Chamber Symphony No. 2 (Schoenberg)
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Chamber Symphony No. 2, Op. 38, by Arnold Schoenberg
was begun in 1906 and completed in 1939. The work is scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and strings and is divided into two movements, the first (in E flat minor) marked Adagio and the second (in G major) marked Con Fuoco-Lento. The belated completion of the work was prompted by a request from the conductor Fritz Stiedry
who asked Schoenberg for an orchestral piece for his New Friends of Music Orchestra in New York. The work was first performed there on December 14, 1940 under Stiedry's direction.
When Schoenberg began the work in 1906, he was on the verge of a major stylistic change in his music. The First Chamber Symphony op. 9, for fifteen players, adopts a concise form in which the four movements of a traditional symphony are condensed into a single larger one, and establishes the soloistic orchestral writing which is sporadically found in works such as Gurre-Lieder
and Pelleas und Melisande
. After completing this work, Schoenberg thought he had reached his mature style, but he soon began to explore new avenues of expression.
The Second Chamber Symphony was begun shortly after the first was completed, but despite several efforts (in 1911 and again in 1916), Schoenberg was unable to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.
When he returned to the work 33 years later, it was likely because he felt that his earlier style retained unexplored possibilities. In a letter to Stiedry, Schoenberg addressed the problem of returning to his past:
The completion of the work signifies Schoenberg’s return to tonal music late in his life. In 1939, he added 20 bars to the original first movement, wrote the latter half of the second movement, and revised and re-orchestrated the earlier portions of the work. He considered adding a third movement, an Adagio, and sketched out 127 bars of it, but then decided that the musical and ‘psychic’ problems in the work had already been presented thoroughly in the first two movements. He also expanded the ensemble to that of a classical-sized orchestra, with the available forces of Stiedry's orchestra in mind. Compared to the 1906 version of the Second Chamber Symphony, the 1939 version demonstrates greater variety between the string, woodwind and brass sections of the orchestra, using distinct instrumental groupings in a style similar to that of Anton Bruckner
. It avoids the doubling of instrumental lines in favor of a differentiation of individual parts, showing that Schoenberg’s later style placed greater emphasis on clarity of textures than was the case in his earlier orchestral scores. In almost every instance in the 1906 draft, first violins are paired with flute, oboe I, and clarinet I, second violins are paired with second clarinet, and lower strings are paired with octave doublings.
Stylistically, the Second Chamber Symphony generally progresses harmonically by stepwise motion, juxtaposing the First Chamber Symphony’s forward movement through non-traditional suspensions and appoggiaturas. Schoenberg combined this tonal style with 4th chords and similar combinations to produce a grave and severe effect. While the First Chamber Symphony attempts to expand the limits of tonality, the second does not constantly attempt to undermine tonal references.
There is debate over what prompted Schoenberg to re-admit tonality in pieces such as the Second Chamber Symphony, but his own words are probably the most telling. In his 1948 essay "On revient toujours", Schoenberg wrote:
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
was begun in 1906 and completed in 1939. The work is scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd doubling cor anglais), 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 2 horns, 2 trumpets and strings and is divided into two movements, the first (in E flat minor) marked Adagio and the second (in G major) marked Con Fuoco-Lento. The belated completion of the work was prompted by a request from the conductor Fritz Stiedry
Fritz Stiedry
Fritz Stiedry was an Austrian conductor and composer.-Biography:While studying law at the University of Vienna, Stiedry's musical abilities were noticed by Gustav Mahler who appointed him his assistant at the Vienna Court Opera in 1907...
who asked Schoenberg for an orchestral piece for his New Friends of Music Orchestra in New York. The work was first performed there on December 14, 1940 under Stiedry's direction.
