 brass instruments, the score also includes two mixed choirs and boys choir; to this are added eight soloists (three sopranos, two altos, a tenor, a baritone and a bass) and a backstage orchestra. It is often called the "Symphony of a Thousand Participants". In order to perform it, it is necessary to rebuild the stage of even very large concert halls.

2. Since the symphony is a multi-movement work (three-, often four-, and sometimes five-movement, for example, Beethoven’s “Pastoral” or Berlioz’s “Fantastique”), it is clear that such a form must be extremely elaborate in order to eliminate monotony and monotony. (A one-movement symphony is very rare; an example is Symphony No. 21 by N. Myaskovsky.)

A symphony always contains many musical images, ideas and themes. They are one way or another distributed between the parts, which, in turn, on the one hand, contrast with each other, and on the other, form a kind of higher integrity, without which the symphony will not be perceived as a single work.

To give an idea of ​​the composition of the symphony's movements, we provide information about several masterpieces...

Mozart. Symphony No. 41 “Jupiter”, C major
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante cantabile
III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
IV. Molto Allegro

Beethoven. Symphony No. 3, E-flat major, Op. 55 ("Heroic")
I. Allegro con brio
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro molto, Poco Andante

Schubert. Symphony No. 8 in B minor (the so-called “Unfinished”)
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andante con moto

Berlioz. Fantastic Symphony
I. Dreams. Passion: Largo - Allegro agitato e appassionato assai - Tempo I - Religiosamente
II. Ball: Valse. Allegro non troppo
III. Scene in the fields: Adagio
IV. Procession to execution: Allegretto non troppo
V. A Dream on the Night of the Sabbath: Larghetto - Allegro - Allegro
assai - Allegro - Lontana - Ronde du Sabbat - Dies irae

Borodin. Symphony No. 2 “Bogatyrskaya”
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo. Prestissimo
III. Andante
IV. Finale. Allegro

3. The first part is the most complex in design. In a classical symphony it is usually written in the form of a so-called sonata Allegro. The peculiarity of this form is that at least two main themes collide and develop in it, which in the most general terms can be spoken of as expressing the masculine (this theme is usually called main party, since for the first time it takes place in the main key of the work) and the feminine principle (this side party- it sounds in one of the related main keys). These two main topics are somehow connected, and the transition from the main to the secondary is called connecting party. The presentation of all this musical material usually has a certain conclusion, this episode is called final game.

If we listen to a classical symphony with an attention that allows us to immediately distinguish these structural elements from the first acquaintance with a given work, then we will discover modifications of these main themes during the first movement. With the development of the sonata form, some composers - and Beethoven the first of them - were able to identify feminine elements in the theme of a masculine character and vice versa, and in the course of developing these themes, “illuminate” them in different ways. This is perhaps the brightest - both artistic and logical - embodiment of the principle of dialectics.

The entire first part of the symphony is constructed as a three-part form, in which first the main themes are presented to the listener, as if exhibited (that’s why this section is called exposition), then they undergo development and transformation (the second section is development) and ultimately return - either in their original form , or in some new capacity (reprise). This is the most general scheme into which each of the great composers contributed something of their own. Therefore, we will not find two identical constructions not only among different composers, but also among the same one. (Of course, if we are talking about great creators.)

4. After the usually stormy first part of the symphony, there must certainly be a place for lyrical, calm, sublime music, in a word, flowing in slow motion. At first, this was the second part of the symphony, and this was considered a rather strict rule. In the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, the slow movement is precisely the second. If there are only three movements in a symphony (as in Mozart's 1770s), then the slow movement really turns out to be the middle one. If the symphony has four movements, then in the early symphonies a minuet was placed between the slow movement and the fast finale. Later, starting with Beethoven, the minuet was replaced by a rapid scherzo. However, at some point the composers decided to deviate from this rule, and then the slow movement became the third in the symphony, and the scherzo became the second movement, as we see (or rather, hear) in A. Borodin’s “Bogatyr” symphony.

5. The finales of classical symphonies are characterized by lively movement with features of dance and song, often in a folk spirit. Sometimes the finale of a symphony turns into a true apotheosis, as in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (Op. 125), where a choir and solo singers were introduced into the symphony. Although this was an innovation for the symphony genre, it was not for Beethoven himself: even earlier he composed the Fantasia for piano, choir and orchestra (Op. 80). The symphony contains the ode “To Joy” by F. Schiller. The finale is so dominant in this symphony that the three movements preceding it are perceived as a huge introduction to it. The performance of this finale with its call to “Hug, millions!” at the opening of the UN General Session - the best expression of the ethical aspirations of humanity!

Great creators of symphonies

Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn lived a long life (1732–1809). The half-century period of his creative activity was outlined by two important circumstances: the death of J. S. Bach (1750), which ended the era of polyphony, and the premiere of Beethoven’s Third (“Eroic”) Symphony, which marked the beginning of the era of romanticism. During these fifty years the old musical forms - mass, oratorio and concerto grosso- were replaced by new ones: symphony, sonata and string quartet. The main place where works written in these genres were now heard were not churches and cathedrals, as before, but the palaces of nobles and aristocrats, which, in turn, led to a change in musical values ​​- poetry and subjective expressiveness came into fashion.

In all this, Haydn was a pioneer. Often - although not quite correctly - he is called the “father of the symphony”. Some composers, for example Jan Stamitz and other representatives of the so-called Mannheim school (Mannheim in the mid-18th century was the citadel of early symphonism), had already begun composing three-movement symphonies much earlier than Haydn. However, Haydn raised this form to a much higher level and showed the way to the future. His early works bear the stamp of the influence of C. F. E. Bach, and his later ones anticipate a completely different style - Beethoven.

It is noteworthy that he began to create compositions that acquired important musical significance when he passed his fortieth birthday. Fertility, diversity, unpredictability, humor, inventiveness - this is what makes Haydn head and shoulders above the level of his contemporaries.

Many of Haydn's symphonies received titles. Let me give you a few examples.

A. Abakumov. Play Haydn (1997)

The famous symphony No. 45 was called “Farewell” (or “Symphony by Candlelight”): on the last pages of the symphony’s finale, the musicians, one after another, stop playing and leave the stage, leaving only two violins, ending the symphony with a question chord la - F sharp. Haydn himself told a semi-humorous version of the origin of the symphony: Prince Nikolai Esterhazy once for a very long time did not let the orchestra members leave Eszterhazy for Eisenstadt, where their families lived. Wanting to help his subordinates, Haydn composed the conclusion of the “Farewell” symphony in the form of a subtle hint to the prince - a request for leave expressed in musical images. The hint was understood, and the prince gave the appropriate orders.

In the era of romanticism, the humorous nature of the symphony was forgotten, and it began to be endowed with a tragic meaning. Schumann wrote in 1838 about the musicians extinguishing their candles and leaving the stage during the finale of the symphony: “And no one laughed at the same time, since there was no time for laughter.”

Symphony No. 94 “With a Timpani Strike, or Surprise” received its name due to the humorous effect in the slow movement - its peaceful mood is disrupted by a sharp timpani strike. No. 96 “Miracle” began to be called that due to random circumstances. At the concert in which Haydn was to conduct this symphony, the audience, with his appearance, rushed from the middle of the hall to the empty first rows, and the middle was empty. At that moment, a chandelier collapsed in the center of the hall, only two listeners were slightly injured. Exclamations were heard in the hall: “Miracle! Miracle!" Haydn himself was deeply impressed by his involuntary salvation of many people.

