Schumann, Robert / orch. G. Mahler

Schumann, Robert / orch. G. Mahler – Symphonie Nr.4 in d-Moll op. 120 ‘mit Instrumental-Retouchen von Gustav Mahler’

(b. Zwickau, Kingdom of Saxony, June 8, 1810 – d. Endenich, Rhine Province, now a district of Bonn, July 29, 1856)

“Mit Instrumental-Retouchen von Gustav Mahler”
(b. Kalischt, Bohemia, July 7, 1860 – d. Vienna, May 18, 1911)

Premiere of the first version: December 6, 1841, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Premiere of the second version: March 3, 1853, in Düsseldorf

Preface
… Fourth Symphony
It was 1840 when Schumann finally prevailed in court against the opposition of his former piano teacher Friedrich Wieck to marry his daughter Clara. A year later, his First Symphony, the “Spring Symphony,” premiered “to great acclaim.” The composer was in top form, inspired and full of energy: “Truly, my next symphony shall be called Clara,” he was heard to say. On September 9, 1841, shortly before his wife’s 22nd birthday, he completed work on his great orchestral work, the “Symphonic Fantasy for Large Orchestra,” the provisional title of his second symphony. Clara Schumann wrote in her diary: “This is another work created from the depths of his soul.”

The symphony followed an unusual concept. Although it was structured in four movements in accordance with traditional form, these were played “attaca” without pause, as a quasi single-movement work that unfolded densely and cohesively from within itself; “Schumann’s most independent contribution to symphonic music,” as one reviewer wrote. The premiere took place on December 6, 1841, at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, but the work failed to impress an uncomprehending audience—some even believed that “the entire symphony was a somewhat long first movement.” The critics, on the other hand, were unanimously positive, but the publisher refused to print the score, fearing that the new work might harm sales of his First Symphony. Thus, the work disappeared into a drawer, unprinted, for almost ten years. …

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