Symphony is the most monumental form instrumental music... Moreover, this statement is true for any era - for the work of the Viennese classics, and for romantics, and for composers of later trends ...

Alexander Maykapar

Music genres: Symphony

The word symphony goes back to the Greek "symphony" and has several meanings. Theologians call this a reference book on the use of words found in the Bible. The term is translated by them as consent and agreement. Musicians translate this word as consonance.

The theme of this essay is symphony as a musical genre. It turns out that in musical context the term symphony has several different meanings. So, Bach called his wonderful pieces for the clavier symphonies, \ meaning that they represent a harmonious combination, a combination - consonance - of several (in this case, three) voices. But this use of the term was an exception already in the time of Bach - in the first half of the 18th century. Moreover, in the work of Bach himself, he denoted music of a completely different style.

And now we come close to the main theme of our essay - the symphony as a large multi-part orchestral work. In this sense, the symphony appeared around 1730, when the orchestral introduction to the opera separated from the opera itself and turned into an independent orchestral work, taking as a basis a three-part Italian-style overture.

The affinity of the symphony with the overture is manifested not only in the fact that each of the three sections of the overture: fast-slow-fast (and sometimes also a slow introduction to it) turned into symphonies into an independent separate movement, but also in the fact that the overture gave the symphony an idea contrast of the main themes (usually masculine and feminine) and thus endowed the symphony with the dramatic (and dramatic) tension and intrigue necessary for music of large forms.

Constructive principles of the symphony

Mountains of musicological books and articles are devoted to the analysis of the form of the symphony, its evolution. The artistic material represented by the genre of the symphony is enormous both in quantity and in the variety of forms. Here we can outline the most general principles.

1. Symphony is the most monumental form of instrumental music. Moreover, this statement is true for any era - and for the work of the Viennese classics, and for romantics, and for composers of later trends. The Eighth Symphony (1906) by Gustav Mahler, for example, grandiose in artistic design, was written for a huge - even according to the ideas of the early 20th century - cast of performers: the large symphony orchestra was expanded by 22 woodwind and 17 brass instruments, the score also includes two mixed choirs and choir of boys; to this are added eight soloists (three sopranos, two altos, tenor, baritone and bass) and a backstage orchestra. It is often called the "Symphony of a Thousand Members". In order to perform it, it is necessary to rebuild the stage of even very large concert halls.

2. Since the symphony is a multi-part work (three-, more often four-, and sometimes even five-part, for example Beethoven's “Pastoral” or Berlioz's “Fantastic”), it is clear that such a form must be extremely elaborate in order to exclude monotony and monotony. (A one-part symphony is very rare, for example - Symphony No. 21 by N. Myaskovsky.)

A symphony always contains a lot musical images, ideas and themes. They are somehow distributed between the parts, which, in turn, on the one hand - contrast with each other, on the other - form a kind of higher integrity, without which the symphony will not be perceived as a single work.

To give an idea of ​​the composition of the parts of the symphony, we present information about several masterpieces ...

Mozart. Symphony No. 41 "Jupiter" in C major
I. Allegro vivace
II. Andante cantabile
III. Menuetto. Allegretto - Trio
IV. Molto allegro

Beethoven. Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 55 ("Heroic")
I. Allegro con brio
II. Marcia funebre: Adagio assai
III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace
IV. Finale: Allegro molto, Poco Andante

Schubert. Symphony No. 8 in B minor (the so-called "Unfinished")
I. Allegro moderato
II. Andante con moto

Berlioz. Fantastic symphony
I. Dreams. Passion: Largo - Allegro agitato e appassionato assai - Tempo I - Religiosamente
II. Ball: Valse. Allegro non troppo
III. Scene in the fields: Adagio
IV. Execution Procession: Allegretto non troppo
V. A Dream on the Night of the Sabbath: Larghetto - Allegro - Allegro
assai - Allegro - Lontana - Ronde du Sabbat - Dies irae

Borodin. Symphony No. 2 "Heroic"
I. Allegro
II. Scherzo. Prestissimo
III. Andante
IV. Finale. Allegro

3. The first part is the most complex in design. In a classical symphony, it is usually written in the form of the so-called sonata Allegro... The peculiarity of this form is that at least two main themes clash and develop in it, about which in the most general outline can be spoken of as expressing masculine (this topic is usually called main party, since for the first time it passes in the main key of the work) and the feminine principle (this side batch- it sounds in one of the related main keys). These two main themes are somehow related, and the transition from main to secondary is called connecting batch. The presentation of all this musical material usually has a definite ending, this episode is called the final batch.

If we listen to a classical symphony with an attention that allows us from the first acquaintance with the given work to immediately distinguish between these structural elements, we will find in the course of the first part of the modification of these basic themes. With the development of the sonata form, some composers - and Beethoven was the first of them - were able to identify feminine elements in the theme of a masculine character and vice versa, and in the course of developing these themes "illuminate" them in different ways. This is perhaps the brightest - both artistic and logical - embodiment of the principle of dialectics.

The entire first part of the symphony is built as a three-part form, in which first the main themes are presented to the listener, as if exposed (therefore this section is called the exposition), then they undergo development and transformation (the second section is development) and finally return - either in their original form , or in some new quality (reprise). This is the most general scheme into which each of the great composers contributed something of their own. Therefore, we will not find two identical designs, not only from different composers, but also from one. (Of course, if it comes about great creators.)

4. After the usually stormy first movement of the symphony, there must certainly be a place for lyrical, calm, sublime music, in a word, flowing in slow motion. At first, this was the second movement of the symphony, and this was considered a rather strict rule. In the symphonies of Haydn and Mozart, the slow movement is precisely the second. If the symphony has only three parts (as in Mozart's 1770s), then the slow part really turns out to be the middle one. If the symphony is in four parts, then a minuet was placed between the slow part and the fast ending in the early symphonies. Later, starting with Beethoven, the minuet was replaced by a swift scherzo. However, at some point the composers decided to deviate from this rule, and then the slow movement became the third part in the symphony, and the scherzo became the second part, as we see (more precisely, we hear) in A. Borodin's “Heroic” symphony.

5. The finals of classical symphonies are characterized by a lively movement with features of dance and song, often in folk spirit... Sometimes the finale of a symphony turns into a true apotheosis, as in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (op. 125), where the choir and singing soloists were introduced to the symphony. Although this was an innovation for the genre of symphony, it was not for Beethoven himself: even earlier he composed Fantasy for piano, chorus and orchestra (Op. 80). The symphony contains an ode to Joy by F. Schiller. The finale is so dominant in this symphony that the three movements preceding it are perceived as a huge introduction to it. A rendition of this finale with his "Hug, Millions!" at the opening of the UN General Session - the best expression of the ethical aspirations of humanity!

Great Symphony Makers

Joseph Haydn

Joseph Haydn lived a long life (1732-1809). Half a century of its creative activity outlined by two important circumstances: the death of JS Bach (1750), which ended the era of polyphony, and the premiere of Beethoven's Third ("Heroic") symphony, which marked the beginning of the era of romanticism. During these fifty years old musical forms - mass, oratorio and concerto grosso- were replaced by new ones: symphony, sonata and string quartet. The main place where works written in these genres were now sounded were not churches and cathedrals, as before, but the palaces of nobles and aristocrats, which, in turn, led to a change in musical values ​​- poetry and subjective expressiveness came into fashion.

In all of this, Haydn was a pioneer. Often - although not quite correctly - he is called the "father of the symphony." Some composers, for example Jan Stamitz and other representatives of the so-called Mannheim School (Mannheim in mid XVIII v. - the citadel of early symphonies), much earlier than Haydn, they began to compose three-part symphonies. However, Haydn raised this form to a much higher level and showed the way to the future. His early works bear the stamp of the influence of C.F.E.Bach, and the later ones anticipate a completely different style - Beethoven.

