The composer is the creator of the symphonic poem genre. Program symphonism in the works of Franz Liszt. Symphonic poem “Preludes. Russian Symphony School

(literature and painting, less often - philosophy or history; paintings of nature). A symphonic poem is characterized by free development musical material, combining various principles of formation, most often sonata and monothematism with cyclicity and variability.

The emergence of the symphonic poem as a genre is associated primarily with the name of Franz Liszt, who created 12 works of this form in the years. Some researchers, however, point to the work of Cesar Franck related to the city “What is heard on the mountain” (fr. Ce qu"on entend sur la montagne ), based on a poem by Victor Hugo and preceding Liszt's composition on the same basis; Frank's poem, however, remained unfinished and unpublished, and again the composer turned to this genre much later. Felix Mendelssohn is cited as Liszt's immediate predecessor, primarily his Hebrides Overture (-).

After Liszt, many other composers worked in this genre - M. A. Balakirev, H. von Bülow, J. Gershwin, A. K. Glazunov, A. Dvorak, V. S. Kalinnikov, M. Karlovich, S. M. Lyapunov , S. S. Prokofiev, S. V. Rachmaninov, A. G. Rubinstein, C. Saint-Saëns, J. Sibelius, A. N. Scriabin, B. Smetana, J. Suk, Z. Fibich, S. Frank , P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. K. Ciurlionis, A. Schoenberg, E. Chausson, D. D. Shostakovich, R. Strauss, J. Enescu and others.

Other genres were also influenced in their development by the symphonic poem - symphony, concerto, poem, sonata.

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Excerpt characterizing the symphonic poem

By ten o'clock twenty people had already been carried away from the battery; two guns were broken, shells hit the battery more and more often, and long-range bullets flew in, buzzing and whistling. But the people who were at the battery did not seem to notice this; Cheerful talk and jokes were heard from all sides.
- Chinenka! - the soldier shouted at the approaching grenade flying with a whistle. - Not here! To the infantry! – another added with laughter, noticing that the grenade flew over and hit the covering ranks.
- What, friend? - another soldier laughed at the man who crouched under the flying cannonball.
Several soldiers gathered at the rampart, looking at what was happening ahead.
“And they took off the chain, you see, they went back,” they said, pointing across the shaft.
“Mind your job,” the old non-commissioned officer shouted at them. “We’ve gone back, so it’s time to go back.” - And the non-commissioned officer, taking one of the soldiers by the shoulder, pushed him with his knee. There was laughter.
- Roll towards the fifth gun! - they shouted from one side.
“At once, more amicably, in the burlatsky style,” the cheerful cries of those changing the gun were heard.
“Oh, I almost knocked off our master’s hat,” the red-faced joker laughed at Pierre, showing his teeth. “Eh, clumsy,” he added reproachfully to the cannonball that hit the wheel and the man’s leg.
- Come on, you foxes! - another laughed at the bending militiamen entering the battery behind the wounded man.
- Isn’t the porridge tasty? Oh, the crows, they slaughtered! - they shouted at the militia, who hesitated in front of the soldier with a severed leg.
“Something else, kid,” they mimicked the men. – They don’t like passion.
Pierre noticed how after each cannonball that hit, after each loss, the general revival flared up more and more.
As if from a moving storm cloud, more often and more often, brighter and brighter, the lightning of a hidden, flaring fire flashed on the faces of all these people (as if in rebuff to what was happening).
Pierre did not look forward to the battlefield and was not interested in knowing what was happening there: he was completely absorbed in the contemplation of this increasingly flaring fire, which in the same way (he felt) was flaring up in his soul.
At ten o'clock the infantry soldiers who were in front of the battery in the bushes and along the Kamenka River retreated. From the battery it was visible how they ran back past it, carrying the wounded on their guns. Some general with his retinue entered the mound and, after talking with the colonel, looked angrily at Pierre, went down again, ordering the infantry cover stationed behind the battery to lie down so as to be less exposed to shots. Following this, a drum and command shouts were heard in the ranks of the infantry, to the right of the battery, and from the battery it was visible how the ranks of the infantry moved forward.
Pierre looked through the shaft. One face in particular caught his eye. It was an officer who, with a pale young face, walked backwards, carrying a lowered sword, and looked around uneasily.
The rows of infantry soldiers disappeared into the smoke, and their prolonged screams and frequent gunfire could be heard. A few minutes later, crowds of wounded and stretchers passed from there. Shells began to hit the battery even more often. Several people lay uncleaned. The soldiers moved more busily and more animatedly around the guns. Nobody paid attention to Pierre anymore. Once or twice they shouted at him angrily for being on the road. The senior officer, with a frowning face, moved with large, fast steps from one gun to another. The young officer, flushed even more, commanded the soldiers even more diligently. The soldiers fired, turned, loaded, and did their job with tense panache. They bounced as they walked, as if on springs.

