Concert Report

Concert Report

On the afternoon of Sunday, May 6th the La Jolla Symphony & Chorus presented three musical perspectives of the sounds of spring. The second piece of the show was Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 38, "Spring", consisting of four movements, which will be the focus of this paper. Schumann's first symphony was composed in the winter of 1841 just months after Schumann was first married and he characterized himself as the "Spring Symphony". Even though it was 14 years following Beethoven's death, it was still intimidating for composers to enter the symphony genre, due to the success of his work. However, Schumann dove in wholeheartedly and dumped two months of his life into this piece.

The first movement, Andante un poco maestoso: Allegro molto vivace, begins with an erupting brass announcement which calls all of the other sections in to play. The orchestra then moves to a more toned-down mood allowing the strings to back up the cheerful lines of flutes as the harmony shifts and the theme develops. The entire orchestra gradually builds up the proud and joyous Allegro, and eventually moves back to the phrases of bursting horns, whose timbre allow them to take over the sound of the symphony quite easily. As the movement develops further the dynamics build from soft string and clarinet accompaniments to vigorously blasting lines of the entire orchestra which resemble the original theme, but posses certain variations. The coda of this movement, first played by the strings then followed by the whole orchestra, runs wildly through climactic dynamics and vivacious rhythmic patterns and brings the symphony to a close with a characteristically similar ending to his predecessors.

The second movement in Largetto opens up with a purely string theme, first offered by the violins and followed by the cellos. The mood is somber, yet passionate, as the woodwinds sneak in to offer their delicate counterpoint to the harmony. Slowly progressing through a world of romanticism, the orchestra steadily grows in size and dynamics. While dipping into lower, possibly minor keys, the piece returns to prominent boasting gestures, which hint at what is to come in the third movement--a violent Scherzo. Molto vivace.

The third movement consists of two Trios, first in duple then triple meter, which differs from the rest of the piece as being wholly in triple meter. Throughout this movement, a noticeable 'call and response' sort of gameplay is taking place between the string and wind instruments. This dance between instrumental sections adds tension to the general contour of the symphony. The tension seems expectedly to dissipate in the following, finale movement.

The finale, Allegro animato e grazioso, provides no orchestral surprises following the previously introduced theme and seems to recapitulate the overall message