Franz Schubert: Symphonies No. 3, 5, & 6 CD Track Listing

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Franz Schubert Symphonies No. 3, 5, & 6
Mastery of form came to Schubert spontaneously. This is\nillustrated by his early symphonies, . . . at which, the\nmore I study them, the more I m arvel. Although the influence\nof Haydn and Mozart is apparent in them, S chuberts\nindividuality is unmistakable in the character of the\nmelodies , in the harmonic progressions, and many exquisite\nbits of orchestration .\n\nDvoraks comments (from an article he wrote in 1894) are\nless remark able for their musical insight than for the fact\nthat they represent one of the earliest attempts at a\ncritical evaluation of Schuberts symphoni es since the\ncomposers death in 1828. For years, Schuberts reputation\nh ad rested almost entirely upon his 600 glorious songs, to\nthe extent tha t his achievements in other fields were\nlargely overlooked. None of hiso rchestral music was\npublished during his lifetime, and the first six sym phonies\ndid not appear in print until the mid-1880s. Posterity has,\nfor tunately, redressed the balance. And while the early\nsymphonies (with th e exception of No.5) cannot be seen as\nundisputed masterpieces, neitherd o they deserve to be\ndismissed as juvenilia: they contain much to deligh t the\nlistener, not least that apparently effortless lyricism\nwhich Dvo rak - himself a lyrically gifted composer - was\nquick to appreciate.\n\n The Third Symphony dates from 1815. This was an\nextraordinary year forSc hubert, for despite his irksome\nduties as a schoolmaster, he was ableto complete some 200\ncompositions, including four operas, two Masses and 14 5\nsongs. As in the earlier D major Symphony (1813), a slow\nintroduction provides transitional material for the ensuing\nfirst movement. If the d otted rhythms of the Allegro con\nbrios two main themes prefigure theGrea t C major\nSymphony, the charming, Haydnesque Allegretto is a modelof\nCl assical understatement. A vigorous minuet, complemented\nby a disarmingly simple waltz-trio, is followed by a Presto\nvivace tarantella that veers characteristically between D\nmajor and its flattened submediant (Bflat) .\n\nIn 1816, Schubert was persuaded by Franz von Schober to\nabandon sch oolteaching and devote himself to composition.\nThe liberating effect thi s had is surely discernible in the\nunparalleled optimism of the Fifth Sy mphony, which was\ncompleted that autumn. Scored without clarinets,trumpe ts or\ndrums, the work has a delightful clarity of texture. It\nprobably received its first informal airing at the house of\nSchuberts friend Otto Hatwig. Concision is everything: the\nopening Allegro dispenseswith a sl ow introduction, and\nanticipates the maturer Schubert by having the\nrec apitulation in the subdominant. The slow movements\neloquent, sighing phr ases and the assertive subject of the G\nminor Menuetto both recall Mozar ts late symphony in that\nkey, but the harmonic sidesteps of the bubbling finale are\necht Schubert.\n\nBack once more in the schoolhouse by Augus t 1817, Schubert\nwrote two overtures in the Italian style and started on \nhis Sixth Symphony, which he completed the following\nFebruary. Rossini was then all the rage in Vienna, and\ndoubtless Schubert saw an opportun ity to jump on the\nlucrative Italian bandwagon. The symphony has a marve llous\nBeethovenian scherzo, and the scoring of the Allegros first\ntheme , for flutes, oboes and clarinet, is especially\nfelicitous; ironically, the works more vapid moments tend\nto occur when Schubert is paying lip-s ervice to his\nillustrious operatic contemporary.\n\n

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