The name of symphony No. 100 “Military”, on the contrary, is not at all accidental - its extreme parts with their military signals and rhythms clearly paint a musical picture of the camp; even the Minuet here (third movement) is of a rather dashing “army” type; the inclusion of Turkish percussion instruments in the symphony's score delighted London music lovers (cf. Mozart's "Turkish March").

No. 104 “Salomon”: isn’t this a tribute to the impresario John Peter Salomon, who did so much for Haydn? True, Salomon himself became so famous thanks to Haydn that he was buried in Westminster Abbey “for bringing Haydn to London,” as indicated on his tombstone. Therefore, the symphony should be called exactly “With A lomon”, and not “Solomon”, as is sometimes found in concert programs, which incorrectly orients listeners to the biblical king.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart wrote his first symphonies when he was eight years old, and his last at thirty-two. Their total number is more than fifty, but several youthful ones have not survived or have not yet been discovered.

If you take the advice of Alfred Einstein, the greatest expert on Mozart, and compare this number with only nine symphonies by Beethoven or four by Brahms, it will immediately become clear that the concept of the symphony genre is different for these composers. But if we single out Mozart’s symphonies that, like Beethoven’s, are really addressed to a certain ideal audience, in other words, to all of humanity ( humanitas), then it turns out that Mozart also wrote no more than ten such symphonies (Einstein himself speaks of “four or five”!). "Prague" and the triad of symphonies of 1788 (No. 39, 40, 41) are an amazing contribution to the treasury of world symphony.

Of these last three symphonies, the middle one, No. 40, is the best known. Only “A Little Night Serenade” and the Overture to the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” can compete with it in popularity. Although the reasons for popularity are always difficult to determine, one of them in this case may be the choice of tone. This symphony is written in G minor - a rarity for Mozart, who preferred cheerful and joyful major keys. Of the forty-one symphonies, only two were written in a minor key (this does not mean that Mozart did not write minor music in major symphonies).

His piano concertos have similar statistics: out of twenty-seven, only two have a minor key. Considering the dark days in which this symphony was created, it may seem that the choice of tonality was predetermined. However, there is more to this creation than just the everyday sorrows of any one person. We must remember that in that era, German and Austrian composers increasingly found themselves at the mercy of the ideas and images of the aesthetic movement in literature, called “Sturm and Drang.”

The name of the new movement was given by F. M. Klinger’s drama “Sturm and Drang” (1776). A large number of dramas have emerged with incredibly passionate and often inconsistent heroes. Composers were also fascinated by the idea of ​​expressing with sounds the dramatic intensity of passions, heroic struggle, and often longing for unrealizable ideals. It is not surprising that in this atmosphere Mozart also turned to minor keys.

Unlike Haydn, who was always confident that his symphonies would be performed - either in front of Prince Esterhazy, or, like the "London ones", in front of the London public - Mozart never had such a guarantee, and despite this, he was amazingly prolific. If his early symphonies are often entertaining or, as we would now say, “light” music, then his later symphonies are the “highlight of the program” of any symphony concert.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven created nine symphonies. There are probably more books written about them than there are notes in this heritage. The greatest of his symphonies are the Third (E-flat major, “Eroica”), the Fifth (C minor), the Sixth (F major, “Pastoral”), and the Ninth (D minor).

...Vienna, May 7, 1824. Premiere of the Ninth Symphony. Surviving documents testify to what happened then. The very announcement of the upcoming premiere was noteworthy: “The Grand Academy of Music, which is being organized by Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven, will take place tomorrow, May 7th.<...>The soloists will be Ms. Sontag and Ms. Unger, as well as Messrs. Heitzinger and Seipelt. The concertmaster of the orchestra is Mr. Schuppanzig, the conductor is Mr. Umlauf.<...>Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven will personally take part in directing the concert.”

This direction eventually resulted in Beethoven conducting the symphony himself. But how could this happen? After all, by that time Beethoven was already deaf. Let's turn to eyewitness accounts.

“Beethoven conducted himself, or rather, he stood in front of the conductor’s stand and gesticulated like crazy,” wrote Joseph Böhm, the orchestra’s violinist who took part in that historic concert. - First he stretched upward, then he almost squatted, waving his arms and stamping his feet, as if he himself wanted to play all the instruments at the same time and sing for the whole choir. In fact, Umlauf was in charge of everything, and we musicians only looked after his baton. Beethoven was so excited that he was completely unaware of what was happening around him and did not pay attention to the stormy applause, which hardly reached his consciousness due to his hearing impairment. At the end of each number they had to tell him exactly when to turn around and thank the audience for the applause, which he did very awkwardly.”

At the end of the symphony, when the applause was already thundering, Caroline Unger approached Beethoven and gently stopped his hand - he still continued to conduct, not realizing that the performance was over! - and turned to face the hall. Then it became obvious to everyone that Beethoven was completely deaf...

The success was enormous. It took police intervention to end the applause.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

In the genre of symphony P.I. Tchaikovsky created six works. Last Symphony - Sixth, B minor, Op. 74 - called “Pathetic” by him.

In February 1893, Tchaikovsky came up with a plan for a new symphony, which became the Sixth. In one of his letters, he says: “During the journey, I had the idea of ​​​​another symphony... with a program that will remain a mystery to everyone... This program is very imbued with subjectivity, and often during the journey, mentally composing it, I am very cried."

The sixth symphony was recorded by the composer very quickly. In just a week (February 4–11), he recorded the entire first part and half of the second. Then the work was interrupted for some time by a trip from Klin, where the composer then lived, to Moscow. Returning to Klin, he worked on the third part from February 17 to 24. Then there was another break, and in the second half of March the composer completed the finale and the second part. The orchestration had to be postponed somewhat because Tchaikovsky had several more trips planned. On August 12, the orchestration was completed.

The first performance of the Sixth Symphony took place in St. Petersburg on October 16, 1893, conducted by the author. Tchaikovsky wrote after the premiere: “Something strange is happening with this symphony! It’s not that I didn’t like it, but it caused some confusion. As for me, I am prouder of it than of any other composition of mine.” Further events were tragic: nine days after the premiere of the symphony, P. Tchaikovsky died suddenly.

V. Baskin, the author of the first biography of Tchaikovsky, who was present at both the premiere of the symphony and its first performance after the composer’s death, when E. Napravnik conducted (this performance became triumphant), wrote: “We remember the sad mood that reigned in the hall of the Assembly of the Nobility On November 6, when the “Pathetique” symphony, which was not fully appreciated during the first performance under the baton of Tchaikovsky himself, was performed for the second time. In this symphony, which, unfortunately, became our composer’s swan song, he appeared new not only in content, but also in form; instead of the usual Allegro or Presto it begins Adagio lamentoso, leaving the listener in the saddest mood. In that Adagio the composer seems to say goodbye to life; gradual morendo(Italian - fading) of the entire orchestra reminded us of the famous end of Hamlet: “ The rest is silent"(Further - silence)."

We were only able to briefly talk about just a few masterpieces of symphonic music, moreover, leaving aside the actual musical fabric, since such a conversation requires the real sound of the music. But even from this story it becomes clear that the symphony as a genre and symphonies as creations of the human spirit are an invaluable source of the highest pleasure. The world of symphonic music is huge and inexhaustible.

