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Lesson 3: Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish"- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 1)
- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 2)
- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 3)
- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 4)
- Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 5)
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Robert Schumann: Symphony No. 3, "Rhenish". Analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 3)
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- How long are movements in a piece? Do the movements stand out on their own or are they a whole of the concert?(3 votes)
- @Aerodil @malrdravetspydrav there are actually REALLY long symphonies, where the movements are either really long, such as 45-50 minutes, or lots of smaller sections. Mahler's are over an hour a piece, and other works, like Bach's b minor mass (2 hours) or Wagner's Ring Cycle (15 hours) are ridiculously long. Mahler's third is 90-105 minutes long, each movement clocking in around 30-40 minutes, like Beethoven's 9th. Brian's Gothic Symphony is 1.75 hours but each movement is only about 12-15 minutes, but there are EIGHT.(3 votes)
- That Nicht Schnell or whatever that tempo is at the beginning, does that mean night song(quiet and slow)?(2 votes)
- Why does the transcript not read in English?(2 votes)
- I'm not sure, but it may be that because when they inputted a language, they may have accidentally translated it to another language. The language that's in the subtitles looks like Dutch.(1 vote)
- At, he mentions the movement of the piece, stating that the piece isn't similar to the Brook movement, of the Beethoven 6th. He says that you can barely hear the notes that the violas are playing in the background. They give a sense of "forward motion". How can any other instruments give this feeling? 0:20(2 votes)
Video transcript
- The third movement is a
gorgeous, slow movement. It's a song. It's lyrical. It's beautiful. It's so typical of Schumann's ability to write an absolutely gorgeous melody. It's played by the clarinets and bassoons. It's accompanied by the violas. And even though the music is
slow, it keeps it flowing, not dissimilar from the Brook movement of the Beethoven 6th. So you have, you don't even notice that the violas are
playing these little notes. But it gives a feeling of forward motion, even though it's a very
beautiful, soft song that the clarinets and bassoons sing. (graceful orchestral music) When this beautiful theme comes to an end, there's this passage of rising
four notes in the violins, which is kind of a response to that. (graceful orchestral music) And eventually, Schumann
combines that four-note passage with the melody of the clarinets. (graceful orchestral music) There is a second theme
group, which is, again, like a little chorale. This time the chorale is
played by bassoons and violas. We still have that undulating passage. This time the cellos do it. First the solo cello, and
later the whole cello section. (lush orchestral music) We repeat the same material
of those four ascending notes in the violin. And we bring the clarinet
theme back in again. And the chorale theme comes back in. I mean, it's very
economical, in the sense that there are basically three ideas. But the way he develops those ideas is absolutely genius and glorious. (languid orchestral music)