Joachim Raff - Symphony No. 9 "In Summer" (1878)

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• published: 20 Jul 2013
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Painting Info - "Black Hole Rising" by Gate-To-Nowhere on deviantart. I. A Hot Day - 00:00 II. The Hunt of the Elves - 12:20 III. Larghetto - Eklogue - 22:47 IV. The Harvest Wreath - 29:27 From the outset Raff's Symphony No.9 in E minor Im Sommer (In Summer) op.208 was well received. A critic wrote after the Wiesbaden premiere: "If Raff hadn't already laid the basis for his fame and reputation in his other symphonies, then this work would certainly add much to it". The renowned conductor Benjamin Bilse (1816-1902), who conducted its first Berlin performance on 10 January 1880 declared it a work of genius. He wrote to Raff: "Your symphony has stirred up the entire music world of Berlin and brought my orchestra the greatest pleasure". After the lukewarm receptions of its three predecessors, Raff restored his symphonic reputation with his Summer Symphony. This third part of the cycle of four works celebrating the seasons was composed in Frankfurt during the summer and autumn of 1878. It was premiered at Wiesbaden's Kurhaus on 28 May 1879 by the city's orchestra under the baton of Raff's friend Louis Lüstner (1840 - 1918), and received a second airing there only two days later. The piece made a strong impression on one reviewer: "A beautiful and most interesting work. The first movement combines the energetic main theme with the most charming detail in the contrasting sections and the development, for example, where, directly after the exposition (page 19) the tympani softly outlines the main theme while above, three flutes softly play the extended series of chords which introduce the symphony with the effect of a soft breath of wind. The second movement, "The Hunt of the Elves", is of the richest poetry. Orchestration, which is as sensual as it is poetic, envelopes the magical and fanciful atmosphere. No. 3 begins with a quietly maintained idyll, which knows how to wed the language of pastoral majesty to the sounds of charm and gentleness. Directly following this pastoral poem (Ekloge) comes "The Harvest Wreath", which begins with a festive procession or march, and then, with broad development, passes by in a portrait filled with life and joy." Raff's friend Hans von Bülow, perhaps the greatest conductor in Germany at the time, judged it to be amongst the finest of his compositions, ranking it alongside the Im Walde and Lenore symphonies. Just as he had with them, Raff grouped Im Sommer's four movements into three parts. The third and fourth movements comprise Part III, but why Raff made this distinction is unclear. Unlike the earlier works, there is no overarching title for the third part and no discernable descriptive or musical link between them. Apart from the second movement, Raff provides no detailed programme for the symphony's movements beyond their titles. The Midsummer Night's Dream scherzo itself does have quite a detailed programme and in many ways is a worthy precursor to the Four Shakespeare Preludes which Raff penned the following year. The Symphony No.9 was was published by Siegel of Leipzig in November 1879. As was his usual practice, Raff made a piano 4 hands reduction of the score, which was published at the same time. The first movement Allegro "A hot day" is a joyful evocation of summer which despite its free-flowing nature features fugal writing - it is one of Raff's most successful symphonic movements. The second movement forms the symphony's second part - an Allegro "The hunt of the Elves". For this spirited movement Raff followed a detailed programme centred on Oberon & Titania from Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream". The final part of the symphony comprises the last two movements : a Larghetto "Eckloge" and an Allegro "To the harvest wreath", which depict firstly a pastoral idyll followed by a joyous celebration of the harvest.