Liszt is an innovator and creator of the symphonic poem genre.

A symphonic poem is a program orchestral composition - a genre that became widespread in the era of romanticism and includes features of a program symphony and a concert overture. This genre fully developed in the work of F. Liszt, who introduced this name. He first gave it in the 1854 Tasso Overture. After that, he began to call all his one-movement program symphonic works symphonic poems. The name itself indicates the connection between music and poetry. Another important type of program music is the program symphony.

Liszt wrote 13 symphonic poems, the most famous being Preludes (1848), Tasso, Orpheus (1854), Battle of the Huns (1857), Ideals (1867), Hamlet (1858). His poems combine various structures and features of various instrumental genres.

Monothematism (from mono... and theme), the principle of constructing a musical work associated with the unification of a sonata-symphonic cycle or one-part forms derived from it with one theme. An early example of Monothematism - Beethoven's 5th Symphony, opening theme which in a transformed form is carried through all parts. Monothematism reached its highest development in the era musical romanticism, in software musical works G. Berlioz and F. Liszt. In the symphonic poems of F. Liszt it is used new type forms that combine the features of sonata allegro and sonata-symphonic cycle; the integrity of the works is ensured by the use of one theme, which undergoes figurative transformations and takes on a different appearance, corresponding to different stages of plot development.

F. Liszt “Preludes” - symphonic poem in C major (1854)

The poem was conceived as an overture to four male choirs based on Autrand's poems "The Four Elements" ("Earth", "Winds", "Waves", "Stars"). The first version was completed in 1848. By 1854 it was revised as an independent work with an epigraph from Lamartine. Liszt's poem is much brighter and more imaginative than its program. "Preludes" is one of Liszt's best symphonic works. The composer went down in music history as the creator of a new romantic genre - the “symphonic poem,” a one-movement symphonic work of free form.

Liszt is considered a seminal figure in the history of music. As a composer and transcriptionist, he created more than 1,300 works. In his compositional activities, Liszt gave the palm to the solo piano. Perhaps Liszt's most popular work is Dreams of Love, and among his extensive list of other works for piano are 19 Hungarian Rhapsodies, a cycle of 12 Transcendental Etudes and three cycles of short pieces called The Years of Wandering. Liszt also wrote more than 60 songs and romances for voice and piano and several organ works, including a fantasy and a fugue on the theme BACH.

Most of the composer's piano heritage is transcriptions and paraphrases of music by other authors. Liszt's transcriptions include piano transcriptions of Beethoven's symphonies and fragments from works by Bach, Bellini, Berlioz, Wagner, Verdi, Glinka, Gounod, Meyerbeer, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Paganini, Rossini, Saint-Saëns, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann and others.

Liszt became the creator of the genre of one-movement semi-programmed symphonic form, which he called the symphonic poem. This genre was intended to express extra-musical ideas or retell musical means works of literature and fine arts. The unity of the composition was achieved by introducing leitmotifs or leitthemes running through the entire poem. Among Liszt's orchestral works (or plays with an orchestra), the most interesting are the symphonic poems, especially the Preludes (1854), Orpheus (1854) and Ideals (1857).

For different compositions with the participation of soloists, choir and orchestra, Liszt composed several masses, psalms and the oratorio The Legend of Saint Elizabeth (1861). In addition, we can mention the Faust Symphony with a choral finale (1857) and the Symphony to Dante's Divine Comedy with a female choir at the end (1867): both works rely heavily on the principles of symphonic poems. Liszt's piano concertos are still performed today: A major (1839, editions 1849, 1853,1857, 1861) E-flat major (1849, editions 1853, 1856). Liszt's only opera, the one-act Don Sancho, was written by a 14-year-old composer and staged at the same time (it ran for five performances). Opera score, for a long time thought to be lost, was discovered in 1903.

