Symphony

Prokofiev’s Sixth Symphony: Shadowy and Austere

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If the popular Stalin Prize-winning Fifth Symphony of Sergei Prokofiev, composed in 1944, delivers triumph, heroism and emotional catharsis, the Sixth, by comparison, is shadowy, austere, and enigmatic. It reveals itself fully after repeated attentive listenings. Arriving at the height of post-war Soviet Stalinism, Symphony No. 6 in E-flat minor, Op. 111 was initially well received when Evgeny Mravinsky led its premiere in Leningrad on October 11, 1947. A month later, when …

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Haydn’s Symphony No. 83 in G Minor: “The Hen” (La Poule)

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In 1784, Franz Joseph Haydn received a commission to write six symphonies (Nos. 82-87) from the board of directors of the Parisian concert society, the Concert de la Loge Olympique. The orchestra at Haydn’s disposal, which included 40 violins and 10 double basses, was far larger than the chamber ensemble of 25 players at the Esterházy Palace where Haydn was employed. According to musicologist Robbins Landon, “The musicians wore splendid ‘sky-blue’ dress …

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Schumann’s Second Symphony: Drums, Trumpets, and Triumph

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“For several days, drums and trumpets in the key of C have been sounding in my mind,” wrote Robert Schumann to Felix Mendelssohn in a September, 1845 letter. “I have no idea what will come of it.” These recurring musical reveries were the seeds of Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major, Op. 61, sketched over the course of two weeks in December of 1845, and completed a year later. As he …

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Remembering Kazuyoshi Akiyama

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Kazuyoshi Akiyama, the renowned Japanese conductor, passed away last Sunday, January 26. He was 84. Akiyama made his debut with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra in 1964. The collaboration was so successful that, within two months, he was given the dual posts of music director and permanent conductor. He went on to serve as assistant conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (1968-1969), and music director of the American Symphony Orchestra (1973-1978). His reputation …

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Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 4 in F Minor: Krzysztof Urbański and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony

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From childhood, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was drawn to the music of Mozart. The four-year-old Tchaikovsky was moved to tears when he heard a St. Petersburg orchestra play excerpts from Don Giovanni. Later, he recalled the experience as “a pure revelation…During several weeks I did nothing but play this opera through from the piano score; even as I fell asleep I could not part with this divine music, which pursued me long into my happy …

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Haydn’s Symphony No. 103 in E-Flat Major: The “Drumroll”

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Franz Joseph Haydn’s twelve “London” Symphonies (Nos. 93-104) arrived at a thrilling moment in music history. It was the early 1790s, and the tumultuous effects of the American and French Revolutions were rippling through society. London’s Hanover Square Rooms reflected the birth of the modern public concert hall, and gave “architectural expression to the growing and powerful sacralization of music.” (Blanning, The Triumph of Music) After 30 happy years in the employment …

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Mendelssohn’s Fifth Symphony, “Reformation”: Commemorating the Protestant Revolution

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The Protestant Reformation changed the world forever. Anticipating ideals of the Enlightenment, which swept across Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries, it was a revolutionary movement which challenged the authority of the Catholic hierarchy, elevated the sanctity of the individual, and affirmed his direct relationship with God. The 20-year-old Felix Mendelssohn chose to celebrate these exalted ideals, not with a choral work, but with a dramatic symphony. Completed in 1830, the …

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