Lyric Symphony (Zemlinsky)
The Lyric Symphony op.18 was composed by Alexander Zemlinsky between 1922 and 1923 and received its premiere in Prague on June 4 1924 under the composer's direction. It is Zemlinsky's best-known work.
The symphony is in seven connected movements, and is scored for baritone and soprano soloists in addition to a large orchestra. The sung texts are taken from The Gardener by Rabindranath Tagore in a German translation by Hans Effenberger.
The movements are:
- Ich bin friedlos, ich bin durstig nach fernen Dingen ("I am restless. I am athirst for far-away things")
- O Mutter, der junge Prinz ("O mother, the young Prince")
- Du bist die Abendwolke ("You are the evening cloud")
- Sprich zu mir Geliebter ("Speak to me, my love")
- Befrei mich von den Banden deiner Süße, Lieb ("Release me from the bonds of your sweetness, Love")
- Vollende denn das letzte Lied ("Then finish the last song")
- Friede, mein Herz ("Peace, my heart")
Alban Berg quoted the third movement in his Lyric Suite for string quartet.
Read more about Lyric Symphony (Zemlinsky): Instrumentation
Famous quotes containing the words lyric and/or symphony:
“They are sworn enemies of lyric poetry.
In prison they accompany the jailer,
Enter cells to hear confessions.
Their short-end comes down
When you least expect it.”
—Charles Simic (b. 1938)
“The truth is, as every one knows, that the great artists of the world are never Puritans, and seldom even ordinarily respectable. No virtuous man—that is, virtuous in the Y.M.C.A. sense—has ever painted a picture worth looking at, or written a symphony worth hearing, or a book worth reading, and it is highly improbable that the thing has ever been done by a virtuous woman.”
—H.L. (Henry Lewis)