| Contents |
Emergence of a genre. Progenitors of the symphony. Dance suite ; Sonata ; Concerto ; Opera overture ; The 18th-century symphony -- Exponents of the classical symphonic style. Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) ; Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) ; Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) ; Early co-heirs of the Viennese school: Schubert, Berlioz, and Mendelssohn -- Early history of the scherzo. The comic in music ; Counterpoint, the minuet, and the scherzo ; Aesthetics of the scherzo -- New paradigms for the genre: Beethoven and the symphonic scherzo. Symphony No. 1 in C major, op. 26, III. Menuetto ; Symphony no. 2 in D major, op. 36, III. Scherzo ; Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 55 ("Eroica"), III. Scherzo ; Symphony no. 4 in B-flat major, op. 60, III. Allegro vivace ; Symphony no. 5 in C minor, op. 67, III. Allegro ; Symphony no. 6 in F major, op. 68 ("Pastoral"), III. Lustiges Zusammen der Landleute ; Symphony no. 7 in A major, op. 92. III. Presto ; Symphony no. 8 in F major, op. 93, III. Tempo di menuetto ; Symphony no. 9 in C minor, op. 125 ("Choral"), II ; Observations -- The symphonic scherzos of Robert Schumann. Symphony no. 1 in B-flat major, op. 38 ("Spring"). Form ; Rhythm and meter -- Symphony no. 4 in D minor, op. 120. Form and character ; Rhythm and meter -- Symphony no. 2 in C major, op. 61. Form ; Character and rhythm ; The canonic style of Symphony no. 2, II: Trio 2 -- Symphony no. 3 in E-flat major, op. 97 ("Rhenish"). Character ; Form and rhythm ; Observations -- The later 19th-century symphony scherzo: in selected works by Bruckner, Dvořák & Mahler. Bruckner symphonies nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 8. Symphony no. 1 in C minor, WAB 101 ; Symphony no. 2 in C minor, WAB 102 ; Symphony no. 4 in E-flat major, WAB 104 ("Romantic") ; Symphony no. 5 in B-flat major, WAB 105. Form ; Character, tonality, and scoring -- Symphony no. 8 in C minor, WAB 108. Form ; Scoring and style -- Dvořák symphonies nos. 1, 7, 8, 9. Symphony no. 1 in C minor, B. 9. Form ; Character, rhythm and scoring ; Observations -- Symphony no. 7 in D minor, op. 70. Form ; Character, rhythm and scoring -- Symphony no. 8 in G major, op. 88. Form ; Character, rhythm and scoring -- Symphony no. 9 in E minor, op. 95 ("From the New World"). Form ; Character, rhythm, and scoring ; Observations -- Mahler symphonies nos. 1, 6, and 9. Symphony no. 1 in D major. Form ; Scoring and extended techniques ; Observations -- Symphony no. 6 in A minor. Form and rhythm ; Scoring -- Symphony no. 9. Form ; Style ; Observations -- Conclusion. Beethoven and Schumann ; Beethoven, Schumann, and selected later composers of the 19th century. |
| Summary |
Robert Schumann composed his symphonies just one generation after Beethoven wrote his monumental works and introduced the scherzo into the symphony. Schumann held that composers of his day should maintain and master the genre according to Beethovenian traditions. Therefore, the first goal of this project was to analyze Schumann's scherzos in order to discover in what respects he himself had followed Beethoven and further advanced the genre. Secondly, since his scherzos were written relatively early in the history of the symphonic scherzo, this research sought to determine if his innovative procedures were adopted by later composers. Scherzos by Beethoven, Schumann, Bruckner, Dvorak, and Mahler were analyzed in order to meet these project goals. The analysis of Schumann's yielded evidence of his maintenance and advancement of the scherzo. But proof of his influence on later composers, notwithstanding the superior artistry and design of his compositions, was not established. |
