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The symphonic poems of the Hungarian composer Franz Liszt are a series of 13 orchestral works, numbered S.95–107.〔Searle, ''Music'', 161.〕 The first 12 were composed between 1848 and 1858 (though some use material conceived earlier); the last, ''Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe'' (''From the Cradle to the Grave''), followed in 1882. These works helped establish the genre of orchestral program music—compositions written to illustrate an extra-musical plan derived from a play, poem, painting or work of nature. They inspired the symphonic poems of Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Richard Strauss and others. Liszt's intent, according to musicologist Hugh MacDonald, was for these single-movement works "to display the traditional logic of symphonic thought."〔 In other words, Liszt wanted these works to display a complexity in their interplay of themes similar to that usually reserved for the opening movement of the Classical symphony; this principal self-contained section was normally considered the most important in the larger whole of the symphony in terms of academic achievement and musical architecture. At the same time, Liszt wanted to incorporate the abilities of program music to inspire listeners to imagine scenes, images, or moods. To capture these dramatic and evocative qualities while achieving the scale of an opening movement, he combined elements of overture and symphony in a modified sonata design. The composition of the symphonic poems proved daunting. They underwent a continual process of creative experimentation that included many stages of composition, rehearsal and revision to reach a balance of musical form. Aware that the public appreciated instrumental music with context, Liszt provided written prefaces for nine of his symphonic poems. However, Liszt's view of the symphonic poem tended to be evocative, using music to create a general mood or atmosphere rather than to illustrate a narrative or describe something literally. In this regard, Liszt authority Humphrey Searle suggests that he may have been closer to his contemporary Hector Berlioz than to many who would follow him in writing symphonic poems.〔Searle, ''Orchestral'', 283.〕 ==Background== According to cultural historian Hannu Salmi, classical music began to gain public prominence in Western Europe in the latter 18th century through the establishment of concerts by musical societies in cities such as Leipzig and the subsequent press coverage of these events.〔Salmi, 50.〕 This was a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, according to music critic and historian Harold C. Schonberg, which brought changes to the early 19th-century lifestyles of the working masses. The lower and middle classes began to take an interest in the arts, which previously had been enjoyed mostly by the clergy and aristocracy.〔Schonberg, ''Conductors'', 68.〕 In the 1830s, concert halls were few, and orchestras served mainly in the production of operas—symphonic works were considered far lower in importance.〔Schonberg, ''Conductiors'', 68.〕 However, the European music scene underwent a transformation in the 1840s. As the role of religion diminished, Salmi asserts, 19th-century culture remained a religious one and the attendance of the arts in historical or similarly impressive surroundings "may still have generated a rapture akin to experiencing the sacred."〔Salmi, 54.〕 Schonberg, cultural historian Peter Cay and musicologist Alan Walker add that, while aristocrats still held private musical events, public concerts grew as institutions for the middle class, which was growing prosperous and could now afford to attend.〔Cay, 229; Schonberg, ''Conductors'', 69; Walker, ''Weimar,'' 306.〕 As interest burgeoned, these concerts were performed at a rapidly increasing number of venues.〔Bonds, ''New Grove (2001)'', 24:834; Cay, 229.〕 Programs often ran over three hours, "even if the content was thin: two or more symphonies, two overtures, vocal and instrumental numbers, duets, a concerto." Roughly half of the presented music was vocal in nature.〔Schonberg, ''Conductors'', 70.〕 Symphonies by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn or Ludwig van Beethoven usually opened or concluded concerts, and "while these works were revered as models of great music, they were ultimately less popular than the arias and scenes from operas and oratorios that stood prominently in the middle of these concerts."〔Weber, ''New Grove (2001)'', 6:227.〕 Meanwhile, the future of the symphony genre was coming into doubt. Musicologist Mark Evan Bonds writes, "Even symphonies by () well-known composers of the early 19th century as Méhul, Rossini, Cherubini, Hérold, Czerny, Clementi, Weber and Moscheles were perceived in their own time as standing in the symphonic shadow of Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, or some combination of the three."〔Bonds, ''New Grove (2001)'', 24:836.〕 While many composers continued to write symphonies during the 1820s and 30s, "there was a growing sense that these works were aesthetically far inferior to Beethoven's.... The real question was not so much whether symphonies could still be written, but whether the genre could continue to flourish and grow as it had over the previous half-century in the hands of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven. On this count, there were varying degrees of skepticism but virtually no real optimism."〔Bonds, ''New Grove (2001)'', 24:837.〕 The crux of the issue, Bonds asserts, "was never really one of style ... but rather of generic conception."〔 Between his Third and Seventh Symphonies, Beethoven had pushed the symphony well beyond the boundaries of entertainment into those of moral, political and philosophical statement.〔 By adding text and voices in his Ninth Symphony, he not only redefined the genre but also called into question whether instrumental music could truly be superior to vocal music.〔 The Ninth, Bonds says, in fact became the catalyst that fueled debate about the symphony genre.〔 Hector Berlioz was the only composer "able to grapple successfully with Beethoven's legacy."〔 However, Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Niels Gade also achieved successes with their symphonies, putting at least a temporary stop to the debate as to whether the genre was dead.〔Bonds, ''New Grove (2001)'', 24:838.〕 Regardless, composers increasingly turned to the "more compact form" of the concert overture "as a vehicle within which to blend musical, narrative and pictoral ideas"; examples included Mendelssohn's overtures ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1826) and ''The Hebrides'' (1830).〔 Franz Liszt, a Hungarian composer, had attempted to write a ''Revolutionary Symphony'' as early as 1830;〔 however, his focus for the early part of his adult life was mostly on his performing career. By 1847, Liszt was famous throughout Europe as a virtuoso pianist.〔Walker, ''Weimar'', 6.〕 "Lisztomania" swept across Europe, the emotional charge of his recitals making them "more like séances than serious musical events", and the reaction of many of his listeners could be characterized as hysterical.〔Walker, ''Virtuoso'', 289.〕 Musicologist Alan Walker says, "Liszt was a natural phenomenon, and people were swayed by him.... With his mesmeric personality and long mane of flowing hair, he created a striking stage presence. And there were many witnesses to testify that his playing did indeed raise the mood of an audience to a level of mystical ecstasy."〔 The demands of concert life "reached exponential proportions" and "every public appearance led to demands for a dozen others."〔 Liszt desired to compose music, such as large-scale orchestral works, but lacked the time to do so as a travelling virtuoso.〔 In September 1847, Liszt gave his last public recital as a paid artist and announced his retirement from the concert platform.〔Walker, ''Virtuoso'', 442.〕 He settled in Weimar, where he had been made its honorary music director in 1842, to work on his compositions.〔 Weimar was a small town that held many attractions for Liszt. Two of Germany's greatest men of letters, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe and Friedrich Schiller, had both lived there. As one of the cultural centers of Germany, Weimar boasted a theater and an orchestra plus its own painters, poets and scientists. The University of Jena was also nearby. Most importantly, the town's patroness was the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna, the sister of Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. "This triple alliance of court, theater and academia was difficult to resist."〔 The town also received its first railway line in 1848, which gave Liszt relatively quick access from there to the rest of Germany.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Symphonic poems (Liszt)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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