Schumann- Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, op. 97 Part II
We continue our discussion of Schumann’s 3rd Symphony with the gorgeous and lyric movement II.
- Lebhaft
- Sehr massig
- Nicht schnell
- Feierlich
- Lebhaft
II. Scherzo- Sehr massig
The scherzo begins with a broad, rolling melody in the low strings in triple meter. It is a Landler- a German country dance. The second phrase at 0:20 features winds above quiet strings.
At 0:58, quickly rising scales first in the low strings, then in the high strings, and finally all over the orchestra begin the next section. After a brief flute flourish, the scales are inverted and descend in the same manner (1:15). Over this busy background, the first phrase of theme one rings out in the brass at 1:22 and again at 1:39.
At 1:48 the trio begins, featuring hushed brass and winds over the rising scales in the strings and soft timpani. The trio theme is built off of a 3-note descent followed by a jump (from now on I’ll refer to it as the trio motive). Heard first in the horns and trumpets, the oboe responds (1:56) and the phrase ends with the flutes. The phrase is repeated (2:05) after which a new phrase begins built off of the oboe figure heard in the first two phrases. This is repeated by the flutes and finished with an ascending scale.
Theme one returns at 2:58, this time decorated with the trio motive in the strings. Trio motives alternate with wind and brass lines beginning at 3:15 as the music takes on a decidedly heavy and tragic character with surging brass and darkly rolling timpani in the distance. At 3:51 the wind and brass begin play one last tragic statement and we begin to hear the quickly rising scales in the low strings, before the music switches back to major key and theme one at 4:07.
Theme one is repeated as heard originally, but at 4:54 the flutes play a remarkably pastoral and calm passage over quiet theme one motives in the strings, which is soon overtaken by upward-sequencing theme one motives in the brass. Theme one motives almost careen around the orchestra and it becomes hard to keep track of rhythm and meter around 5:22 as the rabble is finally corralled by a massive descending brass arpeggio (5:30), answered by an ascending line in the winds and strings. Another brass arpeggio and string response precedes a herald-like figure from the trumpets (5:42), which does not announce an even grander rendition of theme one but a quiet, innocent version from the winds and strings. Trumpet heralds are heard quietly several more times before theme one in the cellos (5:53) descends and brings the movement to a quiet end, complete with a little “wink” at the end of two pizzicato notes in the cello.
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If you are interested in listening to a recording, I recommend Leonard Bernstein’s 1997 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic on Deutsche Grammophone. You can buy this recording from Amazon by clicking on the image below. Alternatively, you can purchase this recording from the iTunes Music Store often at a reduced price by following the link below.
This article is part of the Music 365 series. To find out more about this project, please visit the project homepage.
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