Based on materials from the magazine “Art” No. 08/2009

On the poster: Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich. Tory Huang (piano, USA) and the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra (2013)

At the end of the Baroque era, a number of composers, such as Giuseppe Torelli (1658–1709), wrote works for string orchestra and basso continuo in three movements, with a fast-slow-fast tempo sequence. Although such works were usually called "concertos", they were no different from works called “symphonies”; for example, dance themes were used in the finales of both concerts and symphonies. The difference concerned mainly the structure of the first part of the cycle: in symphonies it was simpler - this is, as a rule, a binary two-part form of the Baroque overture, sonata and suite (AA BB). The word “symphony” itself dates back to the 10th century. meant harmonious consonance; by the end of the 16th century. such authors as J. Gabrieli applied this concept to the consonance of voices and instruments. Later, in the music of composers such as Adriano Banchieri (1568–1634) and Salomone Rossi (c. 1570–c. 1630), the word “symphony” came to mean the sound of instruments together without votes. Italian composers of the 17th century. The word “symphony” (sinfonia) often denoted the instrumental introductions to an opera, oratorio or cantata, and the term in meaning came close to the concepts of “prelude” or “overture”. Around 1680, in the operatic work of A. Scarlatti, the type of symphony was established as an instrumental composition in three sections (or parts), built on the principle of “fast - slow - fast”.

Classical symphony.

18th century listeners I liked orchestral pieces in several parts with different tempos, which were performed both in home gatherings and in public concerts. Having lost the function of the introduction, the symphony developed into an independent orchestral work, usually in three movements (“fast – slow – fast”). Using the features of the baroque dance suite, opera and concerto, a number of composers, most notably G.B. Sammartini, created the model of the classical symphony - a three-movement work for string orchestra, where the fast parts usually took the form of a simple rondo or an early sonata form. Gradually, other instruments were added to the strings: oboes (or flutes), horns, trumpets and timpani. For listeners of the 18th century. the symphony was determined by classical norms: homophonic texture, diatonic harmony, melodic contrasts, a given sequence of dynamic and thematic changes. The centers where the classical symphony was cultivated were the German city of Mannheim (here Jan Stamitz and other authors expanded the symphonic cycle to four parts, introducing into it two dances from the Baroque suite - minuet and trio) and Vienna, where Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven (as well as their predecessors, among whom Georg Monn and Georg Wagenseil stand out, raised the symphony genre to a new level.

The symphonies of J. Haydn and W. A. ​​Mozart are brilliant examples of the classical style. The parts are clearly separated from each other, each having independent thematic material; The unity of the cycle is ensured by tonal comparisons and thoughtful alternation of tempos and the nature of themes. Strings, woodwinds, brass and timpani provide a variety of instrumental combinations; the lyrical beginning, coming from operatic vocal writing, penetrates the themes of the slow movements, the trio sections in the third movements and the secondary themes of other movements. Other motifs of operatic origin (octave leaps, repetitions of sounds, scale-like passages) become the thematic basis of the fast movements. Haydn's symphonies are distinguished by their wit, inventiveness of thematic development, originality of phrasing, instrumentation, texture and thematics; Mozart's symphonies are marked by richness of melody, plasticity, grace of harmony and masterful counterpoint.

An excellent example of a classical symphony from the late 18th century. – Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 (K. 551, C major (1788), known as Jupiter. Its score includes a flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns, two trumpets, timpani and a group of strings (first and second violins, violas, cellos, double basses). The symphony consists of four movements. The first, Allegro vivace, is written in a lively tempo, in the key of C major, in 4/4 time, in sonata form (the so-called sonata allegro form: themes first appear in the exposition, then develop in the development, followed by a reprise, usually ending with a conclusion - a coda). The second part of Mozart's symphony is written at a moderate (moderato) tempo, in the subdominant key of F major, again in sonata form and has a melodious character (Andante cantabile).

The third movement consists of a moderately active minuet and trio in C major. Although each of these two dances is written in a ronda-like binary form (minuet - AAVABA; trio - CCDCDC), the return of the minuet after the trio gives the overall structure a tripartite structure. The finale is again in sonata form, at a very fast tempo (Molto allegro), in the main key of C major. Built on laconic motifs, the finale's themes radiate energy and strength; in the finale's coda, Bach's counterpoint techniques are combined with the virtuosity of Mozart's classical style.

In the work of L. van Beethoven, the parts of the symphony are more closely connected thematically, and the cycle achieves greater unity. The principle of using related thematic material in all four movements, carried out in Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, led to the emergence of the so-called. cyclical symphony. Beethoven replaces the calm minuet with a more lively, often riotous, scherzo; he raises thematic development to a new level, subjecting his themes to all sorts of changes, including contrapuntal development, isolating fragments of themes, changing modes (major - minor), and rhythmic shifts. Beethoven's use of trombones in the Fifth, Sixth and Ninth Symphonies and the inclusion of voices in the finale of the Ninth are very impressive. In Beethoven, the center of gravity in the cycle shifts from the first movement to the finale; in the Third, Fifth, and Ninth, the finales are undoubtedly the culminations of the cycles. Beethoven has “characteristic” and programmatic symphonies - the Third ( Heroic) and Sixth ( Pastoral).

Romantic symphony.

With the work of Beethoven, the symphony entered a new century. The sharp changes of tempo characteristic of his style, the breadth of the dynamic range, the richness of imagery, virtuosity and drama, sometimes the unexpected appearance and ambiguity of themes - all this cleared the way for composers of the Romantic era. Realizing the greatness of Beethoven, they sought to follow his path without losing their own individuality. Romantic composers, starting with F. Schubert, experimented with sonata and other forms, often narrowing or expanding them; The symphonies of the romantics are full of lyricism, subjective expression and are distinguished by a richness of timbre and harmonic color. Beethoven's contemporary Schubert had a special gift for creating lyrical themes and unusually expressive harmonic sequences. When the logic and orderliness of classicism gave way to the subjectivity and unpredictability characteristic of the art of romanticism, the form of many symphonies became more spacious and the texture heavier.

Among the German romantic symphonists are F. Mendelssohn, R. Schumann and J. Brahms. Mendelssohn, with his classicism in the areas of form and proportions, was especially successful in the Third ( Scottish) and Fourth ( Italian) symphonies that reflected the author’s impressions of visiting these countries. Schumann's symphonies, influenced by Beethoven and Mendelssohn, tend to be cyclical and at the same time rhapsodic, especially the Third ( Rhineland) and Fourth. In his four symphonies, Brahms reverently combines Bach's counterpoint in style, Beethoven's method of development, Schubert's lyricism and Schumann's mood. P.I. Tchaikovsky avoided the typical tendency of Western romantics towards detailed programs for symphonies, as well as the use of vocal means in this genre. A gifted orchestrator and melodist, Tchaikovsky's symphonies reflect the author's penchant for dance rhythms. The symphonies of another talented melodist, A. Dvorak, are distinguished by a rather conservative approach to symphonic form, adopted from Schubert and Brahms. The symphonies of A.P. Borodin are deeply national in content and monumental in form.

