Schumann: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish" | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Paavo Järvi

Schumann: Symphony No. 3 "Rhenish" | Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra & Paavo Järvi
舒曼：第三號交響曲「萊尼什」|皇家音樂廳管弦樂團與帕沃·雅爾維

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A romantic homage to the Rhine, the famous joyfulness of the Rhinelanders, and the grandeur of Cologne Cathedral: all this is captured in Robert Schumann's Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97, known as the Rhenish. Performed here by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest) conducted by Paavo Järvi at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam on April 16, 2021.

(00:00) I. Lebhaft
(09:35) II. Scherzo: sehr mäßig
(16:16) III. Nicht schnell
(21:49) IV. Feierlich
(28:13) V. Lebhaft

In a frenzy of inspiration, Robert Schumann (1810–1856) composed his Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major, Op. 97 in just four weeks between early November and early December 1850. The 3rd Symphony owes its cheerful character to the happy circumstances in which it was written: In 1850, Schumann had been appointed to the prestigious position of municipal music director in Düsseldorf. After less successful years in Leipzig and Dresden, he was suddenly in demand as a composer and conductor in the city on the Rhine. When he arrived in Düsseldorf with his family in September of that year, he was welcomed with grand celebrations. No wonder he was in high spirits when he composed the Symphony in E-flat major. Of the four symphonies that Schumann published, the 3rd Symphony was the last to be written. He had already written his Symphony in D minor, Op. 120 in 1841, but revised it again in 1851, re-orchestrated it, and published it as his 4th Symphony.

The epithet “Rhenish” attached to Symphony No. 3 was not coined by Schumann himself, but was applied posthumously by a friend. It has since become established – and the composer himself would probably not have objected. Schumann’s own statements about the Third suggest this symphony is a truly “Rhenish” work. On the one hand, it was the sight of Cologne Cathedral that inspired him to compose it. On the other hand, Schumann wanted the music to be shaped by folk elements, and was convinced that he had succeeded in this, and that the symphony reflected a Rhenish life here and there. In keeping with the proverbial “Rhenish cheerfulness,” the premiere took place on February 6, 1851, in Düsseldorf—in the middle of Carnival.

But despite all the “Rhenish” impressions, Schumann's 3rd Symphony is not program music. The Rhine River or Cologne Cathedral are not depicted in a tone-painting style; rather, Schumann is merely concerned with expressing moods musically. In any case, the German composer believed that the circumstances surrounding the creation of a piece of music were not decisive; what mattered was that the music was good and satisfying purely as music. With Symphony No. 3, he also intended to make the music easier to understand. This may be why he used German movement titles instead of the usual Italian ones. Clara Schumann (1819–1896) certainly felt that this symphony was accessible even to lay listeners, especially the folk-like second and third movements.

As a formal peculiarity, the “Rhenish” has five movements instead of four. The three middle movements are all slow movements. The fourth movement stands out in several ways: it is the only movement that is not cheerful and optimistic. It comes as a surprise because after the third movement, one expects the finale. In it, Schumann processes a venerable chorale theme in a contrapuntal manner. The timbres dominated by the use of trombones are striking. Within the structure of the symphony, the fourth movement seems like a later insertion of a piece of church music. However, this is not the case, as it was sketched and orchestrated almost simultaneously with the final movement. There has been much speculation about the meaning of the sacred movement. Even Clara Schumann expressed her perplexity about it. Robert Schumann had titled the movement “In the character of the accompaniment to a solemn ceremony.” For the printed version, however, he changed the movement title to a simple “Solemn.” Some interpreters believe that Schumann wanted to capture the imaginary atmosphere of a solemn cardinal's elevation in Cologne Cathedral in music. In fact, the Archbishop of Cologne had been elevated to cardinal at the time, but Schumann is not believed to have witnessed the celebrations in the cathedral himself.

Nevertheless, the Rhenish Symphony is in many ways a tribute to the Rhine, which had become a central symbol of Romanticism since the early 19th century. For this reason alone, the Third is a thoroughly Romantic symphony.

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