Musical Analysis: Bernstein on Schumann, Symphony No. 2, Op. 61 - I. "Robert Schumann Has Been Dead..." (3rd Movement, Opening Theme)

Текст песни Leonard Bernstein - Musical Analysis: Bernstein on Schumann, Symphony No. 2, Op. 61 - I. "Robert Schumann Has Been Dead..." (3rd Movement, Opening Theme)

Robert Schumann has been dead a full century, and still today he
Remains a focus of controversy. People find themselves full of
Opinions about the worth of his music, about whether he deserves to
Rank in the great succession that followed Beethoven, about the
Relation between his romanticism and his ultimate insanity, about his
Legendary inability to orchestrate well, about his incompetence to
Deal with the symphonic form, and so on and on. Schumann is one of
Those special tastes that can send casual shipboard acquaintances
Rushing into each other's arms, or can make enemies of otherwise

Loving friends. But nobody will deny Schumann's great gifts: the
Inspired lyricism that soars out of his best works, the uncanny
Stream of newnesses that succeed each other in such profusion, the
Warmth, the singing tides, the rhythmic ingenuities, and the daring
Experimentalism. Still, one criticism remains that is shared by so
Many critics and musicians and simple music lovers that it should be

Looked into with some care, and that is the charge that Schumann was
A bad orchestrator. This charge is so widely held to be true that I
Hesitate to be so bold as to re-examine it. Yet, perhaps by looking
At the music and listening, we may see that the charge is greatly
Exaggerated, and at the same time we may learn something of what good
Orchestration really means. Well, first let's decide what

Orchestration means. It is simply the setting of music for orchestra

The mating of notes with their most suitable instrumental colours
In other words, it is an orchestral synonym for instrumentation
Well, what is instrumentation? If you are writing a piece for a
Sextet, let's say, consisting of piano, clarinet, two violins
A viola, and a cello, then you must decide which notes go to what
Instrument, who will play the melodies, and who the accompaniments
And the counterpoints, how these instruments are going to blend
Together, whether the clarinet or the viola would be the better
Choice for a particular tune, whether the cello should accompany
Pizzicato or bowed, how to keep the piano from drowning out the

Strings - all that is instrumentation. On a larger scale, it becomes
Orchestration: the solution of those same problems, but in terms of
A symphony orchestra, which can involve a hundred odd men and
Infinite variety. This would naturally seem to be a harder job
There are more balances to make, more choices requiring a greater
Capacity to juggle all these possible sounds. And yet, in some ways
It's easier. It's actually hard not to write well for orchestra
Since the very bigness of the sounding body can cover up a multitude

Of sins. What, then, do we mean by a good orchestrator? We mean one

Who uses the orchestra for the most intense and direct expression of

His musical thought. Much, of course, depends on the value of his

Musical thought to begin with. We always say that Berlioz was a great

Orchestrator, and we say the same of Rimsky-Korsakov, but if we are
Speaking of those works of theirs which are not intrinsically
Of much musical worth, then we cannot mean what we say. For if
The music is not first-class, no amount of brilliant or beautiful
Orchestration can save it or have any meaning of its own. It
Is then only fancy hack-work. By this definition, therefore
Beethoven was a great orchestrator, even though he's usually
Not singled out for this special gift. But he was, because he
Used the powers of orchestral combinations to tell his music
More clearly, and for no other separate or superficial purpose