Symphony no. 8 "Sounds of Spring" (1876)
Werner Andreas Albert conducting the Philharmonia Hungarica
I: Allegro "Spring's return" - 0:00
II: Allegro "During Walpurgis night" - 14:45
III: Larghetto "With the first bunch of flowers" - 22:45
IV: Vivace "Wanderlust" - 32:00
It was the first of the "Seasons" symphonies, Joachim Raff presents his 8th Symphony to the world in Wiesbaden. It was Raff's comeback as one of the most leading symphonist after the mixed receptions of no. 6 and no. 7. It was successful, reaching New York a year after the premiere.
The first 3 movements were received with big applause and jubilation, however the 4th movement was received a little colder than the previous movements; it lacks the memorable melodies and the excitement that was usually present in Raff's symphonies. Raff's daughter Helene said "the audience didn't understand this movement".
Even with the warm reception of the 4th movement, it continues to be a popular work during his lifetime
Symphony No 9 in E minor, Op 208 'in summer' (1878 / 56세)
Painting Info - "Black Hole Rising" by Gate-To-Nowhere on deviantart.
I. A Hot Day - 00:00
II. The Hunt of the Elves - 12:20
III. Larghetto - Eklogue - 22:47
IV. The Harvest Wreath - 29:27
From the outset Raff's Symphony No.9 in E minor Im Sommer (In Summer) op.208 was well received. A critic wrote after the Wiesbaden premiere: "If Raff hadn't already laid the basis for his fame and reputation in his other symphonies, then this work would certainly add much to it". The renowned conductor Benjamin Bilse (1816-1902), who conducted its first Berlin performance on 10 January 1880 declared it a work of genius. He wrote to Raff: "Your symphony has stirred up the entire music world of Berlin and brought my orchestra the greatest pleasure". After the lukewarm receptions of its three predecessors, Raff restored his symphonic reputation with his Summer Symphony.
This third part of the cycle of four works celebrating the seasons was composed in Frankfurt during the summer and autumn of 1878. It was premiered at Wiesbaden's Kurhaus on 28 May 1879 by the city's orchestra under the baton of Raff's friend Louis Lüstner (1840 - 1918), and received a second airing there only two days later. The piece made a strong impression on one reviewer: "A beautiful and most interesting work. The first movement combines the energetic main theme with the most charming detail in the contrasting sections and the development, for example, where, directly after the exposition (page 19) the tympani softly outlines the main theme while above, three flutes softly play the extended series of chords which introduce the symphony with the effect of a soft breath of wind. The second movement, "The Hunt of the Elves", is of the richest poetry. Orchestration, which is as sensual as it is poetic, envelopes the magical and fanciful atmosphere. No. 3 begins with a quietly maintained idyll, which knows how to wed the language of pastoral majesty to the sounds of charm and gentleness. Directly following this pastoral poem (Ekloge) comes "The Harvest Wreath", which begins with a festive procession or march, and then, with broad development, passes by in a portrait filled with life and joy."
Raff's friend Hans von Bülow, perhaps the greatest conductor in Germany at the time, judged it to be amongst the finest of his compositions, ranking it alongside the Im Walde and Lenore symphonies. Just as he had with them, Raff grouped Im Sommer's four movements into three parts. The third and fourth movements comprise Part III, but why Raff made this distinction is unclear. Unlike the earlier works, there is no overarching title for the third part and no discernable descriptive or musical link between them. Apart from the second movement, Raff provides no detailed programme for the symphony's movements beyond their titles. The Midsummer Night's Dream scherzo itself does have quite a detailed programme and in many ways is a worthy precursor to the Four Shakespeare Preludes which Raff penned the following year.
The Symphony No.9 was was published by Siegel of Leipzig in November 1879. As was his usual practice, Raff made a piano 4 hands reduction of the score, which was published at the same time.
The first movement Allegro "A hot day" is a joyful evocation of summer which despite its free-flowing nature features fugal writing - it is one of Raff's most successful symphonic movements.
The second movement forms the symphony's second part - an Allegro "The hunt of the Elves". For this spirited movement Raff followed a detailed programme centred on Oberon & Titania from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream".