The author, in whose work a type of program symphony of the last century was formed, differing in many respects from the abstract or, so to speak, absolute symphony of the classical era, was G. Berlioz. In a program symphony, a narrative is told, or a picture is painted, or, generally speaking, there is an element of the “extra-musical” that lies beyond the music itself. Inspired by Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with its final chorus to the words of Schiller's Odes to Joy, Berlioz went further in his epochal Fantastic Symphony(1831), where each part is a fragment of a seemingly autobiographical narrative, and leitmotifs-reminders run through the entire cycle. Among the composer's other program symphonies are Harold in Italy according to Byron and Romeo and Juliet according to Shakespeare, where, along with instruments, vocal means are also widely used. Like Berlioz, F. Liszt and R. Wagner were “avant-gardists” of their era. Although Wagner's desire for a synthesis of words and music, voices and instruments led him from the symphony to opera, the magnificent mastery of this author influenced almost all European composers of the subsequent generation, including the Austrian A. Bruckner. Like Wagner, Liszt was one of the leaders of late musical romanticism, and his attraction to programmaticity gave rise to works such as symphonies Faust And Dante, as well as 12 program symphonic poems. Liszt's techniques of figurative transformations of themes in the process of their development greatly influenced the work of S. Frank and R. Strauss, authors of a later period.

At the end of the 19th century. the work of a number of talented symphonists, each of whom had a bright individual style, marked the final stage of the classical-romantic tradition with its predominance of the sonata form and certain tonal relationships. The Austrian G. Mahler imbued the symphony with thematic themes that had their origins in his own songs and dance motifs; often he directly quoted fragments from folk, religious or military music. Mahler's four symphonies use chorus and soloists, and all ten of his symphonic cycles are marked by extraordinary variety and sophistication of orchestral writing. Finn J. Sibelius composed symphonies of an abstract nature, imbued with deep feeling; His style is characterized by a preference for low registers and bass instruments, but in general his orchestral texture remains clear. The Frenchman C. Saint-Saens wrote three symphonies, of which the most famous is the last (1886) - the so-called. Organ Symphony. The most popular French symphony of this period can perhaps be called the only symphony by S. Frank (1886–1888).

An excellent example of a post-Romantic symphony from the late 19th century. is Mahler's Second Symphony in C minor, completed in 1894 (sometimes called Resurrection in connection with the content of the chorale in the last part). The gigantic five-part cycle was written for a large orchestral cast: 4 flutes (including piccolo), 4 oboes (including 2 cor anglais), 5 clarinets (including one bass), 4 bassoons (including 2 contrabassoons), 10 horns, 10 trumpets, 4 trombones, tuba, organ, 2 harps, two soloists - contralto and soprano, mixed choir and a huge percussion group, including 6 timpani, bass drum, cymbals, gongs and bells. The first movement has a solemn (Allegro maestoso) march-like character (4/4 time signature in the key of C minor); in terms of structure, it is an extended sonata form with double exposure. The second part unfolds at a moderate tempo (Andante moderato) and is reminiscent in character of the graceful Austrian Ländler dance. This movement is written in the key of submediant (A-flat major) in 3/8 time and in simple ABABA form. The third movement is distinguished by the smooth flow of music; it is written in the main key and in 3/8 time. This three-movement scherzo is a symphonic development of a song simultaneously composed by Mahler Sermon of St. Anthony to the Pisces.

In the fourth part, “Eternal Light” (“Urlicht”), a human voice appears. This orchestral song, radiant and full of deep religious feeling, is written for solo viola and a reduced orchestra; it has the form ABCB, time signature 4/4, key of D-flat major. The stormy, “wild” finale at the tempo of a scherzo contains many changes in mood, tonality, tempo, and meter. This is a very large sonata form with a monumental coda; The finale includes motifs of a march, chorale, and songs reminiscent of the previous parts. At the end of the finale, voices enter (solo soprano and contralto, as well as the choir - with a hymn about the risen Christ to the words of the 18th century German poet F. Klopstock. In the orchestral conclusion, light, brilliant orchestral colors and the tonality of E-flat major, parallel to the main one, appear C minor: the light of faith dispels darkness.

The twentieth century.

In sharp contrast to Mahler's sprawling late-romantic cycles were the carefully finished neoclassical symphonies of such French authors as D. Milhaud and A. Honegger. The Russian author I.F. Stravinsky wrote in the neoclassical (or neo-baroque) style, who filled traditional symphonic forms with new melodic and tonal-harmonic material. The German P. Hindemith also combined forms that came from the past with a sharply individual melodic and harmonic language (he was characterized by a preference for the fourth interval in thematics and chords).

The largest Russian symphonists are S.V. Rachmaninov, S.S. Prokofiev and D.D. Shostakovich. Rachmaninov's three symphonies continue the national-romantic tradition coming from Tchaikovsky. Prokofiev's symphonies are also associated with tradition, but reinterpreted; This author is characterized by rigid motor rhythms, unexpected tonal shifts, and there is a theme that comes from folklore. Shostakovich's creative life took place during the Soviet period of Russian history. The most “advanced” can be considered his First, Tenth, Thirteenth and Fifteenth symphonies, while the Third, Eighth, Eleventh and Twelfth are more associated with the traditional “Russian style”. In England, the outstanding symphonists were E. Elgar (two symphonies) and R. W. Williams (nine symphonies written between 1910 and 1957, including including a vocal element). Among other authors, each of whom is associated with the traditions of his country, one can name the Poles Witold Lutoslawski (b. 1913) and K. Penderecki, the Czech Boguslav Martinu (1890–1959), the Brazilian E. Villa-Lobos and the Mexican Carlos Chavez (1899– 1976).

At the beginning of the 20th century. American Charles Ives composed a number of avant-garde symphonies that used orchestral clusters, quarter-tone intervals, polyrhythms, dissonant harmonic writing, and collage techniques. In the next generation, several composers (all of whom studied in Paris in the 1920s with Nadia Boulanger) created the American symphonic school: A. Copland, Roy Harris (1898–1981) and W. Piston. In their style, thanks to elements of neoclassicism, the French influence is noticeable, but still their symphonies create an image of America with its open spaces, pathos and natural beauty. The symphonies of Roger Sessions are marked by the complexity and whimsicality of chromatic melodic lines, the tension of thematic development, and an abundance of counterpoint. Wallingford Rigger used A. Schoenberg's serial technique in his symphonies; Henry Cowell used such experimental ideas in his symphonies as fugue melodies of hymns, exotic instruments, sound clusters, and dissonant chromaticism.

Among other American symphonists of the mid-20th century. we can highlight H. Hanson, W. Schumann, D. Diamond and V. Persichetti. In the second half of the century, interesting symphonies were created by E. Carter, J. Rochberg, W. G. Still, F. Glass, E. T. Zwilich and G. Corigliano. In England, the symphonic tradition was continued by Michael Tippett (1905–1998). The 1990s saw an unusual phenomenon: a modern symphony became a "hit" with the general public. We are talking about the Third Symphony ( Symphonies of sad songs) Pole Heinrich Górecki. At the turn of the third millennium, composers from different countries created symphonies that reflected their authors’ attraction to such diverse phenomena as minimalism, total serialism, aleatorics, electronic music, neo-romanticism, jazz and non-European musical cultures.

Among the numerous musical genres and forms, one of the most honorable places belongs to the symphony. Having emerged as an entertainment genre, from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day it most sensitively and fully, like no other type of musical art, reflects its time. The symphonies of Beethoven and Berlioz, Schubert and Brahms, Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are large-scale reflections on the era and personality, on the history of mankind and the ways of the world.

