Later Salieri dominated Parisian opera with three works; Tarare (1787), his greatest success, established him as Gluck's heir.  As his style became old-fashioned, his works lost favour and he composed relatively little after 1804, but he remained a central and influential figure in Viennese musical Iife.  His many pupils included Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt.  However there is little evidence of any of the alleged intrigues against Mozart, still less of the charge of poisoning.

Allegro Moderato

Schubert’s ‘Unfinished’ symphony had its first performance in 1865, thirty-seven years after the death of its composer.  It almost went undiscovered, were it not for  the visit of Viennese conductor Johann Herbeck to an old friend of Schubert’s, the score could have been lost forever.

Since its discovery, this work immediately became one of the most popular compositions of the symphonic repertoire.  It begins with a sense of foreboding with a dark phrase played by ‘cellos and basses.  A very soft but agitated string theme accompanies the oboe and clarinet solos, which attempt to add a note of consolation.   The music works up to a crisis, but then after a long note on the horns and bassoons appears one of the most lyrical melodies ever written.  This beautifully sunny melody attempts to overcome the darkness of the opening, but never quite succeeds.

The musical world has always lamented the early death of Mozart. O what masterpieces has fate denied us, they cry. But at least Mozart received international acclaim in his life-time and he heard most of his works performed before he died. He was known to kings and emperors with cities like Prague wild with his music.

Schubert deserves even more of our pity. For he died five years younger than Mozart and many of his masterpieces remained unperformed at his demise: the song cycle “Winterreise”, the string quartet “Death and the Maiden”, the string quintet, his “Unfinished” symphony and, his ninth symphony.

Schubert lived in an age that had no time for the heroic. After the downfall of Napoleon the Peace Congress of Vienna waltzed between bouts of diplomacy and political discussion was suppressed by the policies of Prince Metternich. Beethoven stopped writing symphonies and musical attention was divided between the frivolous Rossini and the spectacular Paganini. The only new serious symphonies in the grand manner performed after the battle of Waterloo (1815) were Beethoven’s “Choral” symphony (1824) – which made a financial loss – and the “Symphnie Fantastque” of Berlioz (1830). So when the little known and little respected Schubert presented his grand symphony to the Vienna Philharmonic Society (Musikverein) in 1826 it is perhaps surprising that they even agreed to perform the work. But the one and only rehearsal soon convinced the Society that it was “too long and too difficult” and the music was put to one side. It was rediscovered by Robert Schumann in 1839 and first performed in Leipzig the same year under baton of Mendelssohn. That performance played no small part in reviving interest in symphonic music both in Mendelssohn and Schumann.

The musical ideas of this symphony can be summed up as a battle between two contrasting rhythms. The first is the “dotted” rhythm, where the beat is divided into two unequal notes: three quarters and a quarter long. The second is the “triplet” rhythm, where the beat is divided into three equal notes. The problem comes when both rhythms are played at the same time – a challenge for when you get home – as they are incompatible. The most famous example of this type of rhythmic clash is Beethoven’s “Moonlight” sonata (which is rarely played correctly!). This clash constantly recurs in the symphony. The question is who wins the battle?

The symphony opens with an Andante (Italian for “flowing”) tune played on the horns. This is the opening gambit of the moderate dotted rhythmic campaign but the strings brief response includes a moderate triplet. The woodwind repeat the tune, with the same response from the violins (the violas having deserted to the dotted rhythmic party). Finally the trombones put their feet down and everyone is forced into playing dotted rhythms. However, when the woodwind finally return to the tune, the violins accompany it with non-matching triplets. First the violas try to put them off with non-matching syncopating rhythms and then the horns and ‘cellos with non-matching dotted rhythms until a climax is reached and we arrive at the First Subject and the Allegro ma non troppo (“at walking speed but not too fast”). This tune is in two halves: the strings and trumpets with a dotted rhythm answered by the woodwind and horns in triplets. After a few punch ups between the two parties, Schubert introduces the second tune or Subject on the oboes and bassoons which have both dotted and triplet rhythms but in the note so expected key of E minor. This eventually corrects itself to G major only to slip into Eb major before returning to the correct key of G major but now playing the first subject. So much for the Exposition.

The Development has great fun with both rhythms and spends most of its time in the remote key (to C major) of Ab. Finally the music calms down and the first subject quietly returns for the Recapitulation, this time with the second subject in the almost correct key of C minor.
The second movement (Andante con moto = “motoring”) is easily imagined as a hike in the Austrian countryside, a Sommerreise to counter the despair of the later Winterreise. Here the music is almost entirely in dotted rhythms. The third movement (Scherzo = Joke) by contrast is almost entirely in triplets.

