sidiary phrases of the first
movement, and a running figure in the bass--the derivation of which is
obvious. After a rather labored transition[203]--surely the most
mechanical passage in the whole work--we are rewarded by a melody of
great buoyancy and rhythmic life, _e.g._

[Music]

[Footnote 202: In Brahms, who was something of a conservative as to
freedom of form, there is a striking example in the connection between
the second movement and the Finale of the Third Symphony.]

[Footnote 203: Schumann was a true poet in the spontaneity of his
themes, but often an unsuccessful architect when connecting them.]

The free Fantasie begins with a contrapuntal working-out of a figure
taken from the first theme, but it suffers from a persistent emphasis
on what, after all, is an uninteresting rhythm [Music]; there is,
furthermore, a rigid grouping of the phrases in twos and fours.
Schumann's instinct was a wise one in omitting the main theme of the
Recapitulation and in leading, as soon as possible, to the repetition
of the delightful second theme--the gem of the movement--which now
makes its orthodox appearance in the tonic. After some ejaculatory
measures, which remind us of the beginning of the Development, we have
the impassioned closing theme, referred to above, which ushers in the
free and brilliant Coda, worked up contrapuntally with ever increasing
speed. The movement ends with Schumannesque syncopations. The D minor
Symphony, thus, although not a perfect work of art, is a significant
one and repays intimate study. A long life may safely be predicted for
it by reason of the fervor and charm of its melodies. An important
historical status it will always hold, for it is the honorable
ancestor of such great symphonies as Cesar Franck's in D minor and
Tchaikowsky's in E minor, in which we find the same freedom of form
and the same fusion of material attempted by Schumann's daring
spirit.[204]

[Footnote 204: For a detailed and illuminating study of this symphony
and of Schumann's style in general see the last essay in _Preludes and
Studies_ by W.J. Henderson. Another excellent essay may be found in
_Studies in Modern Music_ by W.H. Hadow.]

Closely connected with Schumann, chronologically and also by certain
executive associations, _e.g._, the Leipsic Conservatory, is the
career of Mendelssohn (1809-1847). There was much in common between
the two; they both were extremely versatile, of strong literary bent
and natu