Symphony poem. Symphonic poem

35. Poem by Li-si Li-si, who served on Mount Tsu-hu for 30 years, wrote a poem: For thirty years I lived on Mount Tsu-hu, Twice a day I ate simple food in order to nourish my body, I climbed mountains and returned to exercise his body, None of my contemporaries

Leaf made history symphonic music as the creator of a new genre - the one-part symphonic poem. Its name evokes instant associations with the atmosphere of poetry and clearly reflects the connection between music and literature that underlay Liszt’s aesthetics (as is known, Liszt was one of the most staunch supporters of programmatic creativity and the synthesis of various arts).
Symphonic poem embodies specific program content, sometimes very complex.

12 of Liszt's 13 symphonic poems date back to the heyday of his work, when the composer was the leader and conductor of the Weimar court theater.
The range of images embodied in Liszt's symphonic poems is very wide. Presented here world literature all centuries from ancient myths to the work of modern romantics. But among the motley variety of subjects, one very specific to Liszt clearly stands out. philosophical issues: problem of meaning human life.
The two most widely known of Liszt's poems are “Tasso” (where the composer turned to the personality of the remarkable Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso) and “Preludes”.
"Preludes" is Liszt's third symphonic poem. Its name and program were borrowed by the composer from the poem of the same name by the French poet Lamartine. However, Liszt significantly departed from the main idea of ​​the poem, dedicated to thoughts about mortality human existence. He created music full of heroic, life-affirming pathos.
The beginning of the poem is very typical for Liszt, who usually refuses solemn introductions and begins many works quietly, as if secretly. In “Preludes”, the abrupt, quiet sounds of the first bars give the impression of mystery and enigma. Then the typically romantic motive of the question arises, expressing the “key” initial phrase of the program: “Isn’t our life a series of preludes to an unknown hymn, the first solemn note of which will be taken by death?”), that is, the question about the meaning of life. This motive plays the role of a thematic core for all subsequent music of the composition.
Growing from the motive of the question, but acquiring the certainty of self-affirmation, the heroic main theme sounds powerful and solemn.
A secondary theme, according to the program plan, is the theme of love. Its connection with the main motive is more indirect. With the main theme, the secondary theme appears to be in a colorful, “romantic” relationship. The secondary sound of horns doubled by altos gives a special warmth and sincerity.

The love idyll of a side game in development gives way to life's storms, battle scenes and, finally, a large episode of a pastoral nature: the “hero” seeks repose in the lap of nature from the worries of life. All this evokes associations with violent gusts of wind. The storm episode is distinguished by its vivid visual imagery.
The next section - pastoral - resembles a slow movement. Its theme, alternately performed by various wind instruments, is entirely new. However, even here, in the transparent sound of pastoral tunes, the “intonation of a question” flashes, as if even in the lap of nature the hero cannot rid himself of his doubts.
The subsequent development of the side theme is aimed at its heroization: it becomes more and more active, energetic and, in a dynamic reprise, turns into a victorious march in a dotted rhythm. This march-like version of the side theme is again preceded by a connecting theme, which also loses its dreamy character and turns into a jubilant appeal. Glorification lyrical images logically leads to the pinnacle of the entire work - powerful execution main topic, which becomes the heroic apotheosis of the poem.

Symphonic poem "Preludes"

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Among the 12 poems, “Tasso” is number 2, which, however, is not determined either by the time of completion or the order of publication of the work. The hero of the poem is the great Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso, whose epic poem “Jerusalem Liberated” has inspired many composers over the centuries. There is a lot of uncertainty in the fate of Tasso. Having shone at the court of the Duke of Ferrara Alfonso II d'Este, the poet at the age of 35 ended up in the hospital of St. Anne - a mental hospital and at the same time a prison, having ended up there either really because of the illness that struck him, or because of court intrigues. Legend called the reason imprisonment love - the poet’s daring, destroying all class barriers to Duke Alphonse’s sister Eleonora d’Este. Seven years later, having been released from prison thanks to the intercession of the Pope, Tasso - already a completely broken man - was proclaimed the greatest poet Italy and was awarded a laurel wreath, previously awarded only once to the great Petrarch.

