Relayed from the Free Trade Hall
S.B. from Manchester
THE HALLÉ ORCHESTRA
Conducted by Sir HAMILTON HARTY
THIS colossal work was Schubert's last Symphony. It was quite beyond the powers of the Viennese orchestra of his day, and never, in fact, got beyond rehearsal in his lifetime. When Schubert tackled big-scale works such as Symphonies his sense of design hardly rose to the occasion. He resorted to giving out a continuous melody of a similar type to his beautiful songs, then repeating it, and eventually passing on, often" with no particular progression of thought, to another tune. So say those who criticize this unusually protraded Symphony. Others retort that his tunes and his use of them are divine, so that it is impossible to have an excess of them. Anyone hearing this work for the first time is fairly certain to agree with the enthusiasts rather than the critics. At any rate, no one can find much difficulty in following the Symphony.
It has four Movements.
The FIRST Movement opens with a stately
Introduction, constructed on the tune given out unadomed'by Horns at the opening. It leads without a break into the quick Movement proper— splendid, exultant music, which, even when it becomes tender, is still rapturous.
The SECOND MOVEMENT has a distnictly song-like character. The Strings start a soft, throbbing groundwork, then the Oboe begins a slow, expressive tune, which dominates the Movement.
The THIRD MOVEMENT is a very exhilarating one which almost conforms to the strict meaning of its title, ' Scherzo '-' a jest.'
The FOURTH Movement is an impetuous Finale of resistless force.