At the same time, it is noteworthy that he began to create compositions that had acquired great musical significance when he crossed his forty-year mark. Fertility, diversity, unpredictability, humor, ingenuity - this is what makes Haydn a head taller (or even, as one witty put it, up to his shoulders) above the level of his contemporaries.

Many of Haydn's symphonies have been named. Here are some examples.

A. Abakumov. Played by Haydn (1997)

The famous symphony No. 45 was called Farewell (or Symphony by Candlelight): on the last pages of the symphony's finale, the musicians stop playing one by one and leave the stage, leaving only two violins that end the symphony with an interrogative chord la - F sharp... Haydn himself told a semi-humorous version of the symphony's origin: Prince Nikolai Esterhazy once did not let the orchestra musicians go from Esterhaz to Eisenstadt, where their families lived, for a very long time. Wanting to help his subordinates, Haydn composed the conclusion of the "Farewell" symphony in the form of a subtle hint to the prince - a request for leave expressed in musical images. The hint was understood, and the prince gave the appropriate orders.

In the era of romanticism, the humorous nature of the symphony was forgotten, and it began to be endowed with a tragic meaning. Schumann wrote in 1838 about musicians extinguishing their candles and leaving the stage during the finale of the symphony: "And no one laughed at this, because there was no laughing matter."

Symphony No. 94 "With a Timpani Strike, or Surprise" got its name due to the humorous effect in the slow movement - its serene mood is disturbed by a sharp timpani beat. No. 96 "Miracle" became so called due to chance circumstances. At the concert in which Haydn was to conduct this symphony, the audience with his appearance rushed from the middle of the hall to the free front rows, and the middle was empty. At that moment, just in the center of the hall, a chandelier collapsed, only two listeners were slightly injured. In the hall exclamations were heard: “Miracle! Miracle!" Haydn himself was deeply impressed by his involuntary salvation of many people.

The name of Symphony No. 100 "Military", on the contrary, is not at all accidental - its extreme parts with their military signals and rhythms clearly draw musical picture camps; even the Minuet here (the third part) of a rather dashing "army" warehouse; the inclusion of Turkish percussion instruments in the score of the symphony delighted London music lovers (cf. Mozart's Turkish March).

No. 104 “Salomon”: Isn't It a Tribute to the Impresario - John Peter Salomon, who did so much for Haydn? True, Salomon himself, thanks to Haydn, became so famous that he was buried in Westminster Abbey "for bringing Haydn to London," as indicated on his tombstone. Therefore, the symphony should be called exactly "C a Lomon ", and not" Solomon ", as is sometimes found in concert programs, which incorrectly orientates the audience to the biblical king.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart wrote his first symphonies when he was eight years old, and the last at thirty-two. Their total number is more than fifty, but several youthful ones have not survived or have not yet been discovered.

If we take the advice of Alfred Einstein, the greatest connoisseur of Mozart, and compare this number with only nine symphonies in Beethoven or four in Brahms, it will immediately become clear that the concept of the genre of a symphony is different for these composers. But if you single out those of Mozart's symphonies that really, like Beethoven's, are addressed to a certain ideal audience, in other words, to all of humanity ( humanitas), it turns out that Mozart also wrote no more than ten such symphonies (the same Einstein speaks of "four or five"!). The Prague and Triad of Symphonies of 1788 (No. 39, 40, 41) are an amazing contribution to the treasury of world symphony.

Of these last three symphonies, the middle one, No. 40, is the most famous. Only “Little night serenade"And Overture to the opera" The Marriage of Figaro ". Although the reasons for popularity are always difficult to determine, one of them in this case may be the choice of key. This symphony is written in G minor - a rarity for Mozart, who preferred the cheerful and joyful major keys. Of the forty-one symphonies, only two are written in a minor key (this does not mean that Mozart did not write minor music in major symphonies).

There are similar statistics for his piano concertos: out of twenty-seven, only two have the basic key in minor. Considering the dark days this symphony was created, it might seem that the choice of key was predetermined. However, there is more to this creation than just the everyday sadness of one person. It must be remembered that in that era, German and Austrian composers more and more found themselves at the mercy of ideas and images of the aesthetic trend in literature, which received the name "Storm and Onslaught".

The name of the new movement was given by F. M. Klinger's drama "Storm and Onslaught" (1776). A large number of dramas have emerged with incredibly passionate and often inconsistent characters. The composers were also fascinated by the idea of ​​expressing with sounds the dramatic intensity of passions, heroic struggle, often longing for unrealizable ideals. Not surprisingly, in this atmosphere, Mozart also turned to minor keys.

Unlike Haydn, who was always confident that his symphonies would be performed - either in front of Prince Esterhazy or, like the London ones, in front of a London audience - Mozart never had such a guarantee, and despite this, he was amazingly prolific. If his early symphonies are often entertaining or, as we would now say, "light" music, then later symphonies are the "highlight of the program" of any symphony concert.

Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven created nine symphonies. There are probably more books written by them than notes in this heritage. The greatest of his symphonies are the Third (E-flat major, "Heroic"), Fifth (C minor), Sixth (F major, "Pastoral"), Ninth (D minor).

... Vienna, May 7, 1824. Premiere of the Ninth Symphony. The surviving documents testify to what happened then. The very notice of the upcoming premiere was remarkable: “The Great Music Academy, which is being arranged by Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven, will take place tomorrow, May 7th.<...>The soloists will be M. Sontag and M. Unger, as well as Messrs. Heizinger and Seipelt. The concertmaster of the orchestra is Herr Schuppanzig, the conductor is Herr Umlauf.<...>Mr. Ludwig van Beethoven will personally take part in directing the concert. "

This leadership ultimately resulted in Beethoven conducting the symphony himself. But how could this have happened? After all, by that time Beethoven was already deaf. Let's turn to eyewitness accounts.

"Beethoven conducted himself, or rather, he stood in front of the conductor's stand and gestured like a madman," wrote Josef Boehm, the violinist of the orchestra who took part in the historical concert... - He stretched up, then almost squatted down, waving his arms and stamping his feet, as if he himself wanted to play all the instruments at the same time and sing for the whole choir. In fact, Umlauf was in charge of everything, and we, the musicians, watched only his wand. Beethoven was so excited that he completely did not notice what was happening around him and did not pay attention to the stormy applause, which hardly reached his consciousness due to hearing loss. At the end of each number he had to tell him exactly when to turn around and thank the audience for the applause, which he did very awkwardly. "

At the end of the symphony, when the applause was already thundering, Caroline Unger approached Beethoven, gently stopped his hand - he was still conducting, not realizing that the performance was over! - and turned to face the audience. Then it became obvious to everyone that Beethoven was completely deaf ...

The success was tremendous. It took police intervention to put an end to the standing ovation.

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky

In the genre of a symphony by P.I. Tchaikovsky created six works. Last Symphony - Sixth in B minor, Op. 74 - named by him "Pathetic".

In February 1893, Tchaikovsky had a plan for a new symphony, which became the Sixth. In one of his letters, he says: “During the trip, I had the idea of ​​another symphony ... with such a program that will remain a mystery to everyone ... cried. "

The sixth symphony was recorded by the composer very quickly. In just a week (February 4-11), he recorded the entire first movement and half of the second. Then the work was interrupted for a while by a trip from Klin, where the composer lived then, to Moscow. Returning to Klin, he worked on the third part from 17 to 24 February. Then there was another break, and in the second half of March the composer completed the final and the second movement. The orchestration had to be postponed somewhat, since Tchaikovsky had several more trips planned. The orchestration was completed on 12 August.