Symphonic poem "Tasso"

However, death came earlier, and solemn ceremony in the Roman Capitol, only the poet’s coffin was crowned with laurels. “Complaint and Triumph: these are the two great oppositions in the fate of poets, about whom it is rightly said that although a curse often weighs on their lives, a blessing never leaves their graves,” wrote Liszt in the program to this dramatic poem, depicting all the vicissitudes of the poet’s life - from prison and memories of love to well-deserved fame.

Symphonic poem. This concept appeared in musical art in 1854: the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt gave the definition of “symphonic poem” to his orchestral work “Tasso,” originally conceived as an overture. With this definition, he wanted to emphasize that Tasso is not just a programmatic piece of music. It is extremely closely related to poetry in its content. Subsequently, Liszt wrote twelve more symphonic poems. The most famous among them is “Preludes”. It is based on the poem “Preludes” (more precisely “Preludes”) by the French romantic poet Lamartine, in which all human life is viewed as a series of episodes - “preludes” leading to death.

Liszt's work also developed a form that is most characteristic of a symphonic poem: free, but with obvious features of a sonata-symphonic cycle, if performed without a break between parts - site. The diverse episodes of the symphonic poem have similarities with the main sections of the sonata form: the main and secondary parts of the exposition, development and reprise. At the same time, individual episodes of the poem can be perceived as parts of a symphony.

After Liszt, many composers turned to the genre he created. The classic of Czech music Bedrich Smetana has a cycle of symphonic poems, united by the general title “My Homeland”. The German composer Richard Strauss loved this genre very much. His Don Juan, Don Quixote, and The Merry Tricks of Till Eulenspiegel are widely known. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote the symphonic poem "Kalevala", which is based on the Finnish folk epic as a literary source. Russian composers preferred to give other definitions to their orchestral works of this type: overture-fantasy, symphonic ballad, overture, symphonic picture.

The genre of symphonic painting, common in Russian music, has some differences. Its programming is not related to the plot, but paints a landscape, portrait, genre or battle scene. Everyone is probably familiar with such symphonic films as “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “In Central Asia” by Borodin, “Baba Yaga”, “Kikimora” and “The Magic Lake” by Lyadov. Another variety of this genre - symphonic fantasy - also loved by Russian composers, is distinguished by greater freedom of construction, often by the presence of fantastic elements in the program.

Symphony. Among the many musical genres, one of the most honorable places belongs to the symphony. Always, from the moment of its inception to the present day, it has sensitively reflected its time: the symphonies of Mozart and Beethoven, Berlioz and Mahler, Prokofiev and Shostakovich are reflections on the era, on man, on the ways of the world and life on earth. Symphony as a standalone musical genre arose relatively recently: some two and a half centuries ago. However, during this historically short period of time, it has come a long way.

The word symphonia translated from Greek means just consonance. In Ancient Greece, this was the name given to a pleasant combination of sounds. Later they began to designate either an orchestra or the introduction to a dance suite. In the early 18th century, the term replaced the current concept of overture. The first symphonies in the current sense appeared in the center of Europe in the second half of the 18th century. And the place and time of her birth are not accidental. Originating simultaneously in different parts of Europe, in the depths of old, previously formed musical forms- dance suite and opera overture, the symphony was finally formed in the countries of the German language - website. In Italy national art there was an opera. In pre-revolutionary France, already saturated with an atmosphere of freethinking and rebellion, other arts came forward. Such as literature, painting and theater - more specific, directly and clearly expressing new ideas that excite the world. When, several decades later, it came to music, the song “Carmagnola” and “Marseillaise” entered the ranks of the revolutionary troops as a full-fledged fighter.

