Symphony in F sharp major (Korngold)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony in F sharp major, Op. 40, is the only symphony
written by the 20th-century Austria
n composer
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
, though he also wrote a Sinfonietta
, Op. 5, in 1911-12.
The symphony was completed in 1952 and was dedicated to the memory of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt
, who died in April 1945.
The work utilises a theme Korngold had written for the 1939 film The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
.
It was premiered on Austria
n radio on 17 October 1954 by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Harold Byrns
, although it was described as "poorly rehearsed and performed. In 1959, Dimitri Mitropoulos
wrote: "All my life I have searched for the perfect modern work. In this symphony I have found it. I shall perform it the next season." But Mitropoulos's death intervened, and the symphony, though played several times on European radio, did not have its concert premiere until 27 November 1972 in Munich
, under Rudolf Kempe
. Since then the work has entered the repertoire with a number of CD recordings available, and the full score has been published by Schott Musik in their Eulenburg series.
It runs for about 50 minutes and is in four movements:
The work is scored for large orchestra consisting of: 3 flute
s (3rd doubling piccolo
), 2 oboe
s, 2 clarinet
s, bass clarinet
, 2 bassoon
s, double bassoon
, 4 horns
, 3 trumpet
s, 4 trombone
s, tuba
, timpani
, percussion
(3 players are handling: bass drum
, cymbals, gong
, glockenspiel
, marimba
, xylophone
), harp
, piano
(doubling celesta
) and the usual strings
.
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
written by the 20th-century Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold
Erich Wolfgang Korngold was an Austro-Hungarian film and romantic music composer. While his compositional style was considered well out of vogue at the time he died, his music has more recently undergone a reevaluation and a gradual reawakening of interest...
, though he also wrote a Sinfonietta
Sinfonietta (Korngold)
The Sinfonietta in B major, Op. 5, is the first large-scale orchestral work written by the 20th-century German composer Erich Wolfgang Korngold. It was completed in 1912, when he was fifteen years old and was premiered in Vienna on 30 November 1913 with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by...
, Op. 5, in 1911-12.
The symphony was completed in 1952 and was dedicated to the memory of American president Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
, who died in April 1945.
The work utilises a theme Korngold had written for the 1939 film The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex is a 1939 historical romantic drama film. It is based on the relationship between Queen Elizabeth I, portrayed by Bette Davis, and Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, played by Errol Flynn...
.
It was premiered on Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n radio on 17 October 1954 by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra under Harold Byrns
Harold Byrns
Harold Byrns was a German-American conductor and orchestrator.He was born Hans Bernstein in Hanover, Germany in 1903. His father had formed a chamber music society in Hanover, and he followed in his father's footsteps...
, although it was described as "poorly rehearsed and performed. In 1959, Dimitri Mitropoulos
Dimitris Mitropoulos
Dimitri Mitropoulos , was a Greek conductor, pianist, and composer. Also known as Dimitris Mitropoulos.-Life and career:Mitropoulos was born in Athens, the son of Yannis and Angeliki Mitropoulos. His father owned a leather goods shop at No. 15, St Marks Street. He was musically precocious,...
wrote: "All my life I have searched for the perfect modern work. In this symphony I have found it. I shall perform it the next season." But Mitropoulos's death intervened, and the symphony, though played several times on European radio, did not have its concert premiere until 27 November 1972 in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, under Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe
Rudolf Kempe was a German conductor.- Biography :Kempe was born in Dresden, where from the age of fourteen he studied at the Dresden State Opera School. He played oboe in the opera orchestra of Dortmund and then in the Leipzig Gewandhaus orchestra, from 1929...
. Since then the work has entered the repertoire with a number of CD recordings available, and the full score has been published by Schott Musik in their Eulenburg series.
It runs for about 50 minutes and is in four movements:
- Moderato, ma energico -- intense and stormy, with a jagged main theme
- ScherzoScherzoA scherzo is a piece of music, often a movement from a larger piece such as a symphony or a sonata. The scherzo's precise definition has varied over the years, but it often refers to a movement which replaces the minuet as the third movement in a four-movement work, such as a symphony, sonata, or...
- Adagio -- long, profound and meditative, in the tradition of Anton BrucknerAnton BrucknerAnton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
. A memorial to Roosevelt. - Finale -- optimistic; listeners will recognize references to film music and the song, "Over ThereOver There"Over There" is a 1917 song popular with United States soldiers in both world wars.It was written by George M. Cohan during World War I. Notable early recordings include versions by Nora Bayes, Enrico Caruso, Billy Murray, and Charles King....
".
The work is scored for large orchestra consisting of: 3 flute
Flute
The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...
s (3rd doubling piccolo
Piccolo
The piccolo is a half-size flute, and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. The piccolo has the same fingerings as its larger sibling, the standard transverse flute, but the sound it produces is an octave higher than written...
), 2 oboe
Oboe
The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...
s, 2 clarinet
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
s, bass clarinet
Bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, 2 bassoon
Bassoon
The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...
s, double bassoon
Contrabassoon
The contrabassoon, also known as the double bassoon or double-bassoon, is a larger version of the bassoon, sounding an octave lower...
, 4 horns
Horn (instrument)
The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....
, 3 trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
s, 4 trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
s, tuba
Tuba
The tuba is the largest and lowest-pitched brass instrument. Sound is produced by vibrating or "buzzing" the lips into a large cupped mouthpiece. It is one of the most recent additions to the modern symphony orchestra, first appearing in the mid-19th century, when it largely replaced the...
, timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
, percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
(3 players are handling: bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
, cymbals, gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
, glockenspiel
Glockenspiel
A glockenspiel is a percussion instrument composed of a set of tuned keys arranged in the fashion of the keyboard of a piano. In this way, it is similar to the xylophone; however, the xylophone's bars are made of wood, while the glockenspiel's are metal plates or tubes, and making it a metallophone...
, marimba
Marimba
The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...
, xylophone
Xylophone
The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...
), harp
Harp
The harp is a multi-stringed instrument which has the plane of its strings positioned perpendicularly to the soundboard. Organologically, it is in the general category of chordophones and has its own sub category . All harps have a neck, resonator and strings...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
(doubling celesta
Celesta
The celesta or celeste is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. Its appearance is similar to that of an upright piano or of a large wooden music box . The keys are connected to hammers which strike a graduated set of metal plates suspended over wooden resonators...
) and the usual strings
String instrument
A string instrument is a musical instrument that produces sound by means of vibrating strings. In the Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification, used in organology, they are called chordophones...
.