The first performance of the Sixth Symphony took place in St. Petersburg on October 16, 1893 under the direction of the author. Tchaikovsky wrote after the premiere: “Something strange is happening with this symphony! Not that she didn’t like it, but it caused some bewilderment. As for me, I am more proud of it than any other composition of mine. " Further events were tragic: nine days after the premiere of the symphony, P. Tchaikovsky died suddenly.

V. Baskin, the author of the first biography of Tchaikovsky, who was present both at the premiere of the symphony and at its first performance after the composer's death, when E. Napravnik conducted (this performance became triumphant) wrote: “We remember the sad mood that reigned in the hall of the Noble Assembly On November 6, when the “Pathetic” symphony was performed for the second time, it was not fully appreciated during the first performance under the direction of Tchaikovsky himself. In this symphony, which has become, unfortunately, the swan song of our composer, he appeared new not only in content, but also in form; instead of the usual Allegro or Presto it starts Adagio lamentoso leaving the listener in the saddest mood. In that Adagio the composer seems to say goodbye to life; gradual morendo(Italian - fading) of the whole orchestra reminded us of the famous end of Hamlet: “ The rest is silent"(Further - silence)".

We were able to speak only briefly about just a few masterpieces of symphonic music, besides leaving aside the actual musical fabric, since such a conversation requires the real sound of the music. But even from this story it becomes clear that symphony as a genre and symphonies as creations of the human spirit are an invaluable source of the highest pleasure. The world of symphonic music is vast and inexhaustible.

Based on the materials of the magazine "Art" №08 / 2009

On the poster: Big hall St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic named after D. D. Shostakovich. Tori Huang (piano, USA) and the Philharmonic Academic Symphony Orchestra (2013)

Among the numerous musical genres and forms, one of the most honorable places belongs to the symphony. Having emerged as an entertainment genre, from the beginning of the 19th century to the present day, it most sensitively and fully, like no other form of musical art, reflects its time. Symphonies by Beethoven and Berlioz, Schubert and Brahms, Mahler and Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are large-scale reflections on the era and personality, on the history of mankind and the ways of the world.

Symphonic cycle as we know it from many classical and modern designs, took shape about two hundred and fifty years ago. However, during this historically short period of time, the genre of the symphony has come a gigantic way. The length and significance of this path was determined precisely by the fact that the symphony absorbed all the problems of its time, was able to reflect the complex, contradictory, full of colossal upheavals of the era, to embody the feelings, suffering, and struggles of people. It is enough to imagine the life of society in the middle of the 18th century and recall Haydn's symphonies; great upheavals late XVII I - the beginning of the 19th centuries - and Beethoven's symphonies that reflected them; reaction in society, disappointment - and romantic symphonies; finally, all the horrors that humanity had to endure in the 20th century - and compare Beethoven's symphonies with Shostakovich's symphonies in order to clearly see this huge, sometimes tragic path. Nowadays, few people remember what the beginning was, what are the origins of this most complex of the purely musical genres not related to other arts.

Let's take a quick look musical Europe the middle of the 18th century.

In Italy, the classical country of art, the trendsetter of all European countries, opera reigns supreme. The so-called opera-seria ("serious") dominates. There are no vivid individual images in it, there is no genuine dramatic action. Opera Seria is an alternation of various states of mind, embodied in conventional characters. Its most important part is the aria, in which these states are transmitted. There are arias of anger and revenge, arias of complaints (lamento), mournful slow arias and joyful bravura. These arias were so generalized that they could be transferred from one opera to another without any damage to the performance. Actually, composers did so often, especially when they had to write several operas per season.

The melody became the element of the opera-seria. The renowned art of Italian bel canto found its highest expression here. In arias, composers have reached the true heights of the embodiment of this or that state. Love and hatred, joy and despair, anger and sorrow were conveyed by the music so vividly and convincingly that one did not need to hear the lyrics to understand what the singer was singing about. This essentially paved the way for textless music designed to embody human feelings and passions.

From interludes - inserted scenes performed between acts of the opera-seria and not related to it - its cheerful sister, the comic opera-buff, arose. Democratic in content (its characters were not mythological heroes, kings and knights, but simple people from the people), she deliberately opposed herself to court art. Opera buff was distinguished by its naturalness, liveliness of action, and the spontaneity of the musical language, often directly related to folklore. It contained vocal tongue twisters, comic parody coloratura, lively and light dance melodies. The finals of the acts unfolded like ensembles, in which the characters sometimes sang all at once. Sometimes such finals were called "a ball" or "confusion", the action rolled so rapidly into them and the intrigue turned out to be confusing.

Instrumental music also developed in Italy, and above all the genre most closely associated with opera - the overture. As an orchestral introduction to an opera performance, she borrowed bright, expressive musical themes similar to the melodies of the arias.

The Italian overture of that time consisted of three sections - fast (Allegro), slow (Adagio or Andante) and again fast, most often a minuet. They called it sinfonia - in translation from Greek - consonance. Over time, overtures began to be performed not only in the theater before the opening of the curtain, but also separately, as independent orchestral works.

At the end of XVII - early XVIII For centuries, a brilliant galaxy of violin virtuosos, who were simultaneously gifted composers, appeared in Italy. Vivaldi, Iomelli, Locatelli, Tartini, Corelli and others, who perfectly mastered the violin - a musical instrument that can be compared in its expressiveness to a human voice - created an extensive violin repertoire, mainly from pieces called sonatas (from the Italian sonare - sound). In them, as in the clavier sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, Benedetto Marcello and other composers, some common structural features were formed, which then passed into the symphony.

It was formed differently music life France. They have long loved music associated with words and actions. The art of ballet was highly developed; a special type of opera was cultivated - a lyrical tragedy, akin to the tragedies of Corneille and Racine, which had the imprint of a specific way of life royal court, his etiquette, his festivities.

The composers of France also gravitated towards the plot, the program, the verbal definition of music when creating instrumental pieces. "Waving Cap", "Reapers", "Tambourine" - this was the name of the harpsichord pieces, which were either genre sketches or musical portraits - "Graceful", "Gentle", "Hardworking", "Coquettish".

More major works, consisting of several parts, originated from dance. The strict German allemand, mobile, like a sliding French chime, the stately Spanish sarabanda and the swift gigue - the fiery dance of English sailors - have long been known in Europe. They formed the basis of the genre of the instrumental suite (from the French suite - sequence). Other dances were often included in the suite: minuet, gavotte, polonaise. An introductory prelude could sound before the allemand; in the middle of the suite, a measured dance movement was sometimes interrupted by a free aria. But the backbone of the suite - four dances of different characters of different nations - was certainly present in an invariable sequence, outlining four different moods, leading the listener from a calm movement of the beginning to a captivating swift ending.

The suites were written by many composers, and not only in France. The great Johann Sebastian Bach also gave them a significant tribute, with whose name, as well as with the German musical culture of that time in general, many musical genres are associated.

In countries German language, that is, numerous German kingdoms, principalities and episcopates (Prussian, Bavarian, Saxon, etc.), as well as in different areas the multinational Austrian empire, which then included the "people of musicians" - the Czech Republic enslaved by the Habsburgs - instrumental music has long been cultivated. In any small town, town or even village there were violinists and cellists, in the evenings solo and ensemble pieces played with enthusiasm by amateurs sounded. The centers for making music were usually churches and schools attached to them. The teacher was, as a rule, the church organist, who performed on holidays musical fantasies to the best of their ability. In large German Protestant centers, such as Hamburg or Leipzig, new forms of music-making also took shape: organ concerts in cathedrals. These concerts featured preludes, fantasies, variations, choral arrangements and, most importantly, fugues.