The chromatisms used by Liszt not only enriched the romantic style of the last century, but also, more importantly, anticipated the crisis of traditional tonality in the 20th century. Liszt was a supporter of the idea of a synthesis of all arts as the highest form of artistic expression.

In the 30–40s of the 19th century, new musical genres: * one-part program symphonic poem, * transcriptions, paraphrases, rhapsodies, for piano. The creator of these genres is the composer Franz Liszt (1811 – 1886). Founder of the Hungarian professional classical music. Liszt was: a composer, an outstanding pianist, together with Chopin - best pianist Europe. Liszt, like Chopin, seriously enriched the technique of piano playing. To develop piano technique, he created the series “Etudes of Higher Performance Skills.” For most of his life he gave solo concerts in different countries Europe. Conductor, propagandist symphonic music different styles and eras. Sheet music critic, musicologist, published a series of articles on composers, mainly about the Romantics. Teacher at the Weimar and Geneva Conservatories, he welcomed young composers, popularizing the music of the “Mighty Handful”. One-movement program symphonic poem - creator Liszt. In this genre, Liszt compressed the characteristics of a symphony into one. Each poem is written according to a specific literary work: “Hamlet”, “Tasso”, “Prometheus”, “Ideals”, “Orpheus”, “What is heard on the mountain?”, “Preludes”, “Hungary”, Mazepa - the main thing is the transmission of the general idea.

“Preludes” - poems by Lamartine, life is a prelude to death. Sonata form, on display main party the image of a person is presented, in the side - the theme of love, in the development - a scene of nature, in the reprise - a march to overcome all life's troubles, + the solemn GP and PP, with first the PP, then the GP - a mirror reprise.

Innovation: 1) overture - introduction - 3 notes, the impression is as if an instrument is being tuned, and from this the theme of man and love is born. Birth different topics melodies from the 1st and the same intonation are called monothematism. The genres of paraphrase and transcription are not new; they were found in Baroque music in the works of I.S. Bach. Transcription– a new interpretation of the created music, by a different author, a piano version of orchestral concerts, preserving the sounds of the original. Leaf does the same. A genre arose in Baroque (Bach shifted from concert to home - “Arrangements”). Paraphrase– + element of one’s own. Liszt takes his favorite pieces from operas => transferring pieces of opera to the piano, + introduced elements of development (copied the quartet and varied Schubert’s Serenade). Rhapsody - rapsod - folk traveling musician, folk motifs are used. Free imagination for the people. Given Liszt's powerful orchestral style, his rhapsodies were arranged for symphony orchestra.

19. Romantic instrumental miniatures.

(see Schumann)

20. Romantic vocal miniatures.

(see Schubert)

21. Musical heroes of F. Schubert’s ballad “The Tsar of the Forest”.

See Schubert

22. “Preludes” by F. Liszt – features of the genre.

Liszt went down in the history of symphonic music as the creator of a new genre - the one-movement symphonic poem. Its name evokes instant associations with the atmosphere of poetry and clearly reflects the connection between music and literature that underlay Liszt’s aesthetics (as is known, Liszt was one of the most staunch supporters program creativity and synthesis various arts).

Since a symphonic poem embodies specific program content, sometimes very complex, its formation lacks the stability that is inherent in its older relatives - the symphony and overture. Most of Liszt's symphonic poems are based on the free or mixed form that was very common in the era of romanticism. This is the name for forms that combine the essential features of two or more classical forms. The unifying factor, as a rule, is the principle of monothematism (the creation of brightly contrasting images based on the same theme or motif).

12 of Liszt's 13 symphonic poems date back to the heyday of his work - the so-called. Weimar period (1848-1861) , when the composer was the director and conductor of the Weimar court theater. Both Liszt's symphonies - "Faust" and "Dante" - were created at the same time. The composer turned to a cyclic form in them. The “Dante” symphony has two movements (“Hell” and “Purgatory”), the “Faust” symphony has three movements (“Faust”, “Margarita”, “Mephistopheles”. However, its parts in their structure are close to symphonic poems).