The symphonic cycle, as we know it from many classical and modern examples, took shape approximately two hundred and fifty years ago. However, during this historically short period of time, the symphony genre has come a long way. The length and significance of this path was determined precisely by the fact that the symphony absorbed all the problems of its time, was able to reflect complex, contradictory eras full of colossal upheavals, and embody the feelings, suffering, and struggles of people. It is enough to imagine the life of society in the middle of the 18th century - and remember the symphonies of Haydn; the great upheavals of the late 18th - early 19th centuries - and Beethoven’s symphonies that reflected them; the reaction in society, disappointment - and romantic symphonies; finally, all the horrors that humanity had to endure in the 20th century - and compare the symphonies of Beethoven with the symphonies of Shostakovich in order to clearly see this huge, sometimes tragic path. Nowadays, few people remember what the beginning was like, what the origins of this most complex of purely musical genres, not related to other arts, were.

Let's take a quick look at musical Europe in the mid-18th century.

In Italy, the classical country of art, the trendsetter of all European countries, opera reigns supreme. The so-called opera seria (“serious”) dominates. There are no bright individual images in it, there is no genuine dramatic action. Opera seria is an alternation of different mental states embodied in conventional characters. Its most important part is the aria in which these states are conveyed. There are arias of anger and revenge, arias of complaint (lamento), mournful slow arias and joyful bravura ones. These arias were so generalized that they could be transferred from one opera to another without any damage to the performance. In fact, composers often did this, especially when they had to write several operas per season.

The element of the opera seria was the melody. The famous art of Italian bel canto received its highest expression here. In arias, composers reached the true heights of the embodiment of a particular state. Love and hate, joy and despair, anger and sorrow were conveyed by the music so vividly and convincingly that you did not need to hear the lyrics to understand what the singer was singing about. This, in essence, finally prepared the ground for textless music designed to embody human feelings and passions.

From interludes - insert scenes performed between acts of opera seria and not related to its content - its cheerful sister, comic opera buffe, arose. Democratic in content (its characters were not mythological heroes, kings and knights, but ordinary people from the people), it deliberately opposed itself to court art. Opera buffa was distinguished by its naturalness, liveliness of action, and spontaneity of musical language, often directly related to folklore. It featured vocal patter, comic parody coloraturas, and lively and light dance tunes. The finales of the acts unfolded as ensembles, in which the characters sometimes sang all at once. Sometimes such endings were called a “tangle” or “confusion,” because the action rushed into them so quickly and the intrigue turned out to be confusing.

Instrumental music also developed in Italy, and above all the genre most closely associated with opera - the overture. Being an orchestral introduction to an opera performance, it borrowed from the opera bright, expressive musical themes, similar to the melodies of arias.

The Italian overture of that time consisted of three sections - fast (Allegro), slow (Adagio or Andante) and again fast, most often the entire minuet. They called it sinfonia - translated from Greek - consonance. Over time, overtures began to be performed not only in the theater before the curtain opened, but also separately, as independent orchestral works.

At the end of the 17th and beginning of the 18th centuries, a brilliant galaxy of virtuoso violinists appeared in Italy, who were also gifted composers. Vivaldi, Yomelli, Locatelli, Tartini, Corelli and others, who were fluent in the violin - a musical instrument whose expressiveness can be compared with the human voice - created an extensive violin repertoire, mainly from pieces called sonatas (from the Italian sonare - sound). In them, as in the keyboard sonatas of Domenico Scarlatti, Benedetto Marcello and other composers, some common structural features developed, which later turned into a symphony.

The musical life of France was shaped differently. They have long loved music associated with words and action. Ballet art has received high development; A special type of opera was cultivated - lyrical tragedy, akin to the tragedies of Corneille and Racine, which had the imprint of the specific life of the royal court, its etiquette, its festivities.

French composers also gravitated toward plot, program, and verbal definitions of music when creating instrumental pieces. “Flying Cap”, “Reapers”, “Tambourine” - these were the names of the harpsichord pieces, which were either genre sketches or musical portraits - “Graceful”, “Tender”, “Hardworking”, “Flirtatious”.

Larger works, consisting of several parts, had their origins in dance. The strict German allemande, the mobile, like a sliding French chime, the stately Spanish sarabande and the swift jig - the fiery dance of English sailors - have long been known in Europe. They were the basis of the instrumental suite genre (from the French suite - sequence). Often other dances were included in the suite: minuet, gavotte, polonaise. Before the allemande, an introductory prelude could sound; in the middle of the suite, a measured dance movement was sometimes interrupted by a free aria. But the core of the suite - four diverse dances of different peoples - was certainly present in an invariable sequence, outlining four different moods, leading the listener from the calm movement of the beginning to the exciting, rapid finale.

Many composers wrote suites, and not only in France. The great Johann Sebastian Bach also paid them a significant tribute, with whose name, as well as with the German musical culture of that time in general, many musical genres are associated.

In the countries of the German language, that is, numerous German kingdoms, principalities and bishoprics (Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon, etc.), as well as in various regions of the multinational Austrian Empire, which then included the “people of musicians” - the Czech Republic enslaved by the Habsburgs - Instrumental music has long been cultivated. Every small town, town or even village had its own violinists and cellists, and in the evenings there were solo and ensemble pieces enthusiastically performed by amateurs. Churches and their schools usually became centers for music-making. The teacher was, as a rule, also a church organist, who performed musical fantasies on holidays to the best of his abilities. In large German Protestant centers, such as Hamburg or Leipzig, new forms of music-making also developed: organ concerts in cathedrals. These concerts featured preludes, fantasies, variations, choral arrangements and, most importantly, fugues.

Fugue is the most complex type of polyphonic music, which reached its peak in the work of I.S. Bach and Handel. Its name comes from the Latin fuga - running. This is a polyphonic piece based on one theme, which moves (runs across!) from voice to voice. Each melodic line is called a voice. Depending on the number of such lines, the fugue can be three-, four-, five-voice, etc. In the middle section of the fugue, after the theme has sounded completely in all voices, it begins to develop: first its beginning will appear and disappear again, then it will will expand (each of the notes that make it up will become twice as long), then it will shrink - this is called a theme in increase and a theme in decrease. It may happen that within a theme, descending melodic moves become ascending and vice versa (theme in circulation). Melodic movement moves from one key to another. And in the final section of the fugue - Reprise - the theme again sounds unchanged, as at the beginning, returning to the main tonality of the play.

Let us remind you again: we are talking about the middle of the 18th century. An explosion is brewing in the depths of aristocratic France, which will very soon sweep away the absolute monarchy. A new time will come. And while revolutionary sentiments are still only latently being prepared, French thinkers are speaking out against the existing order. They demand the equality of all people before the law and proclaim the ideas of freedom and fraternity.

Art, reflecting changes in social life, is sensitive to changes in the political atmosphere of Europe. An example of this is the immortal comedies of Beaumarchais. This also applies to music. It is now, in a difficult period fraught with events of colossal historical significance, that a new, truly revolutionary genre is being born in the depths of old, long-established musical genres and forms - the symphony. It becomes qualitatively, fundamentally different, because it embodies a new type of thinking.

One must think that it is no coincidence that, having prerequisites in different regions of Europe, the symphony genre was finally formed in the countries of the German language. In Italy, opera was the national art. In England, the spirit and meaning of the historical processes taking place there were most fully reflected in the oratorios of George Handel, a German by birth who became the national English composer. In France, other arts came to the fore, in particular literature and theater, which were more concrete, directly and clearly expressing new ideas that excited the world. The works of Voltaire, “The New Heloise” by Rousseau, “The Persian Letters” of Montesquieu, in a veiled but quite intelligible form, presented readers with a stinging criticism of the existing order, and offered their own options for the structure of society.