Symphony is still the most complex of all types of music not related to other arts.- demanded different conditions for its formation, for full perception: it demanded thinking, generalization - calm and concentrated work. It is no coincidence that the center of philosophical thought, which reflected social changes in Europe at the end of the 18th century, turned out to be in Germany, far from social storms. At the same time, rich traditions have developed in Germany and Austria instrumental music. This is where the symphony appeared. It arose in the works of Czech and Austrian composers, and its final form. acquired in the work of Haydn in order to reach its peak in Mozart and Beethoven. This classical symphony (Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven entered the history of music as “Viennese classics”, since most their work is connected with this city) developed as a cycle of four parts, which embodied different aspects of human life.

First movement of the symphony- fast, active, sometimes preceded by a slow introduction. It is written in sonata form.
Second part- slow - usually thoughtful, elegiac or pastoral, that is, dedicated to peaceful pictures of nature, quiet rest or dreams. There are second parts that are mournful, concentrated, and deep.
Third movement of the symphony- a minuet, and later, in Beethoven, a scherzo. This is a game, fun, live pictures folk life, a fascinating round dance...
Final- this is the result of the entire cycle, the conclusion from everything that was shown, thought out, felt in the previous parts. Often the ending is life-affirming, solemn, victorious or festive.

At general scheme, symphonies different composers are very different. So, if Haydn’s symphonies are mostly serene, joyful, and only very few of the 104 works of this genre he created have serious or sad tones, then Mozart’s symphonies are much more individual, sometimes perceived as the predecessors of romantic art - site. Beethoven's symphonies are filled with images of struggle. They fully reflected the time - the era of the Great french revolution, lofty civic ideas inspired by her. Beethoven's symphonies are monumental works, in depth of content, breadth and power of generalization, not inferior to opera, drama, or novel. They are distinguished by deep drama, heroism, and pathos. The last of Beethoven's symphonies, the Ninth, features the chorus singing the rapturous and majestic hymn "Embrace, O Millions," set to the verses of Schiller's ode to Joy. The composer paints here a grandiose picture of a free, joyful humanity that strives for universal brotherhood.

At the same time as Beethoven, in the same Vienna, lived another wonderful Austrian composer, Franz Schubert. His symphonies sound like lyrical poems, like deeply personal, intimate statements. With Schubert in European music, a new movement came to the symphony genre - romanticism. Representatives of musical romanticism in the symphony are Schumann, Mendelssohn, Berlioz. Hector Berlioz, an outstanding French composer, was the first to create program symphony, writing a poetic program for her in the form of a short story about the artist’s life.

Symphony in Russia is primarily Tchaikovsky. His symphonic works are exciting, exciting stories about a person’s struggle for life, for happiness. But this is Borodin: his symphonies are distinguished by their epic breadth, power, and truly Russian scope. These are Rachmaninov, Scriabin and Glazunov, who created eight symphonies - beautiful, bright, balanced. The symphonies of D. Shostakovich embody the 20th century with its storms, tragedies and achievements. They reflect the events of our history and images of people - the composer's contemporaries, building, fighting, searching, suffering and winning. S. Prokofiev's symphonies are distinguished by their epic wisdom, deep drama, pure and bright lyrics, and sharp jokes.

Any symphony is a whole world. The world of the artist who created it. The world of time that gave birth to it. Listening classical symphonies, we become spiritually richer, we become familiar with the treasures of human genius, equal in significance to the tragedies of Shakespeare, the novels of Tolstoy, the poems of Pushkin, the paintings of Raphael.
Among the domestic authors of symphonies are N. Myaskovsky, A. Khachaturyan, T. Khrennikov, V. Salmanov, R. Shchedrin, B. Tishchenko, B. Tchaikovsky, A. Terteryan, G. Kancheli, A. Schnittke.