The range of images embodied in Liszt's symphonic poems is very wide. Presented here world literature all centuries from ancient myths to the work of modern romantics. But among the motley variety of subjects, a philosophical problematic very specific to Liszt clearly stands out:

problem of meaning human life- “Preludes”, “Hamlet”, “Prometheus”, “Lament for Heroes”;
the fate of the artist and the purpose of art - “Tasso”, “Orpheus”, “Mazeppa”;
the fate of peoples and all humanity - “Hungary”, “Battle of the Huns”, “What is heard on the mountain”.

The two most widely known of Liszt's poems are: "Tasso" (where the composer turned to the personality of the remarkable Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso) and "Preludes".

"Preludes" is Liszt's third symphonic poem. Its name and program were borrowed by the composer from the poem of the same name by the French poet Lamartine(under the impression of Lamartine’s poetry, the composer also created the piano cycle “Poetic and Religious Harmonies”). However, Liszt significantly departed from the main idea of the poem, which was dedicated to thinking about the frailty of human existence. He created music full of heroic, life-affirming pathos.

Musical composition"Preludes" is based on freely interpreted principles of sonata allegro with monothematic connections between the most important themes. In the most general terms, the form can be defined as sonata-concentric(sonata allegro with an introduction, an episode in progress and a mirror reprise of a dynamized nature).

The beginning of the poem is very typical for Liszt, who usually refuses solemn introductions and begins many works quietly, as if secretly. In “Preludes”, the abrupt, quiet sounds of the first bars give the impression of mystery and enigma. Then the typically romantic motive of the question arises - do-si-mi (m.2 down - part 4 up), expressing the “key” initial phrase of the program: “Isn’t our life a series of preludes to an unknown hymn, the first solemn note of which will be taken by death?”), that is, the question about the meaning of life. This motive plays the role of a thematic core for all subsequent music of the composition.

Growing from the motive of the question, but acquiring the certainty of self-affirmation, heroic main topic (C major) sounds powerful and solemn with trombones, bassoons and low strings. The connecting and secondary themes clearly contrast with the main one, painting the image of the hero from another side dream of happiness and love. In this case, the binder is a “lyricized” version main topic, presented by cellos in a very melodious manner. Subsequently, it acquires a cross-cutting meaning in the poem, appearing on the edges of important sections and, in turn, undergoing variant transformations.

Side (E-dur), according to the program plan, is the theme of love. Its connection with the main motive is more indirect. With the main theme, the secondary theme appears in a colorful, “romantic” third relationship. The secondary sound of the horns, doubled by divizi violas, gives a special warmth and sincerity.

The love idyll of a side game in development gives way to storms of life, battle scenes and, finally, a large episode of a pastoral nature: the “hero” seeks repose in the bosom of nature from the worries of life (one of the most typical ideological and plot motifs romantic art). In all these sections there are transformations of the main motive. IN storm episode (first section of development) it becomes more unstable due to the appearance of mind in it.4. All harmony, based primarily on diminished seventh chords and their parallel movements along the tones of the chromatic scale, also becomes unstable. All this evokes associations with violent gusts of wind. The storm episode, reminiscent of a sonata development in many ways, is distinguished by its vivid picturesque imagery. It continues the long tradition of “musical thunderstorms” (Vivaldi, Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini) and has a clear resemblance to the stormy, dramatic scherzo of the symphonic cycle.

The next section is pastoral - resembles a slow part. Its theme, alternately performed by various wind instruments, is entirely new (it is an “episode” in development). However, even here, in the transparent sound of pastoral tunes, the “intonation of a question” flashes, as if even in the lap of nature the hero cannot rid himself of his doubts. Later, after echoes of the connecting theme, a secondary theme is included in the development, very naturally continuing the music of the lyrical episode. Here the mirror reprise of the poem formally begins, but the key is new - As-dur.

The subsequent development of the side theme is aimed at its glorification: it becomes more and more active, energetic and in dynamic reprise turns into a victory march in a dotted rhythm. This march-like version of the side theme is again preceded by a connecting theme, which also loses its dreamy character and turns into a jubilant appeal. The heroization of lyrical images logically leads to the peak of the entire work - the powerful implementation of the main theme, which becomes the heroic apotheosis of the poem.