This brings us to the finale (Allegro vivace = “at a lively walk”). Here the battle is resumed with the main tune of the movement again formed of an opening dotted theme answered by a triplet, but this time the music is much more condensed and with the feel of “first home makes the tea”. The second subject is an upside down version of the triplet notes, however with no triplets but includes a dotted rhythm instead. This tune Schubert varies at the opening of the Development to become Beethoven’s famous “Ode to Joy”, played very quietly by the clarinets. Schubert was at the first performance of the Choral symphony and was one of the pall bearers at Beethoven’s funeral. He was to be buried near Beethoven just over a year later.

So who wins the battle of the rhythms? It seems that no one does. For Schubert, unity is found not just in harmony but also in contrast and even in strife. The philosophy seems very modern but Schubert makes it very palatable to our ears.

The calming influence of Friar Lawrence is portrayed in the solemn chant-like opening of the overture.  The majority of the piece juxtaposes the feuding between the Montague and Capulet families and more lyrical themes of floating passion between Romeo and Juliet.  It is this romantic theme which is perhaps the most well-known, having been used in many film soundtracks.  A sober coda depicts the tragic ending of the star-crossed lovers.

The Russia of Tchaikovsky’s youth had no formal system of musical education and so, like many of his contemporaries (e.g. Borodin the chemist, Mussorsky of the army, Rimsky-Korsakov of the navy), Tchaikovsky began life as a government lawyer who played music in his spare time. But Russia was changing and in 1862 the famous pianist, Anton Rubenstein, founded the St. Petersburg Conservatoire with Tchaikovsky among its first pupils. After graduation Tchaikovsky took up a teaching post in the Moscow Conservatoire, opened in 1866 by Anton Rubenstein’s brother, Nikolai. Thus Tchaikovsky became a musician who composed in his spare time.

For serious composing and large-scale works most Russian composers sought patronage, which in Russia meant the Tsar, and the Tsar meant opera. So Tchaikovsky spent most of his life composing operas, ten in total (with the father of Stravinsky singing the leading roles) though very few are performed today. However, Tchaikovsky had another patron, Madam von Meck, who gave him the financial assistance necessary to devote his life to composing. Although they corresponded freely, it was agreed that they should never meet. (Madam von Meck also gave assistance to other musicians, including a summer job for the young Claude Debussy).

The immediate cause of this symphony was the failure of his latest opera “Charodyeika” (“The Sorceress”). Tchaikovsky planned his revenge on an unsympathetic public, but because he could think of no suitable operatic subject he turned to this symphony. But in 1888 it was ten years since he had last written such a work. Despite this the symphony was composed in quick time and had its first performance in St. Petersburg on 5th November of that year.

(i) Adagio ~Allegro non troppo (ii) Allegro con grazia
(iii) Allegro molto vivace (iv) Finale:Adagio lamentoso

Tchaikovsky wrote, "I consider this Symphony the best thing I have ever done. In any case, it is the most deeply felt." Little did he realise that the piece would be his epitaph.

Although to many, Wagner is the epitome of high art and serious German music, Wagner’s life was anything but serious. His first marriage was stormy to say the least - an endless serious of elopements and reconciliations. Then Wagner was implicated in the Dresden Uprising of 1849 and had to flee to Switzerland. There he started the "Ring" cycle of operas - and also a huge mountain of debts. Disaster stared him in the face when, in 1864, King Ludwig II of Bavaria (who combined insanity with impeccable artistic taste) offered to pay all his debts and grant him financial security if he would finish the "Ring".

Towards the end of the middle ages, guilds of "Mastersingers" descended from the minstrel tradition, grew up in southern Germany. They took their art very seriously, judging each other on their adherence to the strict rules of their craft and holding singing competitions before the townspeople. Centuries later, Wagner came across a history of the Master Singers and the rules of their guilds. He built a story around these facts concerning such a song contest between the Master Singers of Nuremberg and their search for the ideal song - which he developed into an opera.

Allegro - Andante cantabile - Allegro

Born in 1786, Weber was the first of the great Romantic German opera composers.  He spent much of his early life with the opera company that his father directed.  He wrote several early operas, though he is best known for ‘Der Freischutz’, the first performance of which was given in Berlin in 1821.

He wrote three clarinet concertos, all in 1811, for Heinrich Barmann, on a ten key instrument.  The two main concertos were commissioned by the King, Maximillian 1 of Bavaria.

The second concerto which we hear tonight has three movements, the first of which is marked Allegro and is in sonata form. The second is a Romanza, which contains distinctly operatic features, including a passage of recitative and the final movement is in the rhythm of a Polish dance.

Weber died in England in 1826 from tuberculosis after directing his opera ‘Oberon’ at Covent Garden.