Part 20 (1/2)
[Music]
Much of the appeal of the hout is of remarkable beauty
In the final movement, entitled Mephistopheles, there are a few independent then influence of the spirit of Evil--the ro vivace ironico!--but most of the material is a transformation of the Faust themes which are here burlesqued, parodied; as if all the noble aspirations of Faust were being ical result of the correspondence, for which Liszt was striving, between thedrae, the composer may well have felt that the effect would be indefinite without the specific ive For the style is very subjective throughout; that is, if the hearer is in a responsive condition, an effect is produced on his iination--otherwise, not To close the work, therefore, in theinstinct and following the precedent of Beethoven in the Ninth Symphony, introduces a chorus of men's voices--marked Andante Mistico--which intones the faliche”[248] at the close of the second part of Faust; while, above this chorus, a solo tenor proclai Weibliche”--a sentiment so dear to the German[249] mind and one that plays such an iner A dramatic and musical connection between the , for this solo part, the mentation) which in the second _
[Music: Das ewig Weibliche]
[Footnote 248: Translated as follows by Bayard Taylor:--
Chorus Misticus
All things transitory But as syrows to Event; The Indescribable, Here it is done: The Woman-Soul leadeth us Upward and on!]
[Footnote 249: The way in which the Germans in the recent war have applied this doctrine raises, wethe ultra sensationalism in soes of Faust, he has produced an effect of genuine power and of inspired reat work because of the character of its leading melodies, its freedom of structure and expression and its wealth of appropriate orchestral color For these es where it would surely seeination of the composer were not able to translate into tones all the phases of Goethe's stupendous drama[251]
[Footnote 250: That this is the verdict of the public is shown by the fact that, whenever of late years _Faust_ has been given by the Boston Symphony Orchestra, it has had to be repeated by popular request]
[Footnote 251: For further comments on the work see Huneker's _Franz Liszt_, pp 141-146 and the third part (on Program Music) of Finck's _R Strauss, The Man and His Works_ Also Chap VII passim in Vol VI of the Oxford History]
In a book such as this, chiefly concerned with broad principles of structure and style, it would be out of place to attempt a detailed account of Liszt's numerous and varied pianoforte compositions But they can by no ain a coh the funda for the instru upon it, are derived from Chopin and Schumann,[252] Liszt so amplified the work of these men and added so many novel features of his own in pianistic effect and especially in execution that he is rightly considered a genius of the instruht out of the pianoforte a sonority and wealth of color which heretofore had been associated only with the orchestra The chief groups of the pianoforte works are (1) the transcriptions of songs, notably of Schubert and Schuroup should also be included the reement for solo-pianoforte of all the Beethoven Symphonies (2) The etudes, especially the set entitled ”_etudes d'execution transcendante_”--a description which clearly shows the idea Liszt set before himself and indubitably attained; of this set the one in F arian Rhapsodies_, fifteen in number, based on national melodies and rhythms In these Liszt aspired to be the poet of his nation, and they are still a the most important manifestations of the national spirit so prominent in our modern music Perhaps the most eloquent and celebrated are the 2d, the 12th and the 14th Even if at times they are overencrusted with effects meant primarily for display, the rhythmic vitality and color of the melodies cannot be withstood
[Footnote 252: Weber and Schubert had, of course, done valuable pioneer work]
CONCERT eTUDE, _Waldesrauschen_
(SEE SUPPLEMENT NO 59)
This co, cantabile theme for the left hand very characteristic of Liszt, which stands out in relief against soister of the instrurazia It really is a poetic picture, in terms of music, of the delicious murmur of the woods In the 15th ht hand, in octaves, over sonorous, widely extended groups below
The the modulations and then returns, in le melodic line This enuine atmospheric treatment Towards its close, however, Liszt's fondness for sensational effect rather runs aith hiood deal, in measures 50-60 (marked martellato, strepitoso and _fff_), which is rather difficult to reconcile with the poetic subject Perhaps a h the trees! In measure 61 the theht hand, piu mosso and molto appassionata, and worked up to a brilliant cli passage of delightful sensuous effect The closing measures, una corda and dolcissi appeal of the chief melody All in all, in spite of a certain admixture of alloy, here is a poetic composition, a real tone-picture of the woods and of the effects implied by the title Certainly a piece which, in its picturesque suggestiveness and pianistic treatment, may fairly be called the ancestor of much that is beautiful in such modern composers as Debussy and Ravel
As a final estiestion for the student's attitude we cite fro quotation, since, in our opinion, it is true and forcibly expressed:
”Liszt's works are too full of originality and striking expressiveness to deserve perlect that has been their lot Be, however, the ultimate fate of these works what itstriver, a fruitful originator and a wide-ranging quickener”
CHAPTER XVI
BRAHMS
After the novel and brilliant work of the Roht in the co ner, with his special drae on the horizon that for a tinificance that just in this interregnum two men, born in the early years of the 19th century, were quietly laying the foundations for eloquent works in absolute or symphonic music These men were Johannes Brah a few prelieneral, the next chapters will be devoted to an account of their works and influence
A striking feature in the development of music since 1850 is the number of symphonies produced by the representative composers of the various nations; and the manner in which these works embody certain phases of style and reat interest Ever since Beethoven, there has been a universal feeling that the syhest thoughts If Wagner and Richard Strauss seem to be exceptions, we hly symphonic both in material and in scope The difference is chiefly one of terner claimed that he merely applied to dramatic purposes Beethoven's thematic development; and the tone-poeh on a free poetic basis Every co of a symphony with a serious purpose and often comparatively late in life To be sure, Beethoven's first Symphony, op 21, was composed in his thirtieth year; but for the works which ly his personality, such as the Third, Fifth and Ninth, we have to wait until a later period Schumann essayed symphonic composition only after his technique had been developed in every other field
Brahms's first Symphony, on which he is said to have worked ten years, is op 68 Cesar Franck looked forward to a Symphony as the climax of his career The day has passed when a coenuine personality in each work are the modern requirements Thus from Brahms we have four syerously large nuar two, frole really inspired and noble symphony--as for example, Cesar Franck--he is in so far immortal For the sy (think of Beethoven's agonies of conception!) to be treated lightly
Beginning with the operatic overture of Lully and Scarlatti, called ”Sinfonia avanti l'opera,” down through the labors of Stamitz, Gossec, Emmanuel Bach, Haydn and Mozart, this form, as we know it to-day, is the result of at least a century and a half of sustained, constructive work A ht face to face with the fore to utter and the technical skill to present it in communicable form?” There are no accessory appeals to the other senses in the way of a dra and costumes--as in opera--to cloak poverty of invention and to rant that the coh achievement, but we kno many composers have won success in the operatic field from e should never expect a syreat works in both forms Consider, furthermore, how complicated a tool is the present orchestra, _as_ a tool, to say nothing of the invention of ideas Many years of study are required to attain a certainty of calculation in sonority and _nuance_, and thetoil We all pay hoe to life: human life in men, women and children, and the life of nature in animals, birds, trees and flowers Let us ever reination also has its products and the themes of a symphony may certainly be considered _its_ children The public often seeht idea of the sanctity and mystery of a musical idea Composers are considered people with a kind of ”knack”