Symphonic poem(German symphonische Dichtung, French poeme symphonique, English symphonic poem, Italian poema sinfonica) - one-part program symphony. work. The genre of S. p. was completely formed in the work of F. Liszt. The name itself comes from him. "S. p." Liszt first gave it in 1854 with his overture “Tasso” written back in 1849, after which it became called. S. p. all their one-movement program symphonies. essays. Name "S.p." indicates a connection in this kind of production. music and poetry - both in the sense of implementing the plot of one or another lit. works, and in the sense of the similarity of S. items of the same name. poetic genre lawsuit S. p. is the main genus symphony program music. Works like S. p. are sometimes given other names - symphonic fantasy, symphony legends, ballads, etc. Close S. items, but with specific features. features of a variety of program music - overture and symphonic picture. Dr. the most important kind of symphony. program music is a program symphony, which is a cycle of 4 (and sometimes 5 or more) movements.

13 pp are written on the leaf. The most famous of them are “Preludes” (after A. Lamartine, ca. 1848, last edition 1854), “Tasso” (after J. V. Goethe), “Orpheus” (1854), “The Battle of the Huns” (based on the painting by W. Kaulbach, 1857), “Ideals” (based on F. Schiller, 1857), “Hamlet” (based on W. Shakespeare, 1858). In Listov's S. items various types are freely combined. structures, features, etc. instr. genres. Particularly characteristic of them is the combination in one movement of the features of sonata allegro and sonata-symphony. cycle. Basic part of the symphony the poem usually consists of a number of different episodes, which, from the point of view of the sonata allegro, correspond to ch. parts, side parts and development, and from the point of view of the cycle - the first (fast), second (lyric) and third (scherzo) parts. Completes production a return in a compressed and figuratively transformed form, similar in its expressiveness to the previous episodes, which from the point of view of the sonata allegro corresponds to the reprise, and from the point of view of the cycle - to the finale. Compared to the usual sonata allegro, the episodes of S. p. are more independent and internally complete. The compressed return at the end of the same material proves to be a powerful form-holding agent. In S. p. the contrast between episodes can be sharper than in sonata allegro, and there can be more than three episodes themselves. This gives the composer greater freedom to implement program ideas, display various. kind of stories. In combination with this kind of "synthetic." structures, Liszt often applied the principle of monothematism - all basic. themes in these cases turn out to be free variations of the same leading theme or thematic. education. The principle of monothematism provides complementary form fastening, however, when consistent. application may lead to intonation. impoverishment of the whole, since the transformation is primarily rhythmic. drawing, harmonization, texture of accompanying voices, but not intonation. outlines of the topic.

The prerequisites for the emergence of the genre of S. p. can be traced over many previous decades. Attempts to structurally combine parts of a sonata-symphony. cycles were undertaken before Liszt, although they often resorted to “external” methods of unification (for example, the introduction of connecting constructions between the individual parts of the cycle or the transition attaca from one part to the next). The very incentive for such a unification is associated with the development of program music, with the disclosure in production. single plot. Long before Liszt, sonata-symphonies also appeared. cycles that had features of monothematism, for example. symphonies, main The themes of all parts of which revealed intonation, rhythm. etc. unity. One of the earliest examples of such a symphony was Beethoven's 5th Symphony. The genre on the basis of which the formation of S. p. took place is the overture. Expansion of its scope, associated with program plans, internal. thematic enrichment gradually turned the overture into a S. p. Important milestones along this path are plural. overtures by F. Mendelssohn. It is significant that Liszt also created his early S. pieces as overtures to K.-L. lit. produced, and initially they even had the name. Overture ("Tasso", "Prometheus").

Following Liszt, other Western Europeans also turned to the genre of literary works. composers, representatives of various national schools Among them are B. Smetana ("Richard III", 1858; "Wallenstein's Camp", 1859; "Jarl the Heckon", 1861; the cycle "My Homeland", consisting of 6 paragraphs, 1874-70), K. Sen -Sans ("The Spinning Wheel of Omphale", 1871; "Phaeton", 1873; "Dance of Death", 1874; "The Youth of Hercules", 1877), S. Frank ("Zolids", 1876; "Djinns", 1885; "Psyche" , 1886, with choir), H. Wolf ("Pentesileia", 1883-85).

