ΗΜΙΤΕΛΕΙΣ ΣΥΜΦΩΝΙΕΣ ~ BIZET ~

~ BIZET ~

*Christos Sipsis

...η 2η συμφωνια του

Μπιζε , που ειναι πιο γνωστη ως Roma Symphony. Στην πραγματικότητα δεν

ειναι ημιτελης . Απλώς ο Μπιζε , παρα το γεγονός ότι την δουλευε 11

ολοκληρα χρόνια δεν μπ[ορεσε να καταληξει σε μια εκδοχη που θα τον

ικανοποιούσε. Δυστυχως δεν βρηκα στο διαδικτυο ολοκληρωμενο το συγκεκριμενο εργο. Ετσι θα περιοριστουμε σε 2 μονο μερη.

Μερος 1ο. Andante tranquillo Allegro agitato  

Bizet Georges - Andante tranquillo - Allegro agitato
http://youtu.be/OnqWXOV7K-I









The

Symphony in C "Roma" is the second of Georges Bizet's symphonies.

Unlike his first symphony, also in C major, which was written quickly at

the age of 17, Roma was written over an eleven-year span, between the

ages of 22 and 33 (he died at age 36). Bizet was never fully satisfied

with it, subjecting it to a number of revisions, but died before

finishing his definitive version. All four movements were performed in

his lifetime, but never all on the same occasion. The full symphony in

its latest revision was premiered in 1875, after his death.[1] It is

perhaps because of Bizet's dissatisfaction that the work is often said

to be "unfinished". However, in the form in which it exists today, it is

certainly finished and is fully scored. It has been recorded a number

of times but is not often heard on the concert platform.

Bizet

won the Prix de Rome in 1857, which required him to spend the following

two years studying free of charge at the French Academy in Rome,

followed by a year studying in Germany. He never went to Germany, but

stayed in Rome until July 1860.[2] Rather than returning to Paris

straight away, he did some touring through Italy, seeing places he had

not visited in his earlier travels in 1858 and 1859. In Rimini he first

planned a symphony with each of the four movements dedicated to a

different Italian city – Rome (opening movement), Venice (Andante),

Florence (Scherzo) and Naples (finale).[3] He may have made some early

sketches at this time. When he got to Venice he learned that his mother

was seriously ill, so he returned home immediately.[3]

By 1861

he had written the Scherzo, still generally considered the best

movement of the work. It was performed privately in November 1861, and

received a public performance on 11 January 1863, conducted by Jules

Pasdeloup at the Cirque Napoléon, at which Camille Saint-Saëns was

present. It was poorly performed and provoked a hostile reaction from

many concert subscribers. Nevertheless, it was given another performance

on 18 January at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and this time

received a much more positive reaction.[3]

By 1866 he had

written his first version of the complete work, in which the first

movement was a Theme and Variations,[4] but he was dissatisfied and set

about undertaking a total revision. In 1868 he revised it yet again.[3]

Three movements of the revised score, minus the Scherzo, were performed

on 28 February 1869, under the title Fantaisie symphonique: Souvenirs de

Rome, again conducted by Pasdeloup. The movements were given

programmatic titles Une chasse dans la Forêt d'Ostie, Une Procession and

Carnaval à Rome[4] (this was the movement meant to depict Naples). But

Bizet was still not happy, and proceeded to revise it once more. By 1871

he seems to have dropped work on his revisions, being focussed on other

projects.[1]

The full symphony in its latest known version was

premiered after his death, in 1875.[1] The work was published in 1880 as

Roma, and it probably incorporates some of his changes made in 1871.[3]

In

form, the work stands somewhere between a symphony and a symphonic

suite. Grove's Dictionary says: "It is not sufficiently explicit for

programme music and too carelessly constructed for an abstract

symphony".[3] Despite Bizet's description of it as a "symphony", it has

often been classified in reference works as a suite. In some sources, it

is even numbered as "Symphonic Suite No. 3".[5] Another reason for the

alternative title is that his earlier symphony was in the same key, C

major, and it was believed by some that calling his second symphonic

venture a suite would be less confusing.[5] However, this renaming could

only have occurred after 1935 (60 years after Bizet's death), when the

very existence of his first symphony, the Symphony in C, was made known

to the world for the first time.

Roma is a very

unequal work. The Scherzo is usually singled out as its best movement,

full of liveliness and grace. The outer movements contain both

brilliance and academic pedantry, and the slow movement is not generally

well regarded, sometimes being described as "ponderous and boring".[1]

However, Gustav Mahler thought highly enough of Roma to conduct the

Vienna premiere in 1898-99, and to expose American audiences to it on

his 1910 tour.[6] Its actual United States premiere was on 11 November

1880 at the Metropolitan Concert Hall, conducted by Theodore Thomas. The

New York Times critic of the time said that, while there was much in

the work to admire, it was crude in arrangement and had an air of

incompleteness about it.[7]

The four movements of Roma are:Andante tranquillo, leading to an Allegro agitato (C major)
Scherzo - Allegretto vivace
Andante molto (F major)Allegro vivacissimo (Finale).
The work takes about 31 minutes to play.
It

has been recorded a number of times, under conductors such as Sir

Thomas Beecham, Lamberto Gardelli, Louis Frémaux, Michel Plasson,

Jean-Claude Casadesus and Enrique Batiz.[8]

The Finale has sometimes been recorded separately, under the title "Carnaval",[9] or "Carnaval à Rome".[10]Roma Symphony (Bizet) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_Symphony_(Bizet)
Georges Bizet - Carnaval - Riccardo Zadra Pianoforte
http://youtu.be/a-FcpHxgG1k