Fugue is the most complex type of polyphonic music, which reached its peak in the works of I.S. Bach and Handel. Its name comes from the Latin fuga - running. It is a polyphonic piece based on a single theme that transitions (runs!) From voice to voice. In this case, each melodic line is called a voice. Depending on the number of such lines, the fugue can be three-, four-, five-part, etc. In the middle section of the fugue, after the theme has sounded completely in all voices, it begins to be developed: then its beginning appears and disappears again, then it expands (each of the notes that make up it will become twice as long), then shrink - this is called a theme in an increase and a theme in a decrease. It may happen that, within a theme, descending melodic moves become ascending and vice versa (theme in circulation). Melodic movement moves from one key to another. And in the final section of the fugue - Reprise - the theme sounds again without changes, as in the beginning, returning to the main key of the play.

Let us recall again: we are talking about the middle of the 18th century. An explosion is brewing in the bowels of aristocratic France, which will very soon sweep away the absolute monarchy. A new time will come. And while revolutionary sentiments are still only latently being prepared, French thinkers are opposing the existing order. They demand the equality of all people before the law, proclaim the ideas of freedom and brotherhood.

Art that reflects shifts public life, is sensitive to changes in the political atmosphere of Europe. An example of this is immortal comedies Beaumarchais. This also applies to music. It is now, in a complex period fraught with events of colossal historical significance, in the depths of old, long-established musical genres and forms, a new, truly revolutionary genre is being born - the symphony. It becomes qualitatively, fundamentally different, for it also embodies a new type of thinking.

Presumably, it is not by chance that, having prerequisites in different areas of Europe, the genre of the symphony was finally formed in the countries of the German language. In Italy national art there was an opera. In England, the spirit and meaning of the historical processes taking place there were most fully reflected in the oratorios of Georg Handel, a German by birth, who became the national English composer. In France, other arts came to the fore, in particular, literature and theater, - more concrete, directly and intelligibly expressing new ideas that excited the world. Voltaire's works, Rousseau's "New Eloise", Montesquieu's "Persian Letters" in a veiled but rather intelligible form presented readers with caustic criticism of the existing order, offered their own versions of the structure of society.

When, after a few decades, it came to music, a song appeared in the ranks of the revolutionary troops. The most striking example of this is the Song of the Rhineland Army by officer Rouge de Lisle, created overnight, which became world famous under the name of the Marseillaise. The song was followed by the music of mass celebrations and mourning ceremonies. And, finally, the so-called "opera of salvation", which had as its content the pursuit of the hero or heroine by the tyrant and their salvation in the finale of the opera.

The symphony, on the other hand, required completely different conditions both for its formation and for full-fledged perception. "The center of gravity" philosophical thought, which most fully reflected the deep essence of the social changes of that era, found himself in Germany, far from social storms.

There, first Kant and later Hegel created their new philosophical systems. Like philosophical systems, the symphony - the most philosophical, dialectical-procedural genre of musical creativity - was finally formed where only the distant echoes of the approaching thunderstorms reached. Where, moreover, a stable tradition of instrumental music has developed.

One of the main centers for the emergence of a new genre was Mannheim - the capital of the Bavarian Elector Palatinate. Here, at the brilliant court of Elector Karl Theodor, in the 40-50s of the 18th century, an excellent orchestra, perhaps the best in Europe at that time, was kept.

By that time, the symphony orchestra was just taking shape. And in the court chapels and in cathedrals, orchestral groups with a stable composition did not exist. Everything depended on the means at the disposal of the ruler or magistrate, on the tastes of those who could give orders. At first, the orchestra played only an applied role, accompanying either court performances, or festivities and solemn ceremonies. And it was considered, first of all, as an opera or church ensemble. Initially, the orchestra consisted of viols, lutes, harps, flutes, oboes, French horns, drums. Gradually, the composition expanded, the number of string instruments... Over time, violins supplanted the old viola and soon took a leading position in the orchestra. Woodwind instruments - flutes, oboes, bassoons - merged into a separate group, and brass instruments appeared - trumpets, trombones. An obligatory instrument in the orchestra was the harpsichord, which creates a harmonic basis for the sound. Behind him usually took place the leader of the orchestra, who, playing, at the same time gave instructions for the introduction.

At the end of the 17th century, instrumental ensembles that existed at the Courts of the Nobles became widespread. Each of the many small princes of fragmented Germany wanted to have his own chapel. The rapid development of orchestras began, new methods of orchestral playing appeared.

The Mannheim Orchestra consisted of 30 stringed instruments, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, clarinet, 2 bassoons, 2 trumpets, 4 horns, timpani. This is the backbone of the modern orchestra, the composition for which many composers of the subsequent era created their works. The orchestra was led by an outstanding musician, composer and violin virtuoso Czech Jan Vaclav Stamitz. Among the artists of the orchestra were also the greatest musicians of their time, not only virtuoso instrumentalists, but also talented composers Franz Xaver Richter, Anton Filz and others. They determined the excellent level of the orchestra's performing skills, which became famous for its amazing qualities - the unattainable evenness of violin strokes, the finest gradations dynamic shades, previously not used at all.

According to a contemporary critic Bossler, "the exact observance of the piano, forte, rinforzando, the gradual growth and amplification of the sound and then again a decrease in its strength down to a barely audible sound - all this could only be heard in Mannheim." Bernie, an English lover of music who took a trip to Europe in the middle of the 18th century, echoes him: “This extraordinary orchestra has enough space and facets to show all its capabilities and make a great impact. It was here that Stamitz, inspired by the works of Yomelli, for the first time went beyond the usual operatic overtures ... all the effects that such a mass of sounds can produce were tried. It was here that the crescendo and diminuendo were born, and the piano, which was previously used mainly as an echo and was usually synonymous with it, and forte were recognized musical colors that have their own shades ... "

It was in this orchestra that four-part symphonies sounded for the first time - compositions that were built according to the same type and had general laws that absorbed many features of previously existing musical genres and forms and melted them into a qualitatively different one; new unity.

The first chords are decisive, full-bodied, as if calling for attention. Then wide, sweeping passages. Again, chords, replaced by an arpeggiated movement, and then - a lively, elastic, as if unfolding spring, melody. It seems that it can unfold endlessly, but it leaves faster than the rumor wants it: like a guest presented to the owners of the house during a large reception, moves away from them, giving way to others who follow. After a moment of general movement, a new theme appears - softer, feminine, lyrical. But it does not sound long, dissolving in passages. After some time, we again have the first theme, slightly changed, in a new key. A stream of music flows rapidly, returning to the original, basic key of the symphony; the second theme organically flows into this stream, now drawing closer in character and mood to the first. The first movement of the symphony ends with full-sounding joyful chords.

The second movement, andante, unfolds slowly, melodiously, revealing the expressiveness of stringed instruments. This is a kind of aria for orchestra, dominated by lyrics, elegiac meditation.

The third movement is an elegant, gallant minuet. It creates a feeling of relaxation, relaxation. And then, like a fiery whirlwind, an incendiary finale bursts in. This is, in general terms, the symphony of that time. Its origins can be traced very clearly. The first movement most of all resembles an opera overture. But if the overture is only the eve of the performance, then here the action itself unfolds in sounds. Typically operatic musical images of the overture - heroic fanfare, touching lamentos, stormy buffoons - are not associated with specific stage situations and do not bear characteristic individual traits (recall that even the famous overture to “ To the Barber of Seville"Rossini has nothing to do with the content of the opera and was originally written for another opera!), Broke away from the opera performance and began an independent life. They are easily recognizable in the early symphony - the decisive courageous intonations of the heroic arias in the first themes, called the main ones, the tender sighs of the lyric arias in the second - the so-called secondary - themes.

