Roma Symphony (Bizet)
Encyclopedia
The Symphony in C "Roma" is the second of Georges Bizet
's symphonies
. Unlike his first symphony
, also in C major, which was written quickly at the age of 17, Roma was written over an eleven-year span, between the ages of 22 and 33 (he died at age 36). Bizet was never fully satisfied with it, subjecting it to a number of revisions, but died before finishing his definitive version. All four movements were performed in his lifetime, but never all on the same occasion. The full symphony in its latest revision was premiered in 1875, after his death. It is perhaps because of Bizet's dissatisfaction that the work is often said to be "unfinished"
. However, in the form in which it exists today, it is certainly finished and is fully scored. It has been recorded a number of times but is not often heard on the concert platform.
in 1857, which required him to spend the following two years studying free of charge at the French Academy in Rome
, followed by a year studying in Germany
. He never went to Germany, but stayed in Rome until July 1860. Rather than returning to Paris straight away, he did some touring through Italy, seeing places he had not visited in his earlier travels in 1858 and 1859. In Rimini
he first planned a symphony with each of the four movements dedicated to a different Italian city – Rome (opening movement), Venice
(Andante), Florence
(Scherzo) and Naples
(finale). He may have made some early sketches at this time. When he got to Venice he learned that his mother was seriously ill, so he returned home immediately.
By 1861 he had written the Scherzo, still generally considered the best movement of the work. It was performed privately in November 1861, and received a public performance on 11 January 1863, conducted by Jules Pasdeloup at the Cirque Napoléon, at which Camille Saint-Saëns
was present. It was poorly performed and provoked a hostile reaction from many concert subscribers. Nevertheless, it was given another performance on 18 January at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and this time received a much more positive reaction.
By 1866 he had written his first version of the complete work, in which the first movement was a Theme and Variations, but he was dissatisfied and set about undertaking a total revision. In 1868 he revised it yet again. Three movements of the revised score, minus the Scherzo, were performed on 28 February 1869, under the title Fantaisie symphonique: Souvenirs de Rome, again conducted by Pasdeloup. The movements were given programmatic titles Une chasse dans la Forêt d'Ostie, Une Procession and Carnaval à Rome (this was the movement meant to depict Naples). But Bizet was still not happy, and proceeded to revise it once more. By 1871 he seems to have dropped work on his revisions, being focussed on other projects.
The full symphony in its latest known version was premiered after his death, in 1875. The work was published in 1880 as Roma, and it probably incorporates some of his changes made in 1871.
. In some sources, it is even numbered as "Symphonic Suite No. 3". Another reason for the alternative title is that his earlier symphony was in the same key, C major, and it was believed by some that calling his second symphonic venture a suite would be less confusing. However, this renaming could only have occurred after 1935 (60 years after Bizet's death), when the very existence of his first symphony
, the Symphony in C, was made known to the world for the first time.
thought highly enough of Roma to conduct the Vienna
premiere in 1898-99, and to expose American audiences to it on his 1910 tour. Its actual United States premiere was on 11 November 1880 at the Metropolitan Concert Hall, conducted by Theodore Thomas
. The New York Times critic of the time said that, while there was much in the work to admire, it was crude in arrangement and had an air of incompleteness about it.
The work takes about 31 minutes to play.
, Lamberto Gardelli
, Louis Frémaux
, Michel Plasson
, Jean-Claude Casadesus and Enrique Batiz.
The Finale has sometimes been recorded separately, under the title "Carnaval", or "Carnaval à Rome".
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's symphonies
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
. Unlike his first symphony
Symphony in C (Bizet)
The Symphony in C is an early work by the French composer Georges Bizet. According to Grove's Dictionary, the symphony "reveals an extraordinarily accomplished talent for an 17-year-old student, in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration." Bizet started work on the symphony on 29...
, also in C major, which was written quickly at the age of 17, Roma was written over an eleven-year span, between the ages of 22 and 33 (he died at age 36). Bizet was never fully satisfied with it, subjecting it to a number of revisions, but died before finishing his definitive version. All four movements were performed in his lifetime, but never all on the same occasion. The full symphony in its latest revision was premiered in 1875, after his death. It is perhaps because of Bizet's dissatisfaction that the work is often said to be "unfinished"
Unfinished symphony
An unfinished symphony is a fragment of a symphony left by composers that are considered incomplete or unfinished for various reasons. The archetypal unfinished symphony is Franz Schubert's Symphony No. 8, written in 1822, six years before his death. It features two fully orchestrated movements...
. However, in the form in which it exists today, it is certainly finished and is fully scored. It has been recorded a number of times but is not often heard on the concert platform.
Background
Bizet won the Prix de RomePrix de Rome
The Prix de Rome was a scholarship for arts students, principally of painting, sculpture, and architecture. It was created, initially for painters and sculptors, in 1663 in France during the reign of Louis XIV. It was an annual bursary for promising artists having proved their talents by...
in 1857, which required him to spend the following two years studying free of charge at the French Academy in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, followed by a year studying in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. He never went to Germany, but stayed in Rome until July 1860. Rather than returning to Paris straight away, he did some touring through Italy, seeing places he had not visited in his earlier travels in 1858 and 1859. In Rimini
Rimini
Rimini is a medium-sized city of 142,579 inhabitants in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy, and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It is located on the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia and Ausa...
he first planned a symphony with each of the four movements dedicated to a different Italian city – Rome (opening movement), Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
(Andante), Florence
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
(Scherzo) and Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
(finale). He may have made some early sketches at this time. When he got to Venice he learned that his mother was seriously ill, so he returned home immediately.
