Description
New CD recording of the NDR Radiophilharmonie!
New CD recording of the Philharmonisches Orchester Bremerhaven!
Emilie Mayer 1812–1883
Sinfonie Nr. 3 C Major
Sinfonie Militaire
1850 (35’)
for orchestra
ed. By Craig Doolin
Furore Edition 2635
Score 89,00 Euro
You may order the hire material here
In 1848 Berlin middle-class Germans began to riot and were soon suppressed by the Prussian military. Emilie Mayer had just moved to Berlin when the riots first broke out. She no doubt witnessed the conflicts in Berlin’s city center where her apartment was located. This, combined with her studies with Wieprecht, likely formed the idea of a military symphony. As Haydn had done 60 years before, she would use military percussion and brass fanfares to set the tone of the work.
Mayer’s brass section is larger than Haydn’s with its addition of a three-voice trombone choir. As Beethoven had done in his Fifth Symphony, she added piccolo.
This symphony bears all the hallmarks of Mayer’s style. While the melodies are largely in the Viennese classic style, she also incorporated sudden shifts of tonal areas.
Each movement has its prominent features. In obvious homage to Haydn, the first and last movements open with slow introductions. The second movement is pensive and tender but is also tightly constructed. Notice the Haydnesque humor of the seemingly wrong bassoon note near the end. Mayer’s scherzo is especially creative as the scherzo theme is varied on each statement. Brassy and stirringly martial, the finale pulls out all the stops to end the symphony in a blaze of brilliance.