The operatic principles are also reflected in the texture of the symphony. If earlier polyphony prevailed in instrumental music, that is, polyphony, in which several independent melodies, intertwining, sounded simultaneously, then polyphony of a different type began to develop here: one main melody (most often violin), expressive, significant, accompanied by an accompaniment that sets it off , emphasizes her individuality. This type of polyphony, called homophonic, dominates the early symphony. Later, devices borrowed from the fugue appear in the symphony. However, in the middle of the 18th century, it could rather be opposed to a fugue. There was, as a rule, one theme (there are double, triple and more fugues, but in them the themes are not opposed, but juxtaposed). It was repeated many times, but nothing contradicted it. It was, in essence, an axiom, a thesis that has been repeatedly asserted without requiring proof. The opposite in the symphony: in the appearance and further changes of various musical themes and images, disputes and contradictions are heard. Perhaps, it is in this that the sign of the times is most vividly reflected. Truth is no longer a given. It needs to be sought, proven, substantiated, comparing different opinions, clarifying different points of view. This is what encyclopedists do in France. This is the basis of German philosophy, in particular, Hegel's dialectical method. And the very spirit of the era of quest is reflected in the music.

So, the symphony took a lot from the operatic overture. In particular, the overture also outlined the principle of alternating contrasting sections, which in the symphony turned into independent parts. In its first part - different sides, different feelings of a person, life in its movement, development, changes, contrasts and conflicts. In the second part - reflection, concentration, sometimes - lyrics. In the third - relaxation, entertainment. And, finally, the finale - pictures of fun, jubilation, and at the same time - the result musical development, completion of the symphonic cycle.

Such a symphony will be formed by the beginning of the 19th century, such, in the most general terms, it will be, for example, in Brahms or Bruckner. And at the time of her birth, she apparently borrowed the many parts from the suite.

Allemand, Couranta, Sarabande and Gigue - four obligatory dances, four different moods, which can be easily traced in the early symphonies. Dancing in them is expressed very clearly, especially in the finals, which, in terms of the nature of the melody, tempo, even the measure of the measure, often resemble a gigue. True, sometimes the finale of a symphony is closer to the sparkling finale of an opera buffa, but even then its relationship with dance, for example, the tarantella, is undoubtedly. As for the third part, it is called the minuet. Only in Beethoven's work will the scherzo replace the dance - the gallant courtier or the rude common people -.

Thus, the newborn symphony has absorbed the features of many musical genres, and genres born in different countries Oh. And the formation of the symphony took place not only in Mannheim. There was the Vienna School, represented, in particular, by Wagenzeil. In Italy, Giovanni Battista Sammartini wrote orchestral works, which he called symphonies and intended for concert performance not associated with an opera performance. In France, a young composer of Belgian origin, François-Joseph Gossek, turned to the new genre. His symphonies did not meet with response and recognition, since programmaticity prevailed in French music, but his work played a role in the formation of French symphony, in the renewal and expansion of the symphony orchestra. The Czech composer František Micha, who once served in Vienna, experimented extensively and successfully in his search for symphonic form. His famous compatriot Josef Myslevichka had interesting experiments. However, all these composers were loners, and a whole school was formed in Mannheim, which also had a first-class "instrument" at its disposal - the famous orchestra. Thanks to happy occasion that the Palatinate Elector was a great lover of music and had enough funds to afford the huge expenses for it, in the capital of the Palatinate, great musicians from different countries gathered - Austrians and Czechs, Italians and Prussians - each of whom contributed to the creation of a new genre. In the works of Jan Stamitz, Franz Richter, Carlo Toeschi, Anton Filz and other masters, the symphony arose in those basic features, which then passed into the work of the Viennese classics - Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven.

So, during the first half century of the new genre's existence, a clear structural and dramatic model has developed, capable of accommodating a varied and very significant content. The basis of this model was the form, called the sonata, or sonata allegro, since most often it was written at this tempo, and later typical for both symphony and instrumental sonata and concert. Its peculiarity is the juxtaposition of various, often contrasting musical themes. The three main sections of the sonata form - exposition, development and recapitulation - resemble the opening, development of the action and the denouement of a classical drama. After a short introduction or immediately at the beginning of the exposition, the "characters" of the play pass before the audience.

The first musical theme that sounds in the main key of the work is called the main one. More often - the main theme, but more correctly - the main part, since within the main part, that is, a certain segment of the musical form, united by one tonality and figurative community, over time, not one, but several different melodies began to appear. After the main batch, in the early samples by direct comparison, and in the later ones through a small linking batch, a side batch begins. Her theme or two or three different topics contrasting with the main one. Most often, the side part is more lyrical, soft, feminine. It sounds in a different key than the main, secondary (hence the name of the part) key. A sense of instability and sometimes conflict is born. The exposition ends with the final part, which in the early symphonies is either absent, or plays a purely service role as a kind of point, a curtain after the first act of the play, and later, starting with Mozart, acquires the meaning of an independent third image, along with the main and secondary image.

The middle section of the sonata form is development. As the name shows, in it the musical themes that the listeners got acquainted with in the exposition (that is, those exhibited earlier) are developed, undergo changes and development. At the same time, they are shown from new, sometimes unexpected sides, they are modified, separate motives are isolated from them - the most active ones, which later collide. Development is a dramatically effective section. At the end of it comes the culmination, which leads to a reprise - the third section of the form, a kind of denouement of the drama.

The name of this section comes from the French word reprendre - to resume. It is a renewal, a repetition of the exposition, but altered: both parts now sound in the main key of the symphony, as if brought to an agreement by the development events. Sometimes there are other changes in the reprise. For example, it can be truncated (without any of the themes that sounded in the exposition), mirrored (first the side sounds, and only then main party). The first movement of the symphony usually ends with a coda - a conclusion that asserts the basic tonality and the basic image of the sonata allegro. In the early symphonies, the coda is not large and is, in essence, a somewhat developed final part. Later, for example, in Beethoven's work, it acquires significant proportions and becomes a kind of second development, in which once again, in the struggle, an assertion is achieved.

This form turned out to be truly universal. From the days of the inception of the symphony to the present, it successfully embodies the deepest content, conveys the inexhaustible wealth of images, ideas, problems.

The second movement of the symphony is slow. This is usually the lyrical center of the cycle. Its shape is different. Most often it is three-part, that is, it has similar extreme sections and a middle contrasting to them, but it can be written in the form of variations or any other, up to a sonata, which differs structurally from the first allegro only in a slower tempo and less effective development.

The third movement - in the early symphonies of the minuet, and from Beethoven to the present - the scherzo - is usually a complex three-part form. The content of this part has been modified and complicated over the decades from everyday or court dance to monumental powerful scherzos. 19th century and further, to the formidable images of evil, violence in the symphonic cycles of Shostakovich, Honegger and other symphonists of the 20th century. Since the second half of the 19th century, the scherzo is increasingly changing places with the slow movement, which, in accordance with the new concept of the symphony, becomes a kind of emotional reaction not only to the events of the first movement, but also to figurative world scherzo (in particular, in Mahler's symphonies).

The finale, which is the result of the cycle, in early symphonies is often written in the form of a rondo sonata. The alternation of cheerful, sparkling with fun episodes with an invariable dance refrain - this structure naturally followed from the nature of the images of the finale, from its semantics. Over time, with the deepening of the symphony's problems, the patterns of the structure of its finale began to change. Finals began to appear in sonata form, in the form of variations, in free form, and finally - with features of oratorio (with the inclusion of a chorus). His images have also changed: not only life affirmation, but sometimes a tragic outcome (Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony), reconciliation with cruel reality or departure from it into the world of dreams, illusions have become the content of the finale of the symphonic cycle in the last hundred years.