When, several decades later, it came to music, song joined the ranks of the revolutionary troops. The most striking example of this is the Song of the Army of the Rhine, created overnight by officer Rouget de Lisle, which became world famous under the name Marseillaise. Following the song, music appeared for mass celebrations and mourning ceremonies. And finally, the so-called “salvation opera”, which had as its content the pursuit of a hero or heroine by a tyrant and their salvation in the finale of the opera.

The symphony required completely different conditions both for its formation and for full perception. The “center of gravity” of philosophical thought, which most fully reflected the deep essence of the social changes of that era, turned out to be in Germany, far from social storms.

There, first Kant and later Hegel created their new philosophical systems. Like philosophical systems, the symphony - the most philosophical, dialectical-processual genre of musical creativity - was finally formed where only distant echoes of approaching thunderstorms reached. Where, moreover, strong traditions of instrumental music have developed.

One of the main centers for the emergence of the new genre was Mannheim, the capital of the Bavarian Electorate of the Palatinate. Here, at the brilliant court of Elector Karl Theodor, in the 40s and 50s of the 18th century there was an excellent orchestra, perhaps at that time the best in Europe.

By that time, the symphony orchestra was just taking shape. And in the court chapels and in the cathedrals, orchestral groups with a stable composition did not exist. Everything depended on the means at the disposal of the ruler or magistrate, on the tastes of those who could give orders. At first, the orchestra played only an applied role, accompanying either court performances or festivals and ceremonies. And it was considered, first of all, as an opera or church ensemble. Initially, the orchestra included viols, lutes, harps, flutes, oboes, horns, and drums. Gradually the composition expanded, the number of string instruments increased. Over time, violins replaced the ancient viol and soon took a leading position in the orchestra. Woodwind instruments - flutes, oboes, bassoons - united into a separate group, and brass instruments also appeared - trumpets, trombones. The obligatory instrument in the orchestra was the harpsichord, which created the harmonic basis of the sound. Behind him was usually the leader of the orchestra, who, while playing, simultaneously gave instructions for the introduction.

At the end of the 17th century, instrumental ensembles that existed at the Courts of nobles became widespread. Each of the numerous small princes of fragmented Germany wanted to have their own chapel. The rapid development of orchestras began, and new techniques of orchestral playing emerged.

The Mannheim orchestra consisted of 30 string instruments, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 4 horns, timpani. This is the backbone of the modern orchestra, the composition for which many composers of the subsequent era created their works. The orchestra was led by the outstanding Czech musician, composer and violin virtuoso Jan Vaclav Stamitz. Among the orchestra's artists were also the greatest musicians of their time, not only virtuoso instrumentalists, but also talented composers Franz Xaver Richter, Anton Filz and others. They determined the excellent level of performing skills of the orchestra, which became famous for its amazing qualities - the previously unattainable evenness of violin strokes, the finest gradations of dynamic shades that had not previously been used at all.

According to a contemporary, critic Bossler, “the exact observance of piano, forte, rinforzando, the gradual expansion and intensification of sound and then again a decrease in its strength until a barely audible sound - all this could only be heard in Mannheim.” Bernie, an English music lover who took a trip to Europe in the mid-18th century, echoes him: “This extraordinary orchestra has enough space and facets to demonstrate all its capabilities and produce a great effect. It was here that Stamitz, inspired by Yomelli's writings, first went beyond the usual operatic overtures... all the effects that such a mass of sounds could produce were tried. It was here that crescendo and diminuendo were born, and piano, which was previously used mainly as an echo and was usually synonymous with it, and forte were recognized as musical colors with their own shades ... "

It was in this orchestra that four-part symphonies were heard for the first time - works that were constructed according to one type and had general principles that absorbed many features of pre-existing musical genres and forms and melted them into something qualitatively different; new unity.

The first chords are decisive, full-voiced, as if calling for attention. Then wide, sweeping moves. Again chords, replaced by arpeggiated movement, and then a lively, elastic melody, like an unfolding spring. It seems that it can unfold endlessly, but it goes away faster than the rumor wants it to: like a guest introduced to the owners of the house during a large reception, he moves away from them, giving way to others following behind. After a moment of general movement, a new theme appears - softer, feminine, lyrical. But it doesn’t sound for long, dissolving into passages. After some time, we see the first theme again, slightly changed, in a new key. The musical stream flows rapidly, returning to the original, main tonality of the symphony; The second theme organically flows into this flow, now becoming closer in character and mood to the first. The first part of the symphony ends with full-voiced joyful chords.

The second movement, the andante, unfolds slowly and melodiously, bringing out the expressiveness of the string instruments. This is a kind of aria for orchestra, in which lyricism and elegiac reflection dominate.

The third movement is an elegant gallant minuet. It creates a feeling of relaxation and relaxation. And then, like a fiery whirlwind, the fiery finale bursts in. This, in general terms, was the symphony of that time. Its origins can be traced very clearly. The first part most closely resembles an operatic overture. But if the overture is only the threshold of the performance, then here the action itself unfolds in sounds. Typically operatic musical images of the overture - heroic fanfares, touching lamentos, stormy fun of the buffoons - are not associated with specific stage situations and do not bear characteristic individual features (remember that even the famous overture to “The Barber of Seville” by Rossini has nothing to do with the content of the opera and In general, it was originally written for another opera!), broke away from the opera performance and began an independent life. They are easily recognizable in the early symphony - the decisive, courageous intonations of the heroic arias in the first themes, called the main ones, the gentle sighs of the lyrical arias in the second, the so-called secondary themes.

Opera principles are also reflected in the texture of the symphony. If previously instrumental music was dominated by polyphony, that is, polyphony, in which several independent melodies, intertwined, sounded simultaneously, here a different type of polyphony began to develop: one main melody (most often violin), expressive, significant, accompanied by an accompaniment that sets it off , emphasizes her individuality. This type of polyphony, called homophonic, completely dominates in the early symphony. Later in the symphony, techniques borrowed from the fugue appear. However, in the middle of the 18th century it could rather be contrasted with a fugue. There was, as a rule, one theme (there are double, triple and more fugues, but in them the themes are not opposed, but compared). It was repeated many times, but nothing contradicted it. It was, in essence, an axiom, a thesis that was repeatedly stated without requiring proof. The opposite is true in a symphony: in the appearance and further changes of different musical themes and images, one can hear disputes and contradictions. Perhaps this is where the sign of the times shows itself most clearly. Truth is no longer a given. It needs to be sought, proven, justified, comparing different opinions, clarifying different points of view. This is what encyclopedists do in France. German philosophy, in particular, Hegel’s dialectical method, is built on this. And the very spirit of the era of quest is reflected in music.

So, the symphony took a lot from the operatic overture. In particular, the overture outlined the principle of alternating contrasting sections, which in the symphony turned into independent parts. In its first part there are different sides, different feelings of a person, life in its movement, development, changes, contrasts and conflicts. In the second part there is reflection, concentration, and sometimes lyrics. In the third - relaxation, entertainment. And, finally, the finale - pictures of fun, jubilation, and at the same time - the result of musical development, the completion of the symphonic cycle.

This is how the symphony would have developed by the beginning of the 19th century; this, in the most general terms, would have been the case, for example, with Brahms or Bruckner. And at the time of her birth, she apparently borrowed the multiple movements from the suite.

