48 2014 Program Notes, Book 6
Friday, July 18 and Saturday, July 19, 2014
tonality strain. A prolix development of the main theme leads to a recapitulation of
the earlier material; the ending is abrupt and grave. The
Andante
is nostalgic in feeling
and lyrically rhapsodic in treatment. The finale is built from three themes: the stabbing
motive initiated by the solo piano; a phrase of skipping rhythms first played by the
piano and then taken over by the violins; and a broad melody decorated with triplet
figurations. The movement’s structure blends sonata and rondo forms, and ends with
a bright, G major flourish incorporating all three themes.
SYMPHONY NO. 6 IN F MAJOR, OP. 68,
“PASTORAL” (1807-1808)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770 -1827)
Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 is scored for pairs of woodwinds
plus piccolo, two horns, two trumpets, two trombones, timpani
and strings. The performance time is 39 minutes. The Grant
Park Orchestra first performed the Symphony on July 19, 1937,
with Walter Steindel conducting.
Beethoven gave each of the five movements of his “Pastoral” Symphony a title
describing its general character. The first movement, filled with verdant sweetness and
effusive good humor, is headed
The Awakening of Cheerful Feelings at the Arrival
in the Country
. The violins present a simple theme that pauses briefly after only four
measures, as though the composer were alighting from a coach and taking a deep
breath of the fragrant air before beginning his walk along a shaded path. The melody
grows more vigorous before it quiets to lead almost imperceptibly to the second
theme, a descending motive played by violins above a rustling string accompaniment.
Again, the spirits swell and then relax before the main theme returns to occupy most
of the development. To conclude the first movement, the recapitulation returns the
themes of the exposition in more richly orchestrated settings.
The second movement,
Scene at the Brook
, exudes an air of tranquility amid
pleasing activity. The form is a sonata-allegro whose opening theme starts with a
fragmentary idea in the first violins sounded above a rich accompaniment. The second
subject begins with a descending motion, like that of the first movement, but then turns
back upward to form an inverted arch. A full development section utilizing the main
theme follows. The recapitulation recalls the earlier themes with enriched orchestration
and leads to a most remarkable coda. In the closing pages of this movement, the
rustling accompaniment ceases while all Nature seems to hold its breath to listen to
the songs of three birds — the nightingale, the dove and the cuckoo. Twice this tiny
avian concert is performed before the movement comes quietly to its close. Beethoven
titled the scherzo
Merry Gathering of the Peasants
, and filled the music with a rustic
bumptiousness and simple humor that recall a hearty if somewhat ungainly country
dance. The central trio shifts to duple meter for a stomping dance before the scherzo
returns. The festivity is halted mid-step by the sound of the distant thunder that
portends a
Storm
. As the tempest passes over the horizon, the silvery voice of the
flute leads directly into the finale,
Shepherd’s Song: Joyful, Thankful Feelings after the
Storm
. The clarinet and then the horn sing the unpretentious melody of the shepherd,
which returns, rondo-fashion, to support the form of the movement. The mood of well-
being and contented satisfaction continues to the end of this wonderful work.
©2014 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