But back to the beginning of the glorious path of this genre. Having arisen in the middle of the 18th century, it reached its classical completeness in the work of the great Haydn.

from the Greek. symponia - consonance

A piece of music for orchestra, mainly symphonic, usually in sonata-cyclical form. Usually consists of 4 parts; there are S. with more and fewer parts, up to one-part. Sometimes in S., in addition to the orchestra, a choir and solo wok are introduced. voices (hence the way to S.-cantata). There are scores for string, chamber, wind, and other orchestra compositions, for orchestra with a solo instrument (S.-concert), organ, choir (choral S.) n vok. ensemble (station C). Concert Symphony - S. with concert (solo) instruments (from 2 to 9), structurally related to the concert. S. often approaches other genres: S.-suite, S.-rhapsody, S.-fantasy, S.-ballad, S.-legend, S.-poem, S.-cantata, S.-requiem, S.-ballet, S.-drama (a kind of cantata), theater. S. (genus honer). By the nature of S. can also be likened to tragedy, drama, lyric poetry. poem, heroic. epic, get closer to the cycle of genre muses. plays, will depict a series. muses. pictures. Typical she combines the contrast of the parts with the unity of design, the multiplicity of diverse images with the integrity of the muses. drama. S. occupies the same place in music as a drama or a novel in literature. As the highest type of tool. music it surpasses all other of its types in the broadest possibilities of embodiment means. ideas and a wealth of emotional states.

Originally, in Dr. Greece, the word "S." meant a harmonious combination of tones (fourth, fifth, octave), as well as joint singing (ensemble, chorus) in unison. Later, in Dr. Rome, it became the name of instr. ensemble, orchestra. On Wednesday. century S. was understood as a secular instr. music (in this sense, the term was used in France as early as the 18th century), sometimes music in general; in addition, some muses were called so. tools (e.g. wheeled lyre). In the 16th century. this word is used in the title. collection of motets (1538), madrigals (1585), vocals-instructor. compositions ("Sacrae symphoniae" - "Sacred symphonies" G. Gabrieli, 1597, 1615) and then instr. polyphonic plays (early 17th century). It is assigned to polyhead. (often chordal) episodes such as a wok intro or interlude. and instr. works, in particular for the intros (overtures) to suites, cantatas and operas. Among operatic S. (overtures), two types were outlined: Venetian - of two sections (slow, solemn and fast, fugue), later developed in French. overture, and the Neapolitan - of three sections (fast - slow - fast), introduced in 1681 by A. Scarlatti, who, however, used other combinations of parts. Sonata cyclic the form gradually becomes dominant in S. and receives a particularly multifaceted development in it.

Standing apart approx. 1730 from the opera where the orc. the introduction was preserved in the form of an overture, the page became independent. kind of orc. music. In the 18th century. will fulfill it as a basis. composition were strings. instruments, oboes and French horns. S.'s development was influenced by decomp. types of orc. and chamber music - a concert, suite, trio sonata, sonata, etc., as well as opera with its ensembles, choruses, and arias, whose influence on melody, harmony, structure, and imagery is quite noticeable. How specific. genre S. matured as it was dissociating itself from other genres of music, in particular theatrical, gaining independence in content, form, development of themes, and the creation of that method of composition, which later received the name of symphonism and, in turn, rendered a huge impact to many areas of muses. creativity.

The structure of S. has undergone evolution. S. was based on the 3-part cycle of the Neapolitan type. Often following the example of the Venetian and French. Overtures in S. included a slow introduction to the first movement. Later, a minuet entered into S. - first as the ending of a 3-part cycle, then as one of the parts (usually the third) of a 4-part cycle, in the final of which, as a rule, the rondo or rondo sonata form was used. Since the time of L. Beethoven, the minuet was replaced by the scherzo (3rd, sometimes 2nd movement), since the time of G. Berlioz - and the waltz. The sonata form, which is most important for S., is used primarily in the first movement, sometimes also in the slow and last movements. In the 18th century. S. cultivated many. master. Among them are the Italian J. B. Sammartini (85 S., c. 1730-70, of which 7 are lost), composers of the Mannheim school, in which the Czechs occupied a leading position (F.K. Richter, J. Stamitz, etc. .), representatives of the so-called. preclassical (or early) Viennese school (M. Monne, G. K. Wagenzeil and others), the Belgian F. J. Gossek, who worked in Paris, the founder of the French. S. (29 pages, 1754-1809, including "Hunting", 1766; in addition, 3 pages for a spirit. Orchestra). Classic type C. was created by Austr. comp. J. Haydn and W.A. Mozart. In the work of the "father of the symphony" Haydn (104 pp., 1759-95), the formation of C was completed. From the genre of entertaining everyday music, it turned into the dominant kind of serious instrumental. music. Established and established. features of its structure. S. developed as a sequence of internally contrasting, purposefully developing and united by a common idea of ​​parts. Mozart introduced drama into S. tension and passionate lyricism, grandeur and grace, gave her an even greater stylistic unity (c. 50 C, 1764 / 65-1788). His last S. - Es-major, g-minor and C-major ("Jupiter") - the highest achievement of symphony. lawsuit 18th century Mozart's creative experience was reflected in later works. Haydn. The role of L. Beethoven, who completed the Viennese classical school (9 p., 1800-24), is especially great in the history of S.. His 3rd ("Heroic", 1804), 5th (1808) and 9th (with vocal quartet and chorus in the finale, 1824) S. are examples of heroic. symphony addressed to the masses, embodying the revolution. pathos bunk fight. His 6th S. ("Pastoral", 1808) is an example of programmatic symphony (see. Program music), and 7th S. (1812), in the words of R. Wagner, - "the apotheosis of the dance." Beethoven expanded the scope of S., dynamized its drama, and deepened the dialectic of thematic. development, enriched int. system and ideological meaning of S.

For Austr. and it. romantic composers 1st floor. 19th century typical genres of lyric ("Unfinished" symphony by Schubert, 1822) and epic (the last one is Schubert's 8th symphony) S, as well as landscape and everyday music with colorful nat. coloring ("Italian", 1833, and "Scottish", 1830-42, Mendelssohn-Bartholdi). Psychology has also grown. S.'s wealth (4 symphonies by R. Schumann, 1841-51, in which the slow movements and the scherzo are most expressive). The tendency of spontaneity, which has already emerged among the classics. transition from one part to another and establishing thematic. the connection between the movements (for example, in Beethoven's 5th symphony) intensified among the romantics, and C appeared, in which the movements follow one after the other without pauses ("Scottish" Symphony by Mendelssohn-Bartholdi, Schumann's 4th symphony).

The heyday of the French. S. refers to 1830-40, when there are innovative works. G. Berlioz, the creator of the romantic. software C based on lit. plot (5-part "Fantastic" C, 1830), S.-concert ("Harold in Italy", for viola and orchestra, by J. Byron, 1834), S.-oratorio ("Romeo and Juliet", dram. S. in 6 parts, with soloists and chorus, after W. Shakespeare, 1839), "Funeral and triumphal symphony" (funeral march, "oratorical" trombone solo and apotheosis - for a spirit orchestra or symph. Orchestra, at will - and chorus, 1840). Berlioz is characterized by a grandiose scale of production, a colossal composition of the orchestra, colorful instrumentation with subtle nuances. Philosophical and ethical. the problem was reflected in the symphonies of F. Liszt ("Faust Symphony", but by JV Goethe, 1854, with a concluding chorus, 1857; "S. to the Divine Comedy" Dante ", 1856). As an antipode to the programmatic direction of Berlioz and Liszt, he acted. komi. I. Brahms, who worked in Vienna. In his 4 S. (1876-85), developing the traditions of Beethoven and romantic. symphony, combined classical. harmony and variety of emotional states. Similar in style. aspirations and at the same time individual French. S. of the same period - 3rd S. (with organ) by C. Saint-Saens (1887) and S. d-moll by S. Frank (1888). In S. "From the New World" by A. Dvořák (last, chronologically 9th, 1893), not only Czech, but also Negro and Indian muses were refracted. elements. Significant ideological concepts of Austr. symphonists A. Bruckner and G. Mahler. Monumental works Bruckner (8 S., 1865-1894, 9th not finished, 1896) is characterized by the richness of polyphonic. fabrics (the influence of org. art, as well as, possibly, musical dramas by R. Wagner), the duration and power of emotional build-ups. For Mahler's symphony (9 C., 1838-1909, of which 4 with singing, including the 8th - "symphony of a thousand participants", 1907; the 10th is not finished, an attempt to complete it according to sketches was undertaken by D. Cook in 1960; S.-cantata "Song of the Earth" with 2 singers-soloists, 1908) are characterized by the severity of conflicts, sublime pathos and tragedy, express novelty. funds. As if as a counterbalance to their large compositions using the rich perform. apparatus, a chamber symphony and a symphonietta appear.