Scherzo. Italian word scherzo translated is a joke. It has long been adopted in music to denote its character - lively, cheerful, playful. Beethoven introduced the name scherzo for one of the middle movements of the symphony instead of the previously traditional minuet - site. And in the middle of the 19th century, composers began to call independent plays that way, not only humorous ones, but sometimes also dramatic ones or having an ominous connotation. Thus, Chopin's scherzos are widely known - piano pieces distinguished by their richness of images and variety of content.

Liszt went down in the history of symphonic music as the creator of a new genre - the one-movement symphonic poem. Its name evokes instant associations with the atmosphere of poetry and clearly reflects the connection between music and literature that underlay Liszt’s aesthetics (as is known, Liszt was one of the most staunch supporters of programmatic creativity and the synthesis of various arts).

Since a symphonic poem embodies specific program content, sometimes very complex, its formation lacks the stability that is inherent in its older relatives - the symphony and overture. Most of Liszt's symphonic poems are based on the free or mixed form that was very common in the era of romanticism. This is the name for forms that combine the essential characteristics of two or more classical forms. The unifying factor, as a rule, is the principle of monothematism (the creation of brightly contrasting images based on the same theme or motif).

12 of Liszt's 13 symphonic poems date back to the heyday of his work - the so-called. Weimar period (1848-1861) , when the composer was the director and conductor of the Weimar court theater. Both Liszt's symphonies - "Faust" and "Dante" - were created at the same time. The composer addressed them to cyclic form. The “Dante” symphony has two movements (“Hell” and “Purgatory”), the “Faust” symphony has three movements (“Faust”, “Margarita”, “Mephistopheles”. However, its parts are close in structure to symphonic poems).

The range of images embodied in Liszt's symphonic poems is very wide. World literature of all centuries, from ancient myths to the work of modern romantics, is presented here. But among the motley variety of subjects, a philosophical problematic very specific to Liszt clearly stands out:

• the problem of the meaning of human life - “Preludes”, “Hamlet”, “Prometheus”, “Lament for Heroes”;
• the fate of the artist and the purpose of art - “Tasso”, “Orpheus”, “Mazeppa”;
• the fate of peoples and all humanity - “Hungary”, “Battle of the Huns”, “What is heard on the mountain”.

The two most widely known of Liszt's poems are: "Tasso" (where the composer turned to the personality of the remarkable Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso) and "Preludes".

"Preludes" is Liszt's third symphonic poem. Its name and program were borrowed by the composer from the poem of the same name by the French poet Lamartine(under the impression of Lamartine’s poetry, the composer also created piano cycle"Poetic and religious harmonies"). However, Liszt significantly departed from the main idea of ​​the poem, which was dedicated to thinking about the frailty of human existence. He created music full of heroic, life-affirming pathos.

The musical composition of the “Preludes” is based on freely interpreted principles of sonata allegro with monothematic connections between the most important topics. In the most general terms, the form can be defined as sonata-concentric(sonata allegro with an introduction, an episode in development and a mirror reprise of a dynamized nature).

The beginning of the poem is very typical for Liszt, who usually refuses solemn introductions and begins many works quietly, as if secretly. In “Preludes”, the abrupt, quiet sounds of the first bars give the impression of mystery and enigma. Then the typically romantic motive of the question arises - do-si-mi (m.2 down - part 4 up), expressing the “key” initial phrase of the program: “Isn’t our life a series of preludes to an unknown hymn, the first solemn note of which will be taken by death?”), that is, the question about the meaning of life. This motive plays the role of a thematic core for all subsequent music of the composition.

Growing from the motive of the question, but acquiring the certainty of self-affirmation, heroic main topic (C major) sounds powerful and solemn with trombones, bassoons and low strings. The connecting and secondary themes clearly contrast with the main one, painting the image of a hero with another side dream of happiness and love. In this case, the connecting piece is a “lyricized” version of the main theme, presented by cellos in a very melodious manner. Subsequently, it acquires a cross-cutting meaning in the poem, appearing on the edges of important sections and, in turn, undergoing variant transformations.