The final part of the symphony comprises the last two movements : a Larghetto "Eckloge" and an Allegro "To the harvest wreath", which depict firstly a pastoral idyll followed by a joyous celebration of the harvest. <해설 자료 출처- 유튜브>
* Symphony No. 10 "To Autumn Time" (1879 / 57세)
Painting Info - "Cusp of Autumn" by Vensin on deviantart.
I. Allegro Moderato - Impressions & Feelings - 00:00
II. Allegro - Ghostly round-dance - 9:50
III. Adagio - Elegie - 15:04
IV. Allegro - The Hunt of Man - 22:53
The Symphony No.10 in f minor Zur Herbstzeit (To Autumn time) op.213 was Raff's last symphonic project - the 11th. Symphony actually having been written a few years earlier. The 10th. completed the cycle of the four "Seasons" symphonies and was begun in Summer 1879 and completed later that year. It had to wait a year for its premiere in Wiesbaden's Kurhaus on 12 November 1880 under Louis Lüstner. After a second performance only a couple of days later, however, Raff began to have second thoughts about two of the movements.
His wife Doris, regarded by him as embodying the audience for whom he wrote, disliked the pathos and passion of the third movement and Raff himself felt that the finale needed revision. By October 1881 he had written to his friend Lüstner with the news that he had replaced the slow movement completely and had revised the closing pages of the last movement. As before, Lüstner was the conductor for the first performance of the revised work, which was again in Wiesbaden a year after the premiere. The altered movements still didn't appeal to audiences according to the biography of her father written by his daughter Helene, but the first two movements were successes - particularly the second movement. This achieved an independent life as a concert piece and Raff himself conducted it several times. The discarded original third movement became the Elegie WoO.48.
The revised version was finally published by Siegel of Liepzig in October 1882 and, as usual, Raff made a piano four-hand arrangement. Despite its hesitant gestation, the Autumn Symphony is one of Raff's most satisfying creations. Comparatively concise at just 35 minutes or so, the work combines beauty of melody and orchestral colour with effective structure in each of the movements, which are themselves sharply contrasted.
The symphony begins with an Allegro, "Impressions and feelings" - one of Raff's most inspired and concise first movements. This is followed by an eerie Allegro scherzo "Ghostly Dance" and leads on to the replacement slow movement Adagio "Elegy" - a piece of subdued melancholy. The Allegro finale depicts the "Hunt of Man" which follows a simple programme easily understood from the music. It was felt by Raff's contemporaries to be a weaker work than the rest of the symphony. - Raff.org
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* Symphony No. 11 "The Winter" (1876/ 54세)
Painting Info - http://wallpaperswide.com/village_in_...
I. Allegretto - The First Snow - 00:00
II. Allegretto - 11:29
III. Larghetto - By the Fireside - 17:25
IV. Allegro - Carnival - 25:55
The Symphony No.11 in a op 214 Der Winter (The Winter) is both the last in a series of symphonies describing the four seasons and the last Symphony undertaken by Raff. Although composition commenced in the spring of 1876, the work remained unfinished at the time of Raff's death six years later. The task of completing the work was assumed by his long time friend and associate, the conductor Max Erdmannsdörfer (1848-1905), who published the score in the year after Raff's death. The symphony was premiered in February 1883 in Wiesbaden under the direction of Louis Lüstner.
It would not be surprising when listening to this symphony if one would be reminded of the characteristics usually associated with Tchaikovsky, Raff's younger contemporary. Some comparison with the Russian's first symphony (op. 13 in g "Winter Dreams") might be made. Although composed some ten years prior to Raff's Winter Symphony, it was not performed until 1886 and it is quite unlikely that Raff had any knowledge of the work. Although not one of Raff's strongest compositions, the work appeared quite frequently on concert programs, in particular in the United States where it was the most performed of the composer's symphonies after the "Forest" and Lenore Symphonies. The Winter Symphony is in the traditional four movements: Allegro (Die erste Schnee/The First Snow ), Allegretto, Larghetto (Am Camin/By the Fireside) and Allegro (Carneval/Carnival).
It is in the usual four movements - "The first snow" Allegro, opens the symphony and is followed by an untitled Allegretto which is a delightful theme and variations on a gavotte. The slow movement Larghetto "By the fireside" is another of Raff's very effective evocations of domestic bliss and the Allegro "Carnival" ends the work in festive style. <자료 출처: 유튜브>