AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.

FIVE "Echt symphonisch": On the Historical Context of Brahms's Symphonies.

Brahms Studies

| January 01, 1998 | Frisch, Walter | COPYRIGHT 1998 University of Nebraska Press. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)Copyright

The phrase quoted in the title of this essay, "echt symphonisch," or genuinely symphonic, was used in 1870 by the critic Emanuel Klitzsch to describe the main theme of Max Bruch's First Symphony, op.28.(1) (We will return below to the review and the symphony itself.) Identical or similar expressions appear with striking frequency in reviews of new symphonies in the latter half of the nineteenth century in Austria and Germany. The description "echt symphonisch" may seem tautological: to call a symphony "symphonic" gives it the label of the genre to which it already belongs. In fact, such expressions are symptomatic of a nexus of issues absolutely central to music during the period in which Brahms conceived and completed his four works in the genre.

There are, of course, many studies of the major symphonic composers of the later nineteenth century, and even some of minor ones. But by focusing primarily on individual stars in the symphonic galaxy -- whether of greater or lesser magnitude -- musicologists have tended to ignore the interstellar dust: the historical, aesthetic, compositional, institutional, and sociopolitical contexts. It is something of this admittedly vast and ill-defined portion of the cosmos that I wish to sketch out in the present essay. I will discuss first the rise of the "great symphony" as an aesthetic and critical category. Then I will address more specifically historical and social aspects, including the role of professional orchestras and concert series. Next, the First Symphony of Max Bruch will be discussed as an example or locus of some issues of symphony writing in the 1860s. Finally I will consider briefly the first movement of Brahms's own First Symphony, conceived at the same time.

I

From the late eighteenth century across most of the first half of the nineteenth, the gro[Beta]e Symphonie, or great symphony, became established as the most elevated and important form of instrumental music. Already in the late eighteenth century, when the genre was relatively young, modest in dimensions, and still related to the opera overture, the symphony began to take on a hallowed and elevated position. In Sulzer's Allgemeine Theorie der schonen Kunste of 1771-74, the writer of the article "Symphonie," most likely J. A. P. Schulz, begins a long tradition of identifying the symphony as suited to "expressions of grandeur [des Gro[Beta]en], solemnity, and the sublime."(2) Writing under the sway of Beethoven a few decades later, E. T. A. Hoffmann and other early Romantic writers elaborate this image of the symphony. Hoffmann's review of Beethoven's Fifth, from 1810, in which the work is seen as occupying the realm of the "mighty" (das Ungeheuere), the "immeasurable" (das Unermessliche), and the "infinite" (das Unendliche), is the most famous example of this kind of criticism.(3)

In 1824 Friedrich Rochlitz further investigated the quality of the "great," or das Grosse, which he sought to distinguish from the sublime, or das Erhabene. His topic was not specifically the symphony, but his comments are clearly applicable to that genre:

Related articles from newspapers, magazines, journals, and more
[Max Bruch.]
Picture from: NYPL Digital Gallery unknown January 1, 1934 700+ words
Max Bruch
Picture from: NYPL Digital Gallery unknown January 1, 1934 700+ words
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D; Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1.(Ludwig van...
Magazine article from: Sensible Sound Puccio, John May 1, 2007 700+ words
Beethoven: Violin Concerto in D; Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1. Arthur Grumiaux, violin; Sir Colin Davis; Heinz Wallberg; Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra; New Philharmonia Orchestra. PentaTone Classics SACD 5186 120. After an evening of close and careful listening, it is my expert, absolute, and
Arts & Entertainment: On song for a year of blockbuster concerts; With the...
Newspaper article from: The Birmingham Post (England) Morley, Christopher January 4, 2000 700+ words
...Dances and Dvorak's Seventh Symphony. And what about Symphony Hall's resident orchestra...conducting Bax' Spring Fire quasi-symphony; violinist Leila Josefowicz...last October, this time in Max Bruch, and the concert is repeated...
A season of growth Elgin Symphony Orchestra adds classic concerts, expands...
Newspaper article from: Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Gowen, Bill September 30, 2005 700+ words
...Order tickets by mail: Elgin Symphony Orchestra, 20 DuPage Court...Series concerts, the Elgin Symphony Orchestra begins yet another...and returns this weekend for Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1...and Gustav Mahler's First Symphony. "Robert McDuffie, I believe...
Pueblo Symphony: Chi's band will begin season magically.
Newspaper article from: Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colorado) August 25, 2006 700+ words
...30 p.m. The Pueblo Symphony, under the direction...another frequent Pueblo Symphony guest artist, violinist...He'll be playing Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor, and the symphony will take on Schubert...concerts - dubbed "Symphonies for Kids" but carrying...
BRUCH SYMPHONIES SOAR.(Living Today)
Newspaper article from: Albany Times Union (Albany, NY) June 8, 1989 700+ words
"Max Bruch: Three Symphonies (Swedish Dances...concert halls while the symphonies languish. Kurt Masur...of the lot is the "Symphony No. 2," which combines...Shostakovich: Seventh Symphony." Neeme Jarvi, Scottish...
Season Finale Caps Hudson's Success With Fairfax Symphony Orchestra
Newspaper article from: The Washington Post Joseph McLellan May 16, 1996 700+ words
...as conductor of the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, in Hagerstown...including Beethoven's "Choral" Symphony and "Emperor" Concerto...s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Max Bruch's "Scottish" Fantasy...popular, technically demanding symphony (Rachmaninoff's Second...
For more facts and information, see all results
©2009 Gale, a part of Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
About us | FAQs | Contact us | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Other Gale sites: Encyclopedia.com | HighBeam Research | Acquire Content | Books & Authors | Goliath | MovieRetriever | Smart QandA