Journeys from darkness to light, light to darkness and back into the light again were the theme of the Seattle Symphony’s “Brahms No. 1” concert.
The program opened with the overture to Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Egmont” by Ludwig van Beethoven*. Regarding this overture, Beethoven once said “Goethe’s poems have tremendous power over me…I am tuned up and stimulated to composition by his language, which builds itself into higher orders as if through the work of spirits, and already bears in itself the mysteries of harmonies.” Beethoven’s orchestrations in this piece are meant to convey the elements present in Goethe’s drama of self-sacrifice for the sake of liberty and of love.
The piece begins with ominous chords; the struggle between the hero, Count Egmont, and the despotic invader, Duke of Albe. The desperate pleas for Egmont’s life by his mistress, Klarchen, are then heard in the poignant melodies in the woodwinds. These escalate with Egmont’s death sentence and Klarchen’s suicide, but then transition into a conquering finish as the string section latches onto the light and, (through a four-note pattern likely self-quoting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony) transports the listener to Egmont’s martyrdom in his refusal to give way to tyranny.
The second piece in the program was the U.S. Premiere of Julian Anderson’s “In Lieblicher Blaue” (“In Lovely Blue”) for violin and orchestra. This piece was inspired by the poem of the same name attributed to Friedrich Holderlin: “In lovely blue the steeple stands,/ Like the stamen inside a flower,/ And the day unfolds around its needle;/ The flock of swallows circling the steeple/ Flies there each day through the same blue air/ That carries their cries from me to you.”
Unlike the previous piece, however, these cries are not of transcendence but rather, of a dizzying downward descent. The strings act as percussive instruments at first, scattering the sound across the section through the use of harmonics, pizzicatos, non-traditional bowing techniques and even the use of a wooden pencil.
With the central movement of the piece comes the plunge into darkness, marked by the lightness of the strings giving way to bolder, stronger melodies that eventually diffuse into one final haunting line voiced by the soloist.
The program concluded in the light with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. Although this piece is an impressive feat in and of itself (five movements, each comprised of intricate orchestrations and formed with sonnet-like precision), what is even more significant is the story of how the piece came into being.
When he first began this undertaking, Brahms had for a long time been working in the shadow of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He composed with trepidation for some 20 years, reportedly remarking when asked to unveil the piece prematurely “A symphony is no laughing matter…You cannot imagine what it is like to hear behind you the tramp of a giant like him,” the “him” in this instance being Beethoven.
At last, after several meticulous revisions, Brahms believed he had produced a work that lived up to the standards set by Beethoven. The body of the symphony is in many ways a tribute to Beethoven, and listeners can hear echoes of “Ode to Joy,” “Overture to Egmont” and even Beethoven’s Ninth in the various motifs that Brahms employs. However, in the finale, Brahms comes into his own with a triumphant trombone and horn chorale.
The Seattle Symphony performed each of these works with the masterful artistic sensitivity that was demanded, allowing the listener to traverse the realms of darkness, light and the shadows in between with Beethoven, Anderson and Brahms.
*Fun fact: I learned on NPR’s “Performance Today” that Ludwig van Beethoven translates literally into Ludwig of the beet fields.
**Background information on Beethoven, Anderson and Brahms from concert talks and Paul Schiavo’s program notes.
The program opened with the overture to Wolfgang von Goethe’s “Egmont” by Ludwig van Beethoven*. Regarding this overture, Beethoven once said “Goethe’s poems have tremendous power over me…I am tuned up and stimulated to composition by his language, which builds itself into higher orders as if through the work of spirits, and already bears in itself the mysteries of harmonies.” Beethoven’s orchestrations in this piece are meant to convey the elements present in Goethe’s drama of self-sacrifice for the sake of liberty and of love.
The piece begins with ominous chords; the struggle between the hero, Count Egmont, and the despotic invader, Duke of Albe. The desperate pleas for Egmont’s life by his mistress, Klarchen, are then heard in the poignant melodies in the woodwinds. These escalate with Egmont’s death sentence and Klarchen’s suicide, but then transition into a conquering finish as the string section latches onto the light and, (through a four-note pattern likely self-quoting Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony) transports the listener to Egmont’s martyrdom in his refusal to give way to tyranny.
The second piece in the program was the U.S. Premiere of Julian Anderson’s “In Lieblicher Blaue” (“In Lovely Blue”) for violin and orchestra. This piece was inspired by the poem of the same name attributed to Friedrich Holderlin: “In lovely blue the steeple stands,/ Like the stamen inside a flower,/ And the day unfolds around its needle;/ The flock of swallows circling the steeple/ Flies there each day through the same blue air/ That carries their cries from me to you.”
Unlike the previous piece, however, these cries are not of transcendence but rather, of a dizzying downward descent. The strings act as percussive instruments at first, scattering the sound across the section through the use of harmonics, pizzicatos, non-traditional bowing techniques and even the use of a wooden pencil.
With the central movement of the piece comes the plunge into darkness, marked by the lightness of the strings giving way to bolder, stronger melodies that eventually diffuse into one final haunting line voiced by the soloist.
The program concluded in the light with Brahms’ Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 68. Although this piece is an impressive feat in and of itself (five movements, each comprised of intricate orchestrations and formed with sonnet-like precision), what is even more significant is the story of how the piece came into being.
When he first began this undertaking, Brahms had for a long time been working in the shadow of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. He composed with trepidation for some 20 years, reportedly remarking when asked to unveil the piece prematurely “A symphony is no laughing matter…You cannot imagine what it is like to hear behind you the tramp of a giant like him,” the “him” in this instance being Beethoven.
At last, after several meticulous revisions, Brahms believed he had produced a work that lived up to the standards set by Beethoven. The body of the symphony is in many ways a tribute to Beethoven, and listeners can hear echoes of “Ode to Joy,” “Overture to Egmont” and even Beethoven’s Ninth in the various motifs that Brahms employs. However, in the finale, Brahms comes into his own with a triumphant trombone and horn chorale.
The Seattle Symphony performed each of these works with the masterful artistic sensitivity that was demanded, allowing the listener to traverse the realms of darkness, light and the shadows in between with Beethoven, Anderson and Brahms.
*Fun fact: I learned on NPR’s “Performance Today” that Ludwig van Beethoven translates literally into Ludwig of the beet fields.
**Background information on Beethoven, Anderson and Brahms from concert talks and Paul Schiavo’s program notes.