Side (E-dur), according to the program plan, is the theme of love. Its connection with the main motive is more indirect. With the main theme, the secondary theme appears in a colorful, “romantic” third relationship. The secondary sound of the horns, doubled by divizi violas, gives a special warmth and sincerity.

The love idyll of a side party in development gives way to life's storms, battle scenes and, finally, a large episode of a pastoral nature: the “hero” seeks repose in the bosom of nature from the worries of life (one of the most typical ideological and plot motifs of romantic art). In all these sections there are transformations of the main motive. IN storm episode (first section of development) it becomes more unstable due to the appearance of mind in it.4. All harmony, based primarily on diminished seventh chords and their parallel movements along the tones, also becomes unstable. chromatic scale. All this evokes associations with violent gusts of wind. The storm episode, reminiscent of a sonata development in many ways, is distinguished by its vivid picturesque imagery. It continues the long tradition of “musical thunderstorms” (Vivaldi, Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini) and has a clear resemblance to the stormy, dramatic scherzo of the symphonic cycle.

The next section is pastoral - resembles a slow part. Its theme, alternately performed by various wind instruments, is entirely new (it is an “episode” in development). However, even here, in the transparent sound of pastoral tunes, the “intonation of a question” flashes, as if even in the lap of nature the hero cannot rid himself of his doubts. Later, after echoes of the connecting theme, a secondary theme is included in the development, very naturally continuing the music of the lyrical episode. Here the mirror reprise of the poem formally begins, but the key is new - As-dur.

The subsequent development of the side theme is aimed at its glorification: it becomes more and more active, energetic and dynamic reprise turns into a victory march in a dotted rhythm. This march-like version of the side theme is again preceded by a connecting theme, which also loses its dreamy character and turns into a jubilant appeal. The heroization of lyrical images logically leads to the peak of the entire work - the powerful implementation of the main theme, which becomes the heroic apotheosis of the poem.

This concept appeared in musical art in 1854: the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt gave the definition of “symphonic poem” to his orchestral work “Tasso,” originally conceived as an overture. With this definition, he wanted to emphasize that Tasso is not just a programmatic piece of music. It is extremely closely related to poetry in its content.

Franz Liszt. Symphonic poem "Tasso. Complaint and Triumph"
Symphony Orchestra of the All-Union Radio, dir. Nikolay Golovanov

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Subsequently, Liszt wrote twelve more symphonic poems. The most famous among them is “Preludes”. It is based on the poem “Preludes” (more precisely “Preludes”) by the French romantic poet Lamartine, in which all human life is viewed as a series of episodes - “preludes” leading to death.

Liszt’s work also developed a form that is most characteristic of a symphonic poem: free, but with obvious features of a sonata-symphonic cycle (see the story about the symphony), if it is performed without a break between movements. The diverse episodes of the symphonic poem have similarities with the main sections of the sonata form: the main and secondary parts of the exposition, development and reprise. At the same time, individual episodes of the poem can be perceived as parts of a symphony.

After Liszt, many composers turned to the genre he created. The classic of Czech music Bedrich Smetana has a cycle of symphonic poems, united by the general title “My Homeland”. The German composer Richard Strauss loved this genre very much. His Don Juan, Don Quixote, and The Merry Tricks of Till Eulenspiegel are widely known. The Finnish composer Jean Sibelius wrote the symphonic poem "Kalevala", which is based on the Finnish folk epic as a literary source.

Russian composers preferred to give other definitions to their orchestral works of this type: fantasy overture, symphonic ballad, overture, symphonic picture .

Genre of symphonic painting , widespread in Russian music, has some differences. Its programming is not related to the plot, but paints a landscape, portrait, genre or battle scene. Everyone is probably familiar with such symphonic films as “Sadko” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “In Central Asia” by Borodin, “Baba Yaga”, “Kikimora” and “The Magic Lake” by Lyadov.

Another variety of this genre - symphonic fantasy - also loved by Russian composers, is distinguished by greater freedom of construction, often by the presence of fantastic elements in the program.