The Classical Music Book

168

Leipzig, with Mendelssohn as its

conductor, and was well recieved

by its audience.

A Romantic symphony

The title of the “Spring” Symphony

was taken from a poem by Adolf

Böttger that ends with the lines,

“Oh turn and turn and change your

course, In the valley Spring blooms

forth,” which inspired the opening

of the symphony. The poem is

about a melancholy lover whose

pain is heightened by the arrival of

spring, but Schumann claimed that

a longing for spring in general

inspired the work. In a letter to the

conductor William Taubert in 1843,

he wrote, “I should like the very first

trumpet call to sound as though

proceeding from on high and like a

summons to awaken. ... It might be

possible to feel the world turning

green; perhaps ... a butterfly

fluttering.” In Schumann’s first

score for the symphony, he gave

each of his movements titles:

“Beginning of Spring,” “Evening,”

“Jolly Playmates,” and “Spring

Replete.” However, by the time the

symphony was published, he had

removed them.

It is clear from the opening

brass fanfare, with its intense

feeling of expectation, that this is

THE ROMANTIC SYMPHONY

a symphony of the Romantic period.

Full of contrast and surprise, its

quickly shifting moods keep

listeners in suspense. Avoiding

both the musical arguments of

Beethoven and the discursive

approach of Schubert, Schumann

found a way to direct the music’s

energy through juxtaposition and

repetition, while still conveying

subtle emotions. He also avoids

using traditional key structures

so that the second subject—or

melodic theme—is in a minor key,

adding a note of melancholy.

The symphony’s second

movement often seems as if it were

originally written for the piano—

a criticism frequently leveled at

Schumann’s orchestral works—

but this brings an original, almost

improvisatory quality to the piece

that marked a departure from

classical strictures. Meanwhile,

in choosing to write the third

New era, new aesthetics

Classical Romantic

Inspired by the

Enlightenment and the

Age of Reason.

Inspired by nature,

poetry, and myth.

Music is largely the

preserve of the court and

the wealthy.

Growing audiences

expand to include the

middle classes.

Emphasis is on elegance

and structure.

Emphasis is on

emotional expression.

Era of the symphony,

instrumental sonata,

and string quartet.

New styles of melody,

harmony, and

rhythm emerge.

To send light into the

darkness of men’s hearts—

such is the duty of the artist.

Robert Schumann

US_166-169_Schumann.indd 168 27/03/18 4:49 PM