ABSTRACT
The first part of Chapter 4 examines Hector Berlioz’s revolutionary invention of the “dramatic symphony” along with his innovative use of new instruments and new ways of playing common instruments. This chapter focuses on the use of narrative forms, literary and autobiographical programs, and coloristic devices in the 19th-century symphony.
Part two of Chapter 4 concerns the question of the balance of tradition and Romantic innovation in the symphonies of Mendelssohn. Most of the chapter is devoted to an analysis of the Fourth Symphony (“Scottish”) in connection to its unusual cyclical form.
Part three of Chapter 4 tries to answer the question of whether Schumann was a traditional or avant-garde composer of symphonies. Elements of programmatic content and innovative form in some of his symphonies are weighed against his mostly traditional approach to orchestration and symphonic structure as a whole.
Part four of Chapter 4 tackles the question of whether Brahms was the most Classical of the Romantic symphonists. His relationship to Schumann and Beethoven are mentioned as important elements in the formation of his compositional style. In particular, the similarities between Brahms’s First Symphony and Beethoven’s Ninth are examined for their significance in the development of the purely instrumental symphony in the second half of the 19th century. Schoenberg’s concept of “developing variation technique” is discussed in connection with the more modern aspects of Brahms’s style.
The final part of Chapter 4 deals with Franz Liszt and his invention of the tone poem as an alternative symphonic genre. An analysis of Les Preludes shows that Liszt adopted the “macro” sonata form first introduced by Schumann in his Fourth Symphony. This chapter also includes a discussion of the “music of the future” (Zukunftsmusik) and the style and techniques associated with that term.