By 1861 he had written the Scherzo, still generally considered the best movement of the work. It was performed privately in November 1861, and received a public performance on 11 January 1863, conducted by Jules Pasdeloup at the Cirque Napoléon, at which Camille Saint-Saëns
Camille Saint-Saëns
Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns was a French Late-Romantic composer, organist, conductor, and pianist. He is known especially for The Carnival of the Animals, Danse macabre, Samson and Delilah, Piano Concerto No. 2, Cello Concerto No. 1, Havanaise, Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, and his Symphony...
was present. It was poorly performed and provoked a hostile reaction from many concert subscribers. Nevertheless, it was given another performance on 18 January at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and this time received a much more positive reaction.
By 1866 he had written his first version of the complete work, in which the first movement was a Theme and Variations, but he was dissatisfied and set about undertaking a total revision. In 1868 he revised it yet again. Three movements of the revised score, minus the Scherzo, were performed on 28 February 1869, under the title Fantaisie symphonique: Souvenirs de Rome, again conducted by Pasdeloup. The movements were given programmatic titles Une chasse dans la Forêt d'Ostie, Une Procession and Carnaval à Rome (this was the movement meant to depict Naples). But Bizet was still not happy, and proceeded to revise it once more. By 1871 he seems to have dropped work on his revisions, being focussed on other projects.
The full symphony in its latest known version was premiered after his death, in 1875. The work was published in 1880 as Roma, and it probably incorporates some of his changes made in 1871.
Title
In form, the work stands somewhere between a symphony and a symphonic suite. Grove's Dictionary says: "It is not sufficiently explicit for programme music and too carelessly constructed for an abstract symphony". Despite Bizet's description of it as a "symphony", it has often been classified in reference works as a suiteSuite
In music, a suite is an ordered set of instrumental or orchestral pieces normally performed in a concert setting rather than as accompaniment; they may be extracts from an opera, ballet , or incidental music to a play or film , or they may be entirely original movements .In the...
. In some sources, it is even numbered as "Symphonic Suite No. 3". Another reason for the alternative title is that his earlier symphony was in the same key, C major, and it was believed by some that calling his second symphonic venture a suite would be less confusing. However, this renaming could only have occurred after 1935 (60 years after Bizet's death), when the very existence of his first symphony
Symphony in C (Bizet)
The Symphony in C is an early work by the French composer Georges Bizet. According to Grove's Dictionary, the symphony "reveals an extraordinarily accomplished talent for an 17-year-old student, in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration." Bizet started work on the symphony on 29...
, the Symphony in C, was made known to the world for the first time.
The work
Roma is a very unequal work. The Scherzo is usually singled out as its best movement, full of liveliness and grace. The outer movements contain both brilliance and academic pedantry, and the slow movement is not generally well regarded, sometimes being described as "ponderous and boring". However, Gustav MahlerGustav Mahler
Gustav Mahler was a late-Romantic Austrian composer and one of the leading conductors of his generation. He was born in the village of Kalischt, Bohemia, in what was then Austria-Hungary, now Kaliště in the Czech Republic...
thought highly enough of Roma to conduct the Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
premiere in 1898-99, and to expose American audiences to it on his 1910 tour. Its actual United States premiere was on 11 November 1880 at the Metropolitan Concert Hall, conducted by Theodore Thomas
Theodore Thomas
Theodore Thomas may refer to:*Theodore Thomas , American violinist and conductor*Theodore Thomas , American politician, Chicago alderman*Theodore Thomas , American film director and producer...
. The New York Times critic of the time said that, while there was much in the work to admire, it was crude in arrangement and had an air of incompleteness about it.
Structure
The four movements of Roma are:- Andante tranquillo, leading to an Allegro agitato (C major)
- Scherzo - Allegretto vivace
- Andante molto (F major)
- Allegro vivacissimo (Finale).
The work takes about 31 minutes to play.
Recordings
It has been recorded a number of times, under conductors such as Sir Thomas BeechamThomas Beecham
Sir Thomas Beecham, 2nd Baronet CH was an English conductor and impresario best known for his association with the London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras. He was also closely associated with the Liverpool Philharmonic and Hallé orchestras...
, Lamberto Gardelli
Lamberto Gardelli
Lamberto Gardelli was an Italian conductor, particularly associated with the Italian opera repertory, especially the works of Giuseppe Verdi....
, Louis Frémaux
Louis Frémaux
Louis Frémaux is a French conductor.-Life and career:Frémaux comes from an artistic background; his father was a painter, and his wife was a music teacher....
, Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson
Michel Plasson is a French conductor.Plasson was a student of Lazare Lévy at the Conservatoire de Paris. In 1962, he was a prize-winner at the International Besançon Competition for Young Conductors. He studied briefly in the United States, including time with Charles Münch...
, Jean-Claude Casadesus and Enrique Batiz.
The Finale has sometimes been recorded separately, under the title "Carnaval", or "Carnaval à Rome".