The most important stage in the development of the genre of S. p. in Western Europe. art is associated with the work of R. Strauss, the author of 7 S. p. The most significant of them are “Don Juan” (1888), “Death and Enlightenment” (1889), “Till Eulenspiegel” (1895), “Thus Spoke Zarathustra "(1896), "Don Quixote" (1897). Near the arts. signs of S. and. also have his symphony. fantasies "From Italy" (1886), "Home Symphony" (1903) and "Alpine Symphony" (1915). Created by R. Strauss S. and. distinguished by the brightness, "catchyness" of images, masterful use of the orchestra's capabilities - both expressive and visual. R. Strauss does not always adhere to the typical block diagram Liszt's S. p. So, the basis of his “Don Juan” is the scheme of sonata allegro, the basis of “Till Eulenspiegel” is the rondo-variation form, the basis of “Don Quixote” is variations (in the subtitle of the work it is called “symphonic variations on theme of knightly character").

After R. Strauss, representatives of other nationalities successfully worked in the field of agricultural production. schools J. Sibelius created a number of S. p. but based on folk motives. Finnish the epic "Kalevala" ("Saga", 1892; "Kullervo", 1892; the last - "Tapiola" dates back to 1925). 5 S. items were written in 1896 by A. Dvořák ("The Water Man", "Midday", "The Golden Spinning Wheel", "The Dove", "The Heroic Song").

In the 20th century abroad, in addition to J. Sibelius, prod. Few composers created in the genre of sung songs - B. Bartok ("Kossuth", 1903), A. Schoenberg ("Pelleas and Melisande", 1903), E. Elgar ("Falstaff", 1913), M. Reger (4 S. p. based on paintings by Böcklin, 1913), O. Respighi (trilogy: “Fountains of Rome”, 1916; “Pineas of Rome”, 1924; “Feasts of Rome”, 1929). S. p. in Western Europe. music is internally modified; losing the features of plot, it gradually moves closer to symphony. painting. Often, in this regard, composers give their program symphonies. prod. more neutral titles (prelude "Afternoon of a Faun", 1895, and 3 symphonic sketches "The Sea", 1903, Debussy; "symphonic movements" "Pacific 231", 1922, and "Rugby", 1928, Honegger, etc.) .

Rus. composers have created many works like S. p., although this term was not always used to define their genre. Among them are M. A. Balakirev (S. p. "Rus", 1887, in the 1st edition 1862 called the overture "A Thousand Years"; "Tamara", 1882), P. I. Tchaikovsky (S. p. "Fatum", 1868; overture-fantasy "Romeo and Juliet", 3rd edition 1880; symphony "Francesca da Rimini", 1870; "Hamlet" (“Dreams”, 1898; “Poem of Ecstasy”, 1907; “Poem of Fire”, or “Prometheus”, with ph. and chorus, 1910). Among the owls. composers who turned to the genre of S. p. - A. I. Khachaturyan (symphony-poem, 1947), K. Karaev ("Leili and Majnun", 1947), A. A. Muravlev ("Azov-Mountain", 1949 ), A. G. Svechnikov ("Shchors", 1949), G. G. Galynin ("Epic Poem", 1950), A. D. Gadzhiev ("For Peace", 1951), V. Mukhatov ("My Homeland ", 1951).

In the everyday view, Liszt appears as primarily an author of piano works and as a virtuoso pianist. However, in reality he wrote not much less music for orchestra than for piano. IN orchestral works the composer felt as confident as in the piano. Liszt's freedom of direction in complex orchestral scores has become the stuff of legends. He sight-read them as if they were carefully memorized piano piece. The skill of reading scores came to Liszt during many years of work as a symphony and opera conductor. He conducted many premieres of orchestral compositions created by his contemporaries, i.e. mastered scores on which, so to speak, “the author’s ink had not yet dried.” In addition, the composer arranged a lot of orchestral music for piano, including creating piano versions full texts all nine Beethoven symphonies.