Prominent authors of the 20th century in France - A. Roussel (4 S., 1906-34), A. Honegger (Swiss by nationality, 5 S., 1930-50, including the 3rd - "Liturgical", 1946, 5th - S. "three re", 1950), D. Millau (12 S., 1939-1961), O. Messiaen ("Turangalila", in 10 parts, 1948); in Germany - R. Strauss ("Home", 1903, "Alpine", 1915), P. Hindempt (4 S., 1934-58, including the 1st - "Artist Matis", 1934, 3- I - "Harmony of the World", 1951), K. A. Hartman (8 S., 1940-62), and others. Contribution to the development of S. was made by the Swiss H. Huber (8 S., 1881-1920, incl. . 7th - "Swiss", 1917), Norwegians K. Sinding (4 S., 1890-1936), H. Severud (9 S., 1920-1961, including anti-fascist by design 5-7- i, 1941-1945), K. Egge (5 S., 1942-69), Dane K. Nielsen (6 S., 1891-1925), Finn J. Sibelius (7 S., 1899-1924), Romanian J. Enescu (3 S., 1905-19), Dutch B. Peiper (3 S., 1917-27) and H. Badings (10 S., 1930-1961), Swede H. Rosenberg (7 S., 1919- 69, and S. for spirit and percussion instruments, 1968), the Italian J.F. Malipiero (11 S., 1933-69), the English R. Vaughan Williams (9 S., 1909-58), B. Britten (S. Requiem, 1940, "Spring" S. for solo singers, mixed choir, boys' chorus and symphonic orchestra, 1949), Americans C. Ives (5 S., 1898-1913), W. Piston ( 8 S., 1937-65) and R. Harris (12 C, 1933-69), braz ilets E. Vila Lobos (12 S., 1916-58) and others. A wide variety of types C. 20th century. due to the plurality of creative. directions, nat. schools, folklore connections. Modern S. are also different in structure, form, character: tending towards intimacy and, on the contrary, towards monumentality; not divided into parts and consisting of plural. parts; trad. warehouse and free composition; for the usual symphony. orchestra and for unusual compositions, etc. One of the trends in the music of the 20th century. associated with the modification of the old - pre-classical and early classical - muses. genres and forms. He was given tribute to SS Prokofiev in his "Classical Symphony" (1907) and I. F. Stravinsky in the symphony in C and "Symphony in three movements" (1940-45). In a number of S. 20th century. a departure from previous norms is revealed under the influence of atonalism, athematism, and other new principles of composition. A. Webern built S. (1928) on a 12-tone series. Among the representatives of the "avant-garde" S. is supplanted by various. new experimental genres and forms.

The first among the Russian. composers turned to the genre of S. (except for D.S.Bortnyansky, whose "Concert Symphony", 1790, was written for chamber ensemble) Micah. Y. Vielgorsky (his 2nd S. performed in 1825) and A. A. Alyabyev (his one-part C. in e-moll, 1830, and an undated 3-part C. Es-dur suite type, with 4 concert horns have been preserved) , later A. G. Rubinshtein (6 S., 1850-86, including 2nd - "Ocean", 1854, 4th - "Dramatic", 1874). MI Glinka, author of the unfinished S.-overture at the bottom of the Russian. themes (1834, completed in 1937 by V. Ya. Shebalin), had a decisive influence on the formation of stylistic. damn rus. S. with all his symphony. creativity, in which compositions of other genres dominate. In S. rus. authors pronounced nat. character, pictures of bunks are captured. life, historian. events, the motives of poetry are reflected. Of the composers of The Mighty Handful, N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov was the first as the author of S. (3 S., 1865-74). The creator of the Russian. epic. S. was A.P. Borodin (2 S., 1867-76; unfinished 3rd, 1887, partially recorded from memory by A.K. Glazunov). In his work, especially in "Heroic" (2nd) S., Borodin embodied the images of a gigantic plank bed. strength. Among the highest achievements of world symphonism - man. P. I. Tchaikovsky (6 S., 1800-93, and program S. "Manfred", by J. Byron, 1885). 4th, 5th and especially 6th ("Pathetic", with a slow ending) S., lyric-dramatic in nature, achieve tragic power in the expression of collisions of life; they are with a deep psychological. with penetration convey a rich gamut of human experiences. Epic line. S. was continued by A. K. Glazunov (8 S., 1881-1906, including the 1st - "Slavyanskaya"; unfinished 9th, 1910, - one part, instrumented by G. Ya. Yudin in 1948) , 2 S. written by M. A. Balakirev (1898, 1908), 3 S. - R. M. Glier (1900-11, 3rd - "Ilya Muromets"). Symphonies attract you with heartfelt lyrics. S. Kalinnikov (2 S., 1895, 1897), deep concentration of thought - S. c-moll S. I. Taneyev (1st, actually 4th, 1898), dram. pathetic - symphonies by S. V. Rachmaninov (3 S., 1895, 1907, 1936) and A. N. Skryabin, creator of the 6-part 1st (1900), 5-part 2nd (1902) and 3-part 3rd ("The Divine Poem", 1904), distinguished by a special dramatist. integrity and power of expression.

S. occupies an important place in the owls. music. In the work of the owls. composers received a particularly rich and vivid development of the high traditions of classical music. symphony. The owls turn to S. composers of all generations, starting with the senior masters - N. Ya. 1952), and ending with talented composer youth. The leading figure in the field of owls. S. - D. D. Shostakovich. In his 15 pages (1925-71), the depths of human consciousness and the steadfastness of morality are revealed. forces (5th - 1937, 8th - 1943, 15th - 1971), the exciting themes of our time (7th - the so-called Leningrad, 1941) and history (11th - "1905", 1957; 12th - "1917", 1961), high humanistic. ideals are opposed to gloomy images of violence and evil (5-part 13th, on words by E. A. Yevtushenko, for bass, chorus and orchestra, 1962). Developing tradition. and modern types of structure S., the composer, along with a freely interpreted sonata cycle (a number of his S. is characterized by a sequence: slow - fast - slow - fast), uses other structures (for example, in the 11th - "1905"), attracts human voice (soloists, chorus). In the 11-part 14th S. (1969), where the theme of life and death is revealed against a wide social background, two singing voices are soloed, supported by strings. and blow. tools.

In the region of S., representatives of numerous people are productively working. nat. branches of owls. music. Among them are prominent masters of owls. music, such as A. I. Khachaturyan - the largest arm. symphonist, author of colorful and temperamental S. (1st - 1935, 2nd - "S. with a bell", 1943, 3rd - S.-poem, with organ and 15 additional trumpets, 1947); in Azerbaijan - K. Karaev (his 3rd S., 1965), in Latvia - J. Ivanov (15 C, 1933-72), etc. See Soviet music.

