I. Sostenuto assai; allegro ma non troppo
II. Scherzo: allegro vivace. Trio (1); Trio (2)
III. Adagio espressivo
IV. Allegro molto vivace
With the exception of the introduction to the first movement and the
_adagio_, in which the romantic dreamer Schumann is revealed, the
symphony has aged. And in this symphony, more than the other three, the
orchestration seems hopelessly crude, ineffective, distressing to the
ear, while the musical contents are seldom worthy of a more tasteful
dress.
Yet there are few _adagios_ to be compared with this dramatic song of
Schumann. If he had only had the courage to cut out that meaningless and
incongruous little episode, too deliberately contrapuntal.
* * *
In October, 1844, Schumann left Leipsic, where he had lived for about
fourteen years. He had in July given up the editorship of the _Neue
Zeitschrift_; he had been a teacher of pianoforte playing and
composition at the Leipsic Conservatory from April, 1843. A singularly
reserved man, hardly fitted for the duties of a teacher and without
pupils, he was in a highly nervous state, so that a physician
recommended a change of scene and told him he should not hear too much
music. Schumann therefore moved back to Dresden. “Here,” he wrote in
1844, “one can recover the old lost longing for music, there is so
little to hear. This suits my condition, for I still suffer very much
from my nerves, and everything affects and exhausts me immediately.” He
saw few people; he talked little. In the early ’eighties they still
showed in Dresden a restaurant frequented by him, where, seated in a
room with his head against a wall, he would sit for hours at a time,
dreaming daydreams. In 1846 he was very sick, mentally and bodily. “He
observed that he was unable to remember the melodies that occurred to
him when he was composing; the effort of invention fatigued his mind to
such an extent that it impaired his memory.” When he did work, he
applied himself to contrapuntal problems.
The Symphony in C major, known as No. 2, but really the third—for the
one in D minor, written first, was withdrawn after performance,
remodeled, and finally published as No. 4—was composed in the years 1845
and 1846. The symphony was published, score and parts, in November,
1847. The symphony was first played at the Gewandhaus, Leipsic, under
Mendelssohn’s direction, on November 5, 1846.
Schumann wrote from Dresden on April 2, 1849, to Otten, a writer and
conductor at Hamburg, who had brought about the performance of the
symphony in that city: “I wrote the symphony in December, 1845, when I
was still half sick. It seems to me one must hear this in the music. In
the _finale_ I first began to feel myself; and indeed I was much better
after I had finished the work. Yet, as I have said, it recalls to me a
dark period of my life. That, in spite of all, such tones of pain can
awaken interest, shows me your sympathetic interest. Everything you say
about the work also shows me how thoroughly you know music; and that my
melancholy bassoon in the _adagio_, which I introduced in that spot with
especial fondness, has not escaped your notice, gives me the greatest
pleasure.” In the same letter he expressed the opinion that Bach’s
Passion according to John was a more powerful and poetic work than his
Passion according to Matthew.
And yet, when Jean J. H. Verhulst of The Hague (1816-91) visited
Schumann in 1845 and asked him what he had written that was new and
beautiful, Schumann answered he had just finished a new symphony.
Verhulst asked him if he thought he had fully succeeded. Schumann then
said, “Yes, indeed, I think it’s a regular Jupiter.”
There is a dominating motive, or motto, which appears more or less
prominently in three of the movements. This motto is proclaimed at the
very beginning, _sostenuto assai_, 6-4, by horns, trumpets, alto
trombone, _pianissimo_, against flowing counterpoint in the strings.
This motto is heard again in the _finale_ of the following _allegro_,
near the end of the _scherzo_, and in the concluding section of the
_finale_. (It may also be said here that relationship of the several
movements is further founded by a later use of other fragments of the
introduction and by the appearance of the theme of the _adagio_ in the
_finale_.) This motto is not developed: its appearance is episodic. It
is said by one of Schumann’s biographers that the introduction was
composed before the symphony was written, and that it was originally
designed for another work. The string figure is soon given to the
wood-wind instruments. There is a _crescendo_ of emotion and an
acceleration of the pace until a _cadenza_ for the first violins brings
in the _allegro, ma non troppo_, 3-4. The first theme of this _allegro_
is exposed frankly and _piano_ by full orchestra with the exception of
trumpets and trombones. The rhythm is nervous, and accentuation gives
the idea of constant syncopation. The second theme, if it may be called
a theme, is not long in entering. The exposition of this movement, in
fact, is uncommonly short. Then follows a long and elaborate
development. In the climax the motto is sounded by the trumpets.
The _scherzo, allegro vivace_, C major, 2-4, has two trios. The
_scherzo_ proper consists of first violin figures in sixteenth notes,
rather simply accompanied. The first trio, in G major, 2-4, is in marked
contrast. The first theme, in lively triplet rhythm, is given chiefly to
wood-wind and horns; it alternates with a quieter, flowing phrase for
strings. This trio is followed by a return of the _scherzo_. The second
trio, in A minor, 2-4, is calm and melodious. The simple theme is sung
at first in full harmony by strings (without double basses) and then
developed against a running contrapuntal figure. The _scherzo_ is
repeated, and, towards the close, trumpets and horns loudly sound the
motto.
The third movement, _adagio espressivo_, 2-4, is the development of an
extended _cantilena_ that begins in C minor and ends in E flat major.
Violins first sing it; then the oboe takes it, and the song is more and
more passionate in melancholy until it ends in the wood-wind against
violin trills. This is followed by a contrapuntal episode, which to some
is incongruous in this extremely romantic movement. The melodic
development returns, and ends in C major.
The _finale, allegro molto vivace_, C major, 2-2, opens after two or
three measures of prelude with the first theme of vigorous character
(full orchestra except trombones). This is lustily developed until it
reaches a transitional passage, in which the violins have prominent
figures. All this is in _rondo_ form. The second theme is scored for
violas, violoncellos, clarinets, and bassoons, while violins accompany
with the figures mentioned. This theme recalls the opening song of the
_adagio_. A new theme, formed from development of the recollection, long
hinted at, finally appears in the wood-wind and is itself developed into
a _coda_ of extraordinary length. Figures from the first theme of the
_finale_ are occasionally heard, but the theme itself does not appear in
the _coda_, although there is a reminiscence of a portion of the first
theme of the first movement. The motto is sounded by the brass. There is
a second exultant climax, in which the introductory motive is of great
importance.