The Symphony in E-flat, Op. 1, is the first published work composed by
Igor Stravinsky during his apprenticeship with
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov
Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...
. It is also his first composition for orchestra. Of classical structure, it is broadly influenced by Rimsky-Korsakov,
Glazunov,
Tchaikovsky and
Wagner.
[ It was composed in 1905–1907 and revised in 1913. It lasts for about forty minutes.
]
History
The score bears the dedication "To my dear teacher N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov". A private performance was given on 27 April 1907 by the St. Petersburg Court Orchestra conducted by H. Wahrlich, in a concert that also included the first performance of ''Faun and Shepherdess''.[ Stravinsky later recalled that both Rimsky-Korsakov and Glazunov considered the orchestration "too heavy".][ The first public performance was conducted by Felix Blumenfeld on 22 January 1908. A revised version was conducted by Ernest Ansermet on 2 April 1914, and the composer conducted this version in his later performances.][
]
Instrumentation
The symphony is scored for 3 flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), 2 oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range.
...
s, 3 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 3 trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standar ...
s, 3 trombone
The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrat ...
s, tuba
The tuba (; ) is the lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in the mid-19th&n ...
, timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditiona ...
, percussion
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...
and strings.[
]
Movements
Allegro moderato
The first movement is in sonata form
Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle of the 18th c ...
.[
]
Scherzo
This movement was sometimes played alone at performances of the Ballets Russes. Stravinsky incorporated into it a Russian folk song similar to one he used in '' Petrushka''.[
]
Largo
The longest movement of the symphony, lasting almost fifteen minutes.
Finale
The finale is a rondo.[ As in the second movement, Stravinsky includes a popular song ("Tchitcher-Yatcher"). He used it again in his ''Trois petites chansons'' of 1913.][
]
Discography
* Stravinsky's recording of this symphony in his collected works on ''Sony Classical'' was recorded by the Columbia Symphony Orchestra
The Columbia Symphony Orchestra was an orchestra formed by Columbia Records strictly for the purpose of making recordings. In the 1950s, it provided a vehicle for some of Columbia's better known conductors and recording artists to record using o ...
in May 1966.[
]
References
Symphonies by Igor Stravinsky
Stravinsky
1907 compositions
Compositions in E-flat major
{{Symphony-stub