Page 26 - Weiss, Jernej, ur. 2018. Nova glasba v “novi” Evropi med obema svetovnima vojnama ?? New Music in the “New” Europe Between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 2
P. 26
nova glasba v »novi« evropi med obema svetovnima vojnama
was not always prompted by the expected dotted-note figuration any more
than maestoso guaranteed dotted notes.
The changeover between the typical Baroque–Classical, often dou-
ble-dotted maestoso and the nineteenth-century maestoso mood, came
with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (1822–4). The first movement begins Al-
legro, ma non troppo, un poco maestoso and sets the model for later nine-
teenth-century orchestral movements where maestoso is not confined to a
slow introduction; instead a solemn, majestical mood permeates the whole
movement.
While Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 2 (“Lobgesang”, 1840) adheres
to the Classical-Baroque model of maestoso introductions to its first two
movements, later orchestral works follow the model of Beethoven’s Ninth
with a maestoso indication that covers entire movements. Here are some
examples:
Brahms: Piano Concerto no. 1 (1859), I: Maestoso
Max Bruch: Symphony no. 1 (1867), I: Allegro maestoso
Max Bruch: Symphony no. 2 (1870), I: Allegro passionato ma un
poco maestoso
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (1880): Allegro, later L’istesso
tempo, un poco maestoso
Bruckner: Symphony no. 6 (1881), I: Majestoso [sic]
Towards the end of the nineteenth century maestoso began to be used
for particularly grandiose effects. A well known example is the final move-
ment of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony (1888), marked Andante maestoso.
This constitutes the slow introduction to the movement, giving way after
almost sixty bars to an Allegro vivace. But near the end of the movement
(bar 472) the opening theme returns now with relentless triplet accompa-
niment, the grandness emphasized by the “molto” in the direction Moder-
ato assai e molto maestoso. Here the weight and grandeur of the maestoso
has an almost theatrical dimension, a trait shared with another famous ex-
ample, the climax of Saint-Saëns’s Third Symphony (1886). To a large sym-
phony orchestra Saint-Saëns added two pianos and an organ. And it is the
organ with a full, held forte chord that initiates the twenty-four-bar section
marked maestoso (16 bars after fig. R). The dramatic impact of this is en-
hanced by its context: it follows a soft, subdued section in constant diminu-
endo and then an orchestral pause.
24
was not always prompted by the expected dotted-note figuration any more
than maestoso guaranteed dotted notes.
The changeover between the typical Baroque–Classical, often dou-
ble-dotted maestoso and the nineteenth-century maestoso mood, came
with Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony (1822–4). The first movement begins Al-
legro, ma non troppo, un poco maestoso and sets the model for later nine-
teenth-century orchestral movements where maestoso is not confined to a
slow introduction; instead a solemn, majestical mood permeates the whole
movement.
While Mendelssohn’s Symphony no. 2 (“Lobgesang”, 1840) adheres
to the Classical-Baroque model of maestoso introductions to its first two
movements, later orchestral works follow the model of Beethoven’s Ninth
with a maestoso indication that covers entire movements. Here are some
examples:
Brahms: Piano Concerto no. 1 (1859), I: Maestoso
Max Bruch: Symphony no. 1 (1867), I: Allegro maestoso
Max Bruch: Symphony no. 2 (1870), I: Allegro passionato ma un
poco maestoso
Brahms: Academic Festival Overture (1880): Allegro, later L’istesso
tempo, un poco maestoso
Bruckner: Symphony no. 6 (1881), I: Majestoso [sic]
Towards the end of the nineteenth century maestoso began to be used
for particularly grandiose effects. A well known example is the final move-
ment of Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony (1888), marked Andante maestoso.
This constitutes the slow introduction to the movement, giving way after
almost sixty bars to an Allegro vivace. But near the end of the movement
(bar 472) the opening theme returns now with relentless triplet accompa-
niment, the grandness emphasized by the “molto” in the direction Moder-
ato assai e molto maestoso. Here the weight and grandeur of the maestoso
has an almost theatrical dimension, a trait shared with another famous ex-
ample, the climax of Saint-Saëns’s Third Symphony (1886). To a large sym-
phony orchestra Saint-Saëns added two pianos and an organ. And it is the
organ with a full, held forte chord that initiates the twenty-four-bar section
marked maestoso (16 bars after fig. R). The dramatic impact of this is en-
hanced by its context: it follows a soft, subdued section in constant diminu-
endo and then an orchestral pause.
24