Allemande, courante, sarabande and gigue are the four obligatory dances, four different moods that can be easily seen in the early symphonies. The dance quality in them is very clearly expressed, especially in the finales, which in terms of the nature of the melody, tempo, and even the size of the beat, often resemble a gigue. True, sometimes the finale of the symphony is closer to the sparkling finale of opera buffa, but even then its kinship with dance, for example, the tarantella, is undeniable. As for the third part, it is called a minuet. Only in Beethoven's work will the dance - gallant courtly or rude common - be replaced by a scherzo.

The newborn symphony thus absorbed the features of many musical genres, and genres born in different countries. And the formation of the symphony took place not only in Mannheim. There was the Vienna School, represented, in particular, by Wagenseil. In Italy, Giovanni Battista Sammartini wrote orchestral works, which he called symphonies and intended for concert performance not associated with an opera performance. In France, a young composer, Belgian by birth, François-Joseph Gossec, turned to a new genre. His symphonies did not meet with response and recognition, since programmatic dominated in French music, but his work played a role in the formation of French symphony, in the renewal and expansion of the symphony orchestra. The Czech composer Frantisek Micha, who at one time served in Vienna, experimented a lot and successfully in search of a symphonic form. His famous fellow countryman Josef Myslewicz had interesting experiments. However, all these composers were loners, but in Mannheim a whole school was formed, which also had at its disposal a first-class “instrument” - a famous orchestra. Thanks to the happy chance that the Elector of the Palatinate was a great lover of music and had enough money to afford huge expenses on it, major musicians from different countries gathered in the capital of the Palatinate - Austrians and Czechs, Italians and Prussians - each of whom contributed contribution to the creation of a new genre. In the works of Jan Stamitz, Franz Richter, Carlo Toeschi, Anton Filz and other masters, the symphony arose in those of its main features, which then passed into the work of the Viennese classics - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.

So, during the first half-century of the existence of the new genre, a clear structural and dramatic model emerged that could accommodate diverse and very significant content. The basis of this model was a form called sonata, or sonata allegro, since it was most often written at this tempo, and later typical for both the symphony and the instrumental sonata and concerto. Its peculiarity is the juxtaposition of different, often contrasting musical themes. The three main sections of the sonata form - exposition, development and reprise - resemble the beginning, development of action and denouement of a classical drama. After a brief introduction or immediately at the beginning of the exposition, the “characters” of the play are presented to the audience.

The first musical theme that sounds in the main key of the work is called the main theme. More often - the main theme, but more correctly - the main part, since within the main part, that is, a certain segment of the musical form, united by one tonality and figurative community, over time, not one, but several different theme-melodies began to appear. After the main batch, in early samples by direct comparison, and in later ones through a small connecting batch, a secondary batch begins. Its theme or two or three different themes contrast with the main one. Most often, the side part is more lyrical, soft, and feminine. It sounds in a different key than the main one, a secondary (hence the name of the part) key. A feeling of instability and sometimes conflict arises. The exhibition ends with the final part, which is either absent in the early symphonies or plays a purely auxiliary role as a kind of point, a curtain after the first act of the play, and subsequently, starting with Mozart, acquires the significance of an independent third image, along with the main and secondary ones.

The middle section of sonata form is development. As the title shows, in it the musical themes with which listeners became acquainted in the exhibition (that is, previously exhibited) are developed, subject to change, and development. At the same time, they are shown from new, sometimes unexpected sides, modified, and individual motives are isolated from them - the most active ones, which later collide. Development is a dramatically effective section. At the end there comes a climax, which leads to a reprise - the third section of the form, a kind of denouement of the drama.

The name of this section comes from the French word reprendre - to renew. It is a renewal, a repetition of the exposition, but modified: both parts now sound in the main key of the symphony, as if brought to agreement by the development events. Sometimes there are other changes in a reprise. For example, it can be truncated (without any of the themes sounded in the exposition), mirrored (first the side part sounds, and only then the main part). The first part of the symphony usually ends with a coda - a conclusion that establishes the main tonality and main image of the sonata allegro. In the early symphonies, the coda is small and is, in essence, a somewhat developed final part. Later, for example, in Beethoven, it acquires significant proportions and becomes a kind of second development, in which affirmation is once again achieved through struggle.

This form turned out to be truly universal. From the days of the symphony to the present day, it has successfully embodied the deepest content, conveying an inexhaustible wealth of images, ideas, and problems.

The second part of the symphony is slow. This is usually the lyrical center of the cycle. Its shape varies. Most often it is three-part, that is, it has similar outer sections and a contrasting middle section, but it can also be written in the form of variations or some other form, up to a sonata, which differs structurally from the first allegro only in a slower tempo and less effective development.

The third movement is a minuet in early symphonies, and a scherzo from Beethoven to modern times, as a rule, a complex three-part form. The content of this part has been modified and complicated over the decades, from everyday or court dance to the monumental powerful scherzos of the 19th century and beyond, to the menacing images of evil and violence in the symphonic cycles of Shostakovich, Honegger and other symphonists of the 20th century. Starting from the second half of the 19th century, the scherzo increasingly changes places with the slow movement, which, in accordance with the new concept of the symphony, becomes a kind of spiritual reaction not only to the events of the first part, but also to the figurative world of the scherzo (in particular, in Mahler’s symphonies).

The finale, which is the result of the cycle, in early symphonies is often written in the form of a rondo sonata. The alternation of cheerful episodes sparkling with fun with a constant dance refrain - such a structure naturally followed from the nature of the images of the finale, from its semantics. Over time, with the deepening of the problems of the symphony, the patterns of structure of its finale began to change. Finales began to appear in sonata form, in the form of variations, in free form, and finally, with oratorio features (with the inclusion of a choir). His images have also changed: not only life affirmation, but sometimes also a tragic outcome (Tchaikovsky’s Sixth Symphony), reconciliation with cruel reality or escape from it into the world of dreams, illusions have become the content of the finale of the symphonic cycle in the last hundred years.

But let's return to the beginning of the glorious path of this genre. Having emerged in the middle of the 18th century, it reached classical completion in the work of the great Haydn.

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SECOND (HEROUS) SYMPHONY BY ALEXANDER BORODIN (B-FLAT MINOR, 1869–1876)

In Russia, by the second half of the 19th century, a fix idea had matured among composers: it was time to create their own, Russian symphony. By that time, in Europe, the symphony celebrated its centenary, having gone through all stages of the evolutionary chain: from the operatic overture, which left the theater stage and was performed separately from the opera, to such colossi as Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 (1824) or Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique (1830). In Russia, the fashion for this genre did not catch on: they tried it once, twice (Dmitry Bortnyansky - Concert Symphony, 1790; Alexander Alyabyev - symphonies in E minor, E-flat major) - and they abandoned this idea in order to return to it decades later in the works of Anton Rubinstein, Miliya Balakirev, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Alexander Borodin and others.

The mentioned composers judged absolutely correctly, realizing that the only thing that a Russian symphony can boast of against the backdrop of European abundance is its national flavor. And Borodin has no equal in this. His music breathes the expanse of endless plains, the prowess of Russian knights, the sincerity of folk songs with their aching, touching note. The emblem of the symphony was the main theme of the first movement, upon hearing which the composer’s friend and mentor, musicologist Vladimir Stasov, suggested two names: first “Lioness”, and then a more appropriate idea: “Bogatyrskaya”.

