Ensemble Dimanche

◆Do you like Schumann's symphonies?　~Symphony No. 1 "Spring
It should not be forgotten that Schumann's symphonies have influenced composers of later generations. In the second movement of this piece and in the middle of the first movement of "Rhein", there is a motif peculiar to Schumann, "do-so-mi-redo" in the scale, and Brahms used it for the theme of the 3rd Symphony. Brahms used this motif in the theme of the 3rd Symphony. Schumann's favorite rhythm, "turn-ta-ta-ta," which is the theme of this and his Fourth Symphony, is also used as the theme of the fourth movement of Borodin's First Symphony, which is said to have been influenced by Schumann. Furthermore, the five-movement form of Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 3 "Polish," and especially the structure of the second and third movements (a slow movement with a relaxed German-style dance), seem to have been influenced by the "Rhine. Thus, many composers of later generations have been influenced by Schumann's symphonies, and their influence is surprisingly large.

The year before the completion of this piece, Schumann was at the peak of his life, having overcome difficulties and married Clara. The first draft of this piece was entitled "Spring," and each movement had its own springtime title, but Schumann removed them upon publication. The reason for this is said to be that he did not want the audience to listen to this piece with "preconceived notions of what the title music should sound like. This time, I have given it this title because I want the audience to listen to it with the "preconceived notion" that it is a symphony expressing the spring in one's life.

Do you like Mozart's symphony in minor?　～Symphony No. 25 in G minor
There are only two minor symphonies by Mozart. They are this piece and the famous No. 40, both in G minor. It must have been quite difficult to write a dark minor-key piece in an age when court music was the mainstay of music.

The reason why this piece is not often performed by amateur orchestras in spite of its fame is not only because of its difficulty but also because of its unusual composition of wind and percussion instruments: oboe, bassoon (partially), and four horns. This instrumentation and the four-movement structure in G minor may have been inspired by Haydn's Symphony No. 39, written a few years earlier, and the theme of the first movement, which begins with a syncopation, may have been inspired by the first movement of Symphony No. 26 in D minor. Note that recent research has led to the theory that Haydn's No. 39 was written at the same time as No. 26 (around 1768).