Liszt entered the history of symphonic music as the creator of a new genre - one-part symphonic poem . Its name evokes instant associations with the atmosphere of poetry and clearly reflects the connection between music and literature that underlay Liszt’s aesthetics (as is known, Liszt was one of the most staunch supporters of programmatic creativity and the synthesis of various arts). Since a symphonic poem embodies specific program content, sometimes very complex, its formation lacks the stability that is inherent in its older relatives - the symphony and overture. Most of Liszt's symphonic poems are based on the free or mixed form that was very common in the era of romanticism. This is the name for forms that combine the essential features of two or more classical forms. The unifying factor, as a rule, is the principle of monothematism (the creation of brightly contrasting images based on the same theme or motif).

12 of Liszt's 13 symphonic poems date back to the heyday of his work - the so-called. the Weimar period (I848–I86I, i.e. 50s), when the composer was the director and conductor of the Weimar court theater. Both Liszt's symphonies, Faust and Dante, were created at the same time. The composer turned to a cyclic form in them. The “Dante” symphony has two movements (“Hell” and “Purgatory”), the “Faust” symphony has three movements (“Faust”, “Margarita”, “Mephistopheles”. However, its parts in their structure are close to symphonic poems).

The range of images embodied in Liszt's symphonic poems is very wide. World literature of all centuries is presented here, from ancient myths to the work of modern romantics. But among the motley variety of subjects, a philosophical problematic very specific to Liszt clearly stands out:

the problem of the meaning of human life - “Preludes”, “Hamlet”, “Prometheus”, “Lament for Heroes”;
the fate of the artist and the purpose of art - “Tasso”, “Orpheus”, “Mazeppa”;
the fate of peoples and all humanity - “Hungary”, “Battle of the Huns”, “What is heard on the mountain”.

The two most widely known of Liszt's poems are: "Tasso" (where the composer turned to the personality of the remarkable Italian Renaissance poet Torquato Tasso) and "Preludes".

The musical composition of the Preludes is based on freely interpreted principles of sonata allegro with monothematic connections between the most important themes. In the most general terms, the form can be defined as sonata-concentric(sonata allegro with an introduction, an episode in progress and a mirror reprise of a dynamized nature).

Growing from the motive of the question, but acquiring the certainty of self-affirmation, heroic main topic (C major) sounds powerful and solemn with trombones, bassoons and low strings. The connecting and secondary themes clearly contrast with the main one, painting the image of the hero from another side dream of happiness and love. In this case, the connecting piece is a “lyricized” version of the main theme, presented by cellos in a very melodious manner. Subsequently, it acquires a cross-cutting meaning in the poem, appearing on the edges of important sections and, in turn, undergoing variant transformations.

Side(E-dur), according to the program plan, is the theme of love. Its connection with the main motive is more indirect. With the main theme, the secondary theme appears in a colorful, “romantic” third relationship. The secondary sound of the horns, doubled by divizi altos, gives a special warmth and sincerity.

The love idyll of a side party in development gives way to life's storms, battle scenes and, finally, a large episode of a pastoral nature: the “hero” seeks repose in the bosom of nature from the worries of life (one of the most typical ideological and plot motifs of romantic art). In all these sections there are transformations of the main motive. IN storm episode (first section of development) it becomes more unstable due to the appearance of mind in it.4. All harmony, based primarily on diminished seventh chords and their parallel movements along the tones of the chromatic scale, also becomes unstable. All this evokes associations with violent gusts of wind. The storm episode, reminiscent of a sonata development in many ways, is distinguished by its vivid picturesque imagery. It continues the long tradition of “musical thunderstorms” (Vivaldi, Haydn, Beethoven, Rossini) and has a clear resemblance to the stormy, dramatic scherzo of the symphonic cycle.

The next section is pastoral – resembles a slow movement. Its theme, alternately performed by various wind instruments, is entirely new (it is an “episode” in development). However, even here, in the transparent sound of pastoral tunes, the “intonation of a question” flashes, as if even in the lap of nature the hero cannot rid himself of his doubts. Later, after echoes of the connecting theme, a secondary theme is included in the development, very naturally continuing the music of the lyrical episode. Here the mirror reprise of the poem formally begins, but the key is new - As-dur.