Overture, Scherzo and Finale

The Overture, Scherzo and Finale (German: Ouverture, Scherzo und Finale) in E major is a work for symphony orchestra by Robert Schumann. It is his opus 52, and was written in 1841. Schumann originally considered it his second symphony.^[1] The Overture, Scherzo and Finale was received tepidly by critics,^[1] was revised in 1845^[2] and published the next year,^[2] with a dedication to Johannes Verhulst.

Structure[]

The work is in three movements:

Overture. (Andante con moto in E minor^[2] – Allegro in E major and time^[3]) (sketched and completed in April 1841)^[1]
Scherzo. Vivo, in ⁶
₈ time and in C♯ minor,^[4] whose theme is based on that of the overture.^[1] It has a trio section in D♭ major, in contrasting ²
₄ time^[5] whose material reappears as the coda of the movement.^[6]
Finale. Allegro molto vivace^[2] (orchestrated around May 1841)^[1]

Recordings[]

Wolfgang Sawallisch conducting the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden
Herbert von Karajan conducting the Berliner Philharmoniker
Sir Georg Solti conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker
Franz Konwitschny conducting the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Carl Schuricht conducting the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire
Lawrance Collingwood conducting the London Symphony Orchestra, 1953^[7]

References[]

^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Daverio, John (1997). Robert Schumann: Herald of a "new Poetic Age" at Google Books. Oxford University Press U.S. Pages 235-6. ISBN 0-19-509180-9.
^ Jump up to: ^a ^b ^c ^d Ferguson, Donald N. (1968). Masterworks of the Orchestral Repertoire: A Guide for Listeners at Google Books. U. of Minnesota Press. Page 518. ISBN 0-8166-0467-3.
^ See score, bar 18 - pages 2-3 of the piano 4-hands arrangement.
^ Pages 16-7 of the piano 4-hands arrangement, for example.
^ starting middle of bar 55, to bar 71 - pages 18-9 of the piano 4-hands arrangement.
^ starting at bar 137 - pages 24-5 of the piano 4-hands arrangement.
^ Discographical data from 'Collingwood' search in The CHARM Discography, Centre for the History and Analysis of Recorded Music, <http://www.charm.kcl.ac.uk/about/about_structure Archived 2013-12-02 at the Wayback Machine>, accessed 12 January 2015.