When Schoenberg began the work in 1906, he was on the verge of a major stylistic change in his music. The First Chamber Symphony op. 9, for fifteen players, adopts a concise form in which the four movements of a traditional symphony are condensed into a single larger one, and establishes the soloistic orchestral writing which is sporadically found in works such as Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder
Gurre-Lieder is a massive cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen...
and Pelleas und Melisande
Pelleas und Melisande
Pelleas und Melisande, a Symphonic Poem for orchestra, is composer Arnold Schoenberg's earliest completed orchestral work, and his opus 5. The work was completed in February 1903, when Schoenberg was 28, and was premiered on 25 January 1905 at the Musikverein in Vienna under the composer's...
. After completing this work, Schoenberg thought he had reached his mature style, but he soon began to explore new avenues of expression.
The Second Chamber Symphony was begun shortly after the first was completed, but despite several efforts (in 1911 and again in 1916), Schoenberg was unable to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.
When he returned to the work 33 years later, it was likely because he felt that his earlier style retained unexplored possibilities. In a letter to Stiedry, Schoenberg addressed the problem of returning to his past:
For a month I have been working on the Second Chamber Symphony. I spend most of the time trying to find out ‘What was the author getting at here? Indeed, my style has greatly deepened meanwhile, and I find it hard to reconcile what I then rightly wrote, trusting my sense of form and not thinking too much, with my current extensive demands in respect of ‘visible’ logic. Today that is one of the major difficulties, for it also affects the material.
The completion of the work signifies Schoenberg’s return to tonal music late in his life. In 1939, he added 20 bars to the original first movement, wrote the latter half of the second movement, and revised and re-orchestrated the earlier portions of the work. He considered adding a third movement, an Adagio, and sketched out 127 bars of it, but then decided that the musical and ‘psychic’ problems in the work had already been presented thoroughly in the first two movements. He also expanded the ensemble to that of a classical-sized orchestra, with the available forces of Stiedry's orchestra in mind. Compared to the 1906 version of the Second Chamber Symphony, the 1939 version demonstrates greater variety between the string, woodwind and brass sections of the orchestra, using distinct instrumental groupings in a style similar to that of Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner
Anton Bruckner was an Austrian composer known for his symphonies, masses, and motets. The first are considered emblematic of the final stage of Austro-German Romanticism because of their rich harmonic language, complex polyphony, and considerable length...
. It avoids the doubling of instrumental lines in favor of a differentiation of individual parts, showing that Schoenberg’s later style placed greater emphasis on clarity of textures than was the case in his earlier orchestral scores. In almost every instance in the 1906 draft, first violins are paired with flute, oboe I, and clarinet I, second violins are paired with second clarinet, and lower strings are paired with octave doublings.
Stylistically, the Second Chamber Symphony generally progresses harmonically by stepwise motion, juxtaposing the First Chamber Symphony’s forward movement through non-traditional suspensions and appoggiaturas. Schoenberg combined this tonal style with 4th chords and similar combinations to produce a grave and severe effect. While the First Chamber Symphony attempts to expand the limits of tonality, the second does not constantly attempt to undermine tonal references.
There is debate over what prompted Schoenberg to re-admit tonality in pieces such as the Second Chamber Symphony, but his own words are probably the most telling. In his 1948 essay "On revient toujours", Schoenberg wrote:
I was not destined to continue in the manner of Transfigured NightVerklärte NachtVerklärte Nacht , Op. 4, is a string sextet in one movement composed by Arnold Schoenberg in 1899 and his earliest important work...
or Gurre-LiederGurre-LiederGurre-Lieder is a massive cantata for five vocal soloists, narrator, chorus and large orchestra, composed by Arnold Schoenberg, on poems by the Danish novelist Jens Peter Jacobsen...
or even Pelleas and MelisandePelleas und MelisandePelleas und Melisande, a Symphonic Poem for orchestra, is composer Arnold Schoenberg's earliest completed orchestral work, and his opus 5. The work was completed in February 1903, when Schoenberg was 28, and was premiered on 25 January 1905 at the Musikverein in Vienna under the composer's...
. The Supreme Commander had ordered me on a harder road. But a longing to return to the older style was always vigorous in me, and from time to time I had to yield to that urge.