I'd like to present to you my 1st Symphony in C minor which I wrote about 20 years ago and I re-recorded it now with NotePerformer.
I. Andante /Allegro con brio ed appassionato (C Major / C minor)
The first movement is the longest and most passionate movement I ever wrote:
Structure:
0:01 Andante, a choral, first in solemn C Major by solo horns, later tragically turning into C minor
2:54 Allegro con brio ed appassionato, C minor, 6/8, Exposition
6:33 Development
9:16 Recapitulation
12:57 Coda
14:38 resuming the choral theme
15:07 Presto
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-1.mp3
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-1.pdf (score)
II. Andante cantabile
An Andante with 7 variations on the theme which Beethoven sketched for the second movement of his planned 10th symphony in 1825.
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-2.mp3
http://gerdprengel.de/Symphony-2.pdf
III. Scherzo
Among Beethoven's sketches for a 10th symphony from 1825 there are the opening 24 measures for a Scherzo (titled 'Presto') and the 7 measure theme for a Trio as a middle part of the movement. This Scherzo theme is one of the most furious and powerful Scherzo themes I know, somewhat a mixture of the Scherzo themes of his fith symphony and Schummann's first symphony. I made an atttempt to develop these themes to a whole symphonic movement.
Sketches:
http://gerdprengel.de/mediapool/72/727710/resources/20946520.jpg
http://gerdprengel.de/sketch3.jpg
My realisation:
http://gerdprengel.de/Scherzo-10th.mp3
http://gerdprengel.de/Scherzo_on_10th.pdf
IV. Allegro con spirito
The Finale is the most vivid and jubilent movement I wrote so far. In the development (starting at 4:30) more dark and exotic colours come in:
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-4.mp3
Gerd
Thanks for the link. Sounds great. I'll return to it later...
Goodness, I thoroughly enjoyed that, Gerd. Very impassioned and dramatic but cogently argued too! I would love to hear it played by a full orchestra (though it is incredible how well NotePerformer simulates the sound of real instruments here).
Looking forward to hearing the other movements.
Very impressive, Gerd, I'm looking forward to the other movements, and then maybe you could bundle them all together and post a permanent link in our Downloads Board?
This is very strong, stirring stuff. Can you tell us about the influences upon your music, please? Obviously, you write in a wholly tonal manner - it as if you are trying to marry a classical sense of movement with harmonic processes that are typical of the late 19th/early 20th century. Very interesting indeed.
Thank you all for your encouraging comments! Alan, you are asking me about my influences. Well, I think since my youth above all it is Beethoven, especially his late period and also Schubert.
And in this work in particular I was inspired by sketches he made for the main Allegro theme of his planned 10th symphony. Here you see some of his sketches and how I formed my main theme on the basis of these: http://gerdprengel.de/sketches1.jpg
Also the other 3 movements are more or less are inspired by Beethoven's sketches, especially the Scherzo, I added it in the top of this thread. Tell me about your impressions ...
Gerd
Yes, I can hear the rhythmic and tempo characteristics of Beethoven/Schubert - but, of course, the harmonic processes sound much later. That's what I find so interesting. For me, one of the problems of later Romantic music is the loss of the momentum which one finds in symphonic music of the earlier Romantics - but your music seems to combine both elements.
Gerd, I thought that if anything the Scherzo is an even stronger movement that the first. It's cogently and logically argued, but still powerful and exciting music. That's quite a feat. Good, and perfectly listenable, though the NotePerformer realisation is, it would be a treat to hear this Symphony performed live.
Dear Alan, you write
QuoteI can hear the rhythmic and tempo characteristics of Beethoven/Schubert - but, of course, the harmonic processes sound much later.
I must admit I was not aware of this (besides maybe the passage in the intro where the strings set in). Can you give me an example in the movement?
Thomas, I am glad that you like also the Scherzo. I just build in a new passage of 18 bars at 0:17 after the ending of Beethovens sketch, which I think has improved the first part very much.
And also I included also the second movement, Andante cantabile, see the top of this thread. Please listen to this movement with headphones if possible. This movement means very much to me, especially the second half starting at 5:17!
Gerd
Certainly from 4.00 the music sounds like nothing I can think of from the first part of the nineteenth century. It's the combination of chorale-like writing with an underlying rhythmic pulse that seems to me to look forward to, say, Sibelius' methods. Not Sibelius' sound-world, though. By 8 minutes in we seem to have travelled a long way. So to me this is a much later composer's take on Beethoven/Schubert's idiom, pushed to see how far it can go without bursting out of its original boundaries.
So, finally I finished also the Finale, a jubilent C-Major movement, see above !!