Unlike the symphonic works of the same Beethoven or Berlioz, based on human passions and experiences, the Bogatyr Symphony tells about time, history and people. There is no drama in the music, no pronounced conflict: it resembles a series of smoothly changing paintings. And this is fundamentally reflected in the structure of the symphony, where the slow movement, usually in second place, and the lively scherzo (traditionally coming after it) change places, and the finale, in a generalized form, repeats the ideas of the first movement. Borodin in this way managed to achieve maximum contrast in the musical illustration of the national epic, and Bogatyrskaya’s structural model subsequently served as a model for the epic symphonies of Glazunov, Myaskovsky and Prokofiev.

I. Allegro (00:00)
II. Scherzo: Prestissimo - Trio: Allegretto (07:50)
III. Andante (13:07)
IV. Finale: Allegro (23:42)

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PETER TCHAIKOVSKY'S SIXTH (PATHETIC) SYMPHONY (B MINOR, 1893)


There is so much evidence, interpretation, and attempts to explain its content that the entire description of this work could consist of quotes. Here is one of them, from Tchaikovsky’s letter to his nephew Vladimir Davydov, to whom the symphony is dedicated: “During the trip, I had the idea of ​​another symphony, this time a program one, but with a program that would remain a mystery to everyone. This program is the most imbued with subjectivity, and often during my travels, mentally composing it, I cried a lot.” What kind of program is this? Tchaikovsky confesses this to his cousin Anna Merkling, who suggested that he described his life in this symphony. “Yes, you guessed right,” confirmed the composer.

In the early 1890s, the thought of writing memoirs repeatedly visited Tchaikovsky. Sketches for his unfinished symphony called “Life” date back to this time. Judging by the surviving drafts, the composer planned to depict certain abstract stages of life: youth, thirst for activity, love, disappointment, death. However, the objective plan was not enough for Tchaikovsky, and the work was interrupted, but in the Sixth Symphony he was guided exclusively by personal experiences. How sick the composer’s soul must have been for music to be born with such an incredible, amazing power of influence!

The lyrical-tragic first part and the finale are inextricably linked with the image of death (in the development of the first part the theme of the spiritual chant “Rest with the Saints” is cited), as Tchaikovsky himself testified by referring to this symphony in response to the proposal of Grand Duke Konstantin Romanov to write “Requiem” " That is why the bright lyrical intermezzo (five-beat waltz in the second part) and the solemn and triumphal scherzo are so keenly perceived. There are many discussions about the role of the latter in the composition. It seems that Tchaikovsky was trying to show the futility of earthly glory and happiness in the face of inevitable loss, thereby confirming the great saying of Solomon: “Everything passes. This too will pass.”

1. Adagio - Allegro non troppo 00:00
2. Allegro con grazia 18:20
3. Allegro molto vivace 25:20
4. Finale. Adagio lamentoso 33:44

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THIRD SYMPHONY (“DIVINE POEM”) BY ALEXANDER SCRYABIN (C MINOR, 1904)

If you happen to visit the Alexander Scriabin House-Museum in Moscow on a dark autumn evening, you will certainly feel the eerie and mysterious atmosphere that surrounded the composer during his lifetime. A strange structure of colored light bulbs on the table in the living room, plump volumes on philosophy and occultism behind the cloudy glass of the bookcase door, and finally, an ascetic-looking bedroom where Scriabin, who had been afraid all his life of dying from blood poisoning, died of sepsis. A gloomy and mysterious place that perfectly demonstrates the composer’s worldview.

No less indicative of Scriabin’s thinking is his Third Symphony, which opens the so-called middle period of creativity. At this time, Scriabin gradually formulated his philosophical views, the essence of which is that the whole world is the result of one’s own creativity and one’s own thoughts (solipsism in its extreme stage) and that the creation of the world and the creation of art are essentially similar processes. These processes proceed like this: from the primary chaos of creative languor, two principles arise - active and passive (male and female). The first carries divine energy, the second gives rise to the material world with its natural beauties. The interaction of these principles creates cosmic eros, leading to ecstasy - the free triumph of the spirit.

No matter how strange all of the above may sound, Scriabin sincerely believed in this model of Genesis, according to which the Third Symphony was written. Its first part is called “Struggle” (the struggle of a man-slave, submissive to the supreme Ruler of the world, and a man-god), the second - “Pleasures” (a person surrenders to the joys of the sensory world, dissolves in nature), and, finally, the third - “Divine play" (the liberated spirit, "creating the universe with the sole power of his creative will," comprehends the "sublime joy of free activity"). But philosophy is philosophy, and the music itself is marvelous, revealing all the timbre capabilities of a symphony orchestra.

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FIRST (CLASSICAL) SYMPHONY BY SERGEY PROKOFIEV (D MAJOR, 1916–1917)

The year is 1917, difficult war years, revolution. It would seem that art should frown gloomily and tell about painful things. But sad thoughts are not for Prokofiev’s music - sunny, sparkling, youthfully charming. This is his First Symphony.

The composer was interested in the work of the Viennese classics even in his student years. Now a work a la Haydn has come from his pen. “It seemed to me that if Haydn had lived to this day, he would have retained his style of writing and at the same time adopted something new,” Prokofiev commented on his brainchild.

The composer chose a modest composition of the orchestra, again in the spirit of Viennese classicism - without heavy brass. The texture and orchestration are light and transparent, the scale of the work is not large, the composition is harmonious and logical. In a word, it is very reminiscent of the work of classicism, mistakenly born in the twentieth century. However, there are also purely Prokofiev emblems, for example, his favorite genre of gavotte in the third movement instead of a scherzo (the composer later used this musical material in the ballet “Romeo and Juliet”), as well as a sharp “pepper” harmony and an abyss of musical humor.

0:33 I. Allegro
5:20 II. Larghetto
9:35 III. Gavotta (Non troppo allegro)
11:17 IV. Finale (Molto vivace)

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SEVENTH (LENINGRAD) SYMPHONY BY DMITRY SHOSTAKOVICH (C MAJOR, 1941)

On July 2, 1942, a twenty-year-old pilot, Lieutenant Litvinov, miraculously broke through the enemy encirclement and managed to bring medicine and four plump music books with the score of D.D.’s Seventh Symphony to besieged Leningrad. Shostakovich, and the next day a short note appeared in Leningradskaya Pravda: “The score of Dmitry Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony was delivered to Leningrad by plane. Its public performance will take place in the Great Hall of the Philharmonic.”

An event for which the history of music has never known analogues: in a besieged city, terribly exhausted musicians (everyone who survived took part) under the baton of conductor Carl Eliasberg performed Shostakovich’s new symphony. The same one that the composer composed in the first weeks of the siege, until he and his family were evacuated to Kuibyshev (Samara). On the day of the Leningrad premiere, August 9, 1942, the Great Hall of the Leningrad Philharmonic was filled to capacity with exhausted city residents with translucent faces, but at the same time in elegant clothes, and military personnel who had come straight from the front line. The symphony was broadcast to the streets through radio speakers. That evening, the whole world stood still and listened to the unprecedented feat of the musicians.

...It is noteworthy, but the famous theme in the spirit of Ravel’s “Bolero”, which is now usually personified with a fascist army mindlessly moving and destroying everything in its path, was written by Shostakovich even before the start of the war. However, it was quite naturally included in the first part of the Leningrad Symphony, taking the place of the so-called “invasion episode”. The life-affirming ending also turned out to be prophetic, anticipating the longed-for Victory, from which it was still separated by such a long three and a half years...

I. Allegretto 00:00
II. Moderato (poco allegretto) 26:25
III. Adagio 37:00
IV. Allegro non troppo 53:40

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