Literature: Glebov Igor (Asafiev B.V.), Construction of a modern symphony, "Contemporary Music", 1925, No 8; Asafiev B.V., Symphony, in the book: Essays on Soviet musical creativity, vol. 1, M.-L., 1947; 55 Soviet symphonies, L., 1961; Popova T., Symphony, M.-L., 1951; Yarustovsky B., Symphonies about war and peace, M., 1966; Soviet symphony for 50 years, (comp.), Otv. ed. G. G. Tigranov, L., 1967; Konen V., Theater and Symphony ..., M., 1968, 1975; Tigranov G., On the national and international in the Soviet symphony, in the book: Music in a socialist society, vol. 1, L., 1969; Rytsarev S., Symphony in France before Berlioz, M., 1977. Brenet M., Histoire de la symphonie a orchestre depuis ses origines jusqu "a Beethoven, P., 1882; Weingartner F., Die Symphonie nach Beethoven, B. 1898 . Lpz., 1926; ego, Ratschläge fur Auffuhrungen klassischer Symphonien, Bd 1-3, Lpz., 1906-23, "Bd 1, 1958 (Russian translation - Weingartner P., Performance of classical symphonies. Tips for conductors, vol. . 1, M., 1965); Goldschmidt H., Zur Geschichte der Arien- und Symphonie-Formen, "Monatshefte für Musikgeschichte", 1901, Jahrg. 33, No. 4-5, Heuss A., Die venetianischen Opern-Sinfonien, "SIMG", 1902/03, Bd 4; Torrefranca F., Le origini della sinfonia, "RMI", 1913, v. 20, p. 291-346, 1914, v. 21, p. 97-121, 278-312, 1915, v 22, p. 431-446 Bekker P., Die Sinfonie von Beethoven bis Mahler, V., (1918) (Russian translation - Becker P., Symphony from Beethoven to Mahler, ed. And introductory article by I. Glebov, L., 1926 ); Nef K., Geschichte der Sinfonie und Suite, Lpz., 1921, 1945, Sondheimer R., Die formale Entwicklung der vorklassischen Sinfonie, "AfMw", 1922, Jahrg. 4, H. 1, ego, Die Theorie der Sinfonie und die Beurteilung einzelner Sinfoniekomponisten bei den Musikschriftstellern des 18 Jahrhunderts, Lpz., 1925, Tutenberg Fr., Die opera buffa-Sinfonie und ihre Beziehungen zur klassis 1927, Jahrg. 8, no.4; ego, Die Durchführungsfrage in der vorneuklassischen Sinfonie, "ZfMw", 1926/27, Jahrg 9, S. 90-94; Mahling Fr., Die deutsche vorklassische Sinfonie, B., (1940), Walin S., Beiträge zur Geschichte der schwedischen Sinfonik, Stockh., (1941), Carse A., XVIII century symphonies, L., 1951; Vorrel E., La symphonie, P., (1954), Brook B. S., La symphonie française dans la seconde moitié du XVIII siècle, v. 1-3, P., 1962; Kloiber R., Handbuch der klassischen und romantischen Symphonie, Wiesbaden, 1964.

B.S.Steinpress

Publications in the Music section

We listen to and understand the symphony

What is the difference between classical, academic, symphonic and philharmonic music? Is it possible string Quartet Consider an orchestra and can such an "orchestra" be called a violin? Answers to these and other popular questions about symphonies can be found in the material of the Kultura.RF portal.

We go to the concert

Ilya Repin. Slavic composers. 1872. Moscow State Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky

A standard symphony concerto consists of an overture and a concerto for an instrument (most often for piano or violin) with an orchestra in the first movement and the symphony itself in the second. Most often, they perform either overtures from well-known theatrical works, or having their own plot, which allows even completely unprepared listeners to perceive music - at the non-musical semantic level. The composers also write instrumental concerts with a view to the perception of the mass audience. With a symphony, everything seems much more complicated, but this is only at first glance.

The first symphonies in the form to which we are accustomed appeared in the time of Joseph Haydn and largely thanks to him. The word "symphony" itself, of course, existed long before the composer: in translation from Greek it meant "joint [harmonious] sound" and served to denote a variety of musical forms and genres. But it was precisely in the work of Haydn, the first of Viennese classics- the symphony has become what it is now.

Almost all symphonies are built according to the same scheme and, in fact, tell the same plot type. This scheme is usually called the sonata-symphonic cycle, it consists of four independent musical parts. These individual pieces of music literally line up, like architectural structures, in accordance with very specific and precise mathematical laws. These are the laws that the hero of Pushkin's work Salieri had in mind when he said that he "believed harmony with algebra."

What does a symphony consist of?

Henryk Semiradsky. Chopin in the salon of Prince Anton Radziwill in Berlin in 1829 (detail). 2nd floor XIX century. State Russian Museum

First part symphonies are sometimes called "sonata allegro", as it is written in sonata form and goes, as a rule, at a fast pace. The plot of the sonata form consists of three large sections - exposition, development and reprise.

V exposition Two contrasting themes are consistently heard: the main part is usually more active, and the side part is often more lyrical. V developing these themes are intertwined and interact with each other in some way at the discretion of the composer. A reprise sums up this interaction: in it the main part sounds in its original form, and the side part changes under the influence of the main one. For example, if in the exposition it was lyrical, then in the reprise it becomes tragic (if the symphony is written in a minor key) or, conversely, heroic (for a major symphony).

The main intrigue of the symphony is how the composer develops the typical plot. And in an already familiar piece, you can pay special attention to the interpretation of music by one or another conductor - this is akin to watching new film adaptation famous novel.

Second part symphonies are slow, meditative in nature. It is a comprehension of the dramatic twists and turns of the first part - as rest after a storm or as a necessary but slow recovery from a severe fever.

The third part leads internal conflict symphonies to resolution by means of external movement. That is why composers of the 18th century traditionally wrote it in the three-beat rhythm of the then popular dance of the minuet. The minuet form was traditionally three-part, the third section of which literally repeated the first according to the "A - B - A" scheme. This repetition was sometimes not even written out in notes, and after the second section, they simply wrote "da capo": this meant that you had to play the entire first section from the beginning.

Since the time of Ludwig van Beethoven, the minuet has sometimes been replaced by a fast and lively scherzo (translated from Italian - "joke"), but even in these cases the third movement of the standard symphony often retained the three-beat rhythm and the obligatory three-part form "da capo".

Finally, the impetuous fourth part or the final symphonies emotionally and meaningfully returns the listener to the “cycle of life”. This is facilitated by musical form rondo(from the French rondeau - "circle"), in which the finals of classical symphonies are most often written. The rondo principle is based on periodic returns, as it were in a circle, of the main theme ( refrain), interspersed with other musical fragments ( episodes). The rondo form is one of the slender and most positive, and it is this that contributes to the life-affirming character of the symphony as a whole. ...

There are no rules without exceptions

Peter Williams. Portrait of Dmitry Shostakovich. 1947. Central Museum musical culture named after M.I. Glinka

The described typical form is characteristic of the overwhelming majority of symphonies created from the end of the 17th century to the present day. However, there are no rules without exceptions.

If something goes “not according to plan” in a symphony, this always reflects a special intention of the composer, and not his lack of professionalism or ignorance. For example, if the slow ("comprehending") part of a symphony changes places with a minuet or scherzo, as is often the case with romantic composers of the 19th century, this may mean that the author has shifted the semantic emphasis of the entire symphony "inward", since it is in the third quarter of the musical the work is the point of the "golden section" and the semantic culmination of the whole form.

Another example of deviation from the typical form is another movement, added “over the plan”, as in Joseph Haydn's Farewell (45th) symphony, where the traditional fast ending is followed by a slow fifth movement, during the performance of which the musicians stop playing and leave the stage, extinguishing the candles attached to their music stands. With this violation of the canonical form, Haydn, being the leader of the court orchestra of Prince Esterhazy, drew the attention of his employer to the fact that the musicians had not been paid salaries for a long time and they were literally ready to leave the orchestra. The prince, who knew perfectly well the form of a classical symphony, understood a subtle hint, and the situation was resolved in favor of the musicians.

Symphony Orchestra