Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra; Bach, Bartok, and Brahms, part 3

Our information guest is music director Max Rudolf who has scheduled the Beethoven Symphony Number two to begin the second half of this program. We know that Beethoven's First Symphony was to the musical public of the time somewhat of an innovation. Mr. Rudolf How did the Second Symphony continue this trend or did it the second symphony was also considered a rather revolutionary or something. It's difficult for us to understand today because nowadays you can hear the opinion frequently although I think it is difficult to defend this opinion. I mean when people say that Beethoven's First and the second symphonies were still written in the style of Haydn and Mozart I think it's completely untrue. Would you give us a couple examples from the Second Symphony. No I would say that if you just think of the.

Finale which begins. Very boldly I mean this Mozart and Haydn would have never written. Not to start with a tonic perhaps that you find once in a while but with this jump you know after all what I play now. It was based on a card of the dominant the Major. Dominant seventh. Breaks up the chord of the dominant seventh by this very jump. This had never been heard before this kind of musical theme as the beginning of a movement. Again when you think of the famous and extremely beautiful slow movement. Beethoven's language which had not existed before he brought it into the

musical world. Incidentally if you don't mind my bringing up a small musical detail which is perhaps of some interest even to the nonprofessional performances you will hear that the violins and later the clarinet in presenting the main theme will begin the training on the main note. Look here. Then that repeats I am I have it playing. I am proud with the upper note. I would need to far to explain Ryback just believe me I have very good reason I even can prove that Beethoven most of the time wanted to try to begin with the upper note and with an after B had a and. I have always and I have sometimes instead had orchestras play a and. Without a and I found by Shia luck and

arrangement which Beethoven himself made of this symphony for piano trio violin cello and piano. And in this arrangement he wrote out the trend. So this proved to me that my hunch had been right. Also on this program we are to hear the Choral Fantasy work not performed very often one which is in two movements and is also Beethoven's only attempt to combine piano and a chorus of very few works of this kind and it certainly is Beethoven's only one. Right he did it. At all riot time when I was fired out. But there must have been something in Beethoven's mind to utilize a lovely melody of him like I was almost say of popular characters.

A simple melody to be sung by the chorus. And to conclude an instrumental piece. Of course you know all the time what I'm aiming at I'm aiming at Beethoven's Ninth Symphony which this plan had been in Beethoven's mind since his early days in Bonn even before he moved to Vienna. He always had in mind to set a music Schiller's or to draw it. And during those years he must have. Conceived of the idea to combine this with an instrumental piece. And when he wrote this Choral Fantasy kind of half piano concerto hard oratory you know for the first time he must have. Conceived of something completely novel. Now why he has selected this melody why he selected these words is very difficult to tell particularly as the work starts in a completely different way and.

He starts with free Fantasia and people have often said this. Friendly HUGE of the Crown fantasy shows. How Beethoven used to improvise as we all know he was very famous because of improvisations and apparently this must have been something like that in fact when the work was played for the first time in December 18 or 8 Beethoven had not branched down to paper yet. The introduction he improvised it at the premiere only quite sometime later I think several months later he wrote it on music paper so it could be printed. For instance he begins. I am.

Saying passages contrasts the soft. Passage as preparation for the orchestral entrance theme. Which is by the piano. And after this

introduction by the French. Taking up all of the Lovely. He has a case history. He did not invent at that time he had written it many years earlier in fact about a year or two after he had arrived in Vienna from bone.

And he said to music as rather insipid poem a contemporary poet. It's really not worthwhile to play for you the rest of this composition which is a kind of shame. But all of a sudden Beethoven in order to express the happiness of an unloved individual who's longing for love. Beethoven used in this song. It changed a little bit but this is the origin he used different words from a common fantasy one doesn't know exactly who wrote them. One can only guess that Beethoven himself made suggestions to someone probably MR. So that's the way it developed this scene is played by the piano taken up by the flute.

I saw a string quartet which is very interesting Beethoven very valid. This here was a solo string quartet has one variation than there are variations for winds and so forth as a march there is a turbulent valuation. And finally comes the chorus variation and all the other variations and possibilities have been exhausted so to speak. Then Beethoven calls for the chorus and the chorus joins forces with the orchestra for the last and very extended variation or intermission against has been music director Max Rudolf who spoke of Beethoven's Choral Fantasy and of the Symphony Number two. We are now back at Music Hall and shortly we'll hear the Beethoven Second Symphony. This was composed in the summer of eighteen hundred two it had a good start near Vienna. And first performed at the théâtre under Dean on April 5th 803

as Mr. Rudolph indicated the work was regarded as a bold innovation by the critics of the day and musicians found it exceedingly difficult to play the scoring as four pairs of flutes oboes clarinets by sones horns and trumpets timpani. And. Now Max Rudolf has made his appearance. And in just a moment here the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra played a symphony number two in D major opus 36 by Beethoven. The way. I am. Yeah.

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