I had presented my symphony to you over a year ago and you liked it quite a bit. By now I could further improve the sound quality and clarity of the recording, so you may like to listen to it again :-)
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-1.mp3
http://gerdprengel.de/symphony-2.mp3
http://gerdprengel.de/Scherzo-on-10th.mp3 (based on sketches by L.v.B.)
http://gerdprengel.de/symph4.mp3
Gerd
Thanks so much, Gerd. A rare treat in these difficult times!
Thank you for that. I enjoyed the last movement the best. Great skill !
Gerd: do you know the music of Rufinatscha?
Is this considered Romantic period music??
Well, more accurately, 19th century-style music inspired by Beethoven and Schubert - hence well within our remit.
QuoteGerd: do you know the music of Rufinatscha?
No, I never heard of him before until just now. But what I just listened to didn't appeal to me very much (in contrast to Niels Gades' early symphonies, Lachner and Kalliwoda from the same time). Why are you asking?
Gerd
Have you tried this?>>>
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMqR86CI81M&t=2027s (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMqR86CI81M&t=2027s)
Post-Beethoven/Schubert - and not really related to anyone else...
Dear Alan, I listened to this symphony - I like the Adagio but especially the Finale, which is really splendid! Thank you!
But through this by chance I also got to know the in youtube following 2nd symphony by Bristow which is even greater - a real discovery for me (movements 1,3, and also a fantastic Finale! Wow!!!!
You can't really compare Bristow with Rufinatscha. Although Bristow's 1st Symphony dates from the late 1840s, No.2 was written in the mid-1850s, i.e. in the wake of the symphonies of Mendelssohn and Schumann. Rufinatscha, by contrast, wrote his first Symphony in 1834 and his great D major Symphony (No.5) was written in 1850, making him a contemporary of Mendelssohn and Schumann, and influenced by neither. As with Lachner, whom I find to be a much less interesting composer, and yourself, the major influences on Rufinatscha appear to be Beethoven and Schubert, with distinct pre-echoes in his final two symphonies of Bruckner.
Try his wonderful B minor Symphony of 1846:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-WlqLI5TGA (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-WlqLI5TGA)
Nothing like this is heard in the symphonic repertoire before Bruckner! In my humble opinion Rufinatscha in this time-period is as original as Berwald, although, of course, totally different.
I share Alan's admiration for Rufinatscha and wholly endorse his comments.
Maybe I'm allowed a note of dissent here. I find both Rufinatscha and Lachner to be very interesting cases, although for entirely different reasons. Although I have always considered Rufinatscha to be very talented composer, he mainly strikes me as solid, but not terribly adventurous. Lachner is the opposite; there is a definite want of form, but his voice is unique and he does take risks, not all of which pay off. His choice of thematic material is quite unique and while others on the forum have found it wanting, I always thought the lightness of touch was something unique, that carried me through the admittedly endless movements. My problem with Rufinatscha has always been that while it's invariably very pretty, it also takes very few risks and gets a bit ... boring after a while.
For me it's the other way round entirely. Lachner just goes on and on; invariably his symphonies are simply too long and would benefit from pruning. His material can't bear the weight of development to which he subjects it. With Rufinatscha, on the other hand, we enter a sound-world that is entirely original and, to me at least, fascinating, even mesmeric.
The major criticism of Rufinatscha's symphonies is that they don't really 'go anywhere' (e.g. from minor to major) in the way that, say, Beethoven's do. I think this is true of No.3 (in the partial reconstruction by Huber), but certainly not of No.5. With the B minor Symphony I can see that this might apply, but the whole work is so powerful and original that in the final analysis I am won over by its sheer magnificence. Lachner doesn't get anywhere near this level of inspiration, originality or melodic memorability in any of the symphonies of his that we know.
Anyway, we should probably return to Gerd's fine work...
Thank you, Alan, the b-minor symphony is really great!! Especially the Finale!!
It is indeed a great work. Its musical progenitor is, I believe, Schubert's Unfinished Symphony (especially the first movement of that work) and you can also hear pre-echoes of Bruckner's sound-world. It is astounding that the world doesn't know this extremely important symphony.
Thanks for giving us your opinion, Gerd.
I'm a new forum member, have just signed up and this is my first post.
What a treat that this is the first thread I looked at - lovely music, Gerd! The Schubert antecedents are very strong for me.
Hello, and welcome to UC!
Thanks Alan - I know I shall learn an enormous amount from the forum, and hopefully I can also contribute some.
Following on from Gerd's comment "But through this by chance I also got to know the in youtube following 2nd symphony by Bristow which is even greater - a real discovery for me (movements 1,3, and also a fantastic Finale! Wow!!!!"
Listening now on YT, and the Bristow 2nd is just amazing - thanks Gerd for the heads up. :)