LISZT: Les prludes Franz Liszt is perhaps the most contradictory character in all of classical music.

He was deeply devoted to his faith, even taking minor orders into priesthood. At home, his writing desk was surrounded with framed photos of his favourite saints. Liszt always kept his ivory 18th century crucix nearby, which sat by his bedside at his death in Bayreuth. Today in Budapest, a plaque marks the very spot in the front right-hand pew of a medieval chapel where Liszt prayed every day. Its all quite the contrast with the wild antics and complete hysteria of a Liszt piano recital. Long before Beatlemania, there was this: Lisztomania. Liszt, the dandy virtuoso, would bang away at his own showy arrangements, leaving behind a mineeld of broken piano parts. Women would rush the stage and ght over broken piano strings or, if they were lucky, a lock of Liszts own hair. Even a cigar butt of Liszts was coveted. Legends of love affairs and illegitimate children run deep (I know his mother only by correspondence, explained Liszt, and one cannot arrange that sort of thing by correspondence.) With time, this dynamic mixture of priest and circus rider became a great innovator in the musical world. In his own words, Liszt set out to thrust a javelin into the indenite space of the future. Among Liszts most signicant innovations is the symphonic poem. It is a single movement orchestral piece meant to express some non-musical romantic image or idea: life, love, death and so on. In the case of Les prludes, Liszt reimagines some previously-written material after discovering a moving poem by French poet Alphonse de Lamartine on the theme of love and war. Instead of publishing the original text in the score, Liszt published his own interpretation of the poem: What else is life but a series of preludes to that unknown hymn, the rst and solemn note of which is intoned by death? The music is presented in three sections. In the rst, we hear the main theme for the rst time in the cello and violin section. The second section brings turbulence followed by a pastoral section before contrasting with the bombastic and heroic nale section. After all, what other than contrast should we expect in music by Franz Liszt when the theme is love? SCHUMANN: Symphony No. 1 Spring Try, if you can, to imagine those initial feelings of joy and relief upon the arrival of spring. This is the story of Robert Schumanns First Symphony. But before this symphony blossoms, we must rst relive the winter(s) of poor Schumanns discontent.

Its a nearly Shakespearean tale of forbidden love. Clara was the talented prodigydaughter of Schumanns piano teacher. She was nearly a decade younger than Robert, but her skill and musicianship didnt fail to catch his eye. As Roberts pianistic ability began to suffer, so too did his chances with Clara. When Robert asked Claras father for her hand in marriage, he refused. Why would the distinguished teacher allow his dear talented daughter to marry another wannabe composer and performer? It took years of smuggled letters, secret meetings and a lengthy court proceeding, but the two nally wed on the eve of Claras 21st birthday. The marriage was the best thing that ever happened to Roberts creativity. His output surged and he composed piano music, chamber music and songs faster than ever before. Clara had but one wish. For years she had been encouraging her husband to write a symphony. His compositions are all orchestral in feeling, she wrote in her diary, my highest wish is that he should compose for orchestrathat is his eld! May I succeed in bringing him to it! She did. Schumanns First Symphony was born quickly just a few years after their marriage. It was sketched over a period of less than a week, in that rush of spring which carries a man away even in his old age. And so, with the opening trumpet call, spring is summoned in the opening of this symphony. As it unfolds, the world turns to green in front of our very ears. The dreamlike second movement, originally titled Evening by Schumann, is gentle and lyrical. The melody begins in the violins, is expanded upon by the cellos, then is continued in the horns and oboes. The music is transformed abruptly into a brisk scherzo, initiated, if not provoked, by a brief trombone chorale. The nal movement is the farewell to spring, bringing with it the exuberance and optimism of the promise of summer. -- Michael Morreale, 2013