n a universal feeling
that the symphony is the form in which a composer should express his
highest thoughts. If Wagner and Richard Strauss seem to be exceptions,
we must remember that their work for orchestra is thoroughly symphonic
both in material and in scope. The difference is chiefly one of terms.
Wagner claimed that he merely applied to dramatic purposes Beethoven's
thematic development; and the tone-poems of Strauss are symphonies in
essence though on a free poetic basis. Every composer has taken up the
writing of a symphony with a serious purpose and often comparatively
late in life. To be sure, Beethoven's first Symphony, op. 21, was
composed in his thirtieth year; but for the works which manifest most
strongly his personality, such as the Third, Fifth and Ninth, we have
to wait until a later period. Schumann essayed symphonic composition
only after his technique had been developed in every other field.
Brahms's first Symphony, on which he is said to have worked ten years,
is op. 68. Cesar Franck looked forward to a Symphony as the climax of
his career. The day has passed when a composer could dash off
symphonies by the dozen; quality and genuine personality in each work
are the modern requirements. Thus from Brahms we have four symphonies,
from Tchaikowsky six, from Bruckner nine--a dangerously large
number!--from Sibelius five, from Elgar two, from d'Indy three; and,
even if a composer write but a single really inspired and noble
symphony--as for example, Cesar Franck--he is in so far immortal. For
the symphonic form is the product of too much intense striving (think
of Beethoven's agonies of conception!) to be treated lightly.
Beginning with the operatic overture of Lully and Scarlatti, called
"Sinfonia avanti l'opera," down through the labors of Stamitz, Gossec,
Emmanuel Bach, Haydn and Mozart, this form, as we know it to-day, is
the result of at least a century and a half of sustained, constructive
work. A musician who wishes to compose a symphony is brought face to
face with the formidable question, "Have I a real message to utter and
the technical skill to present it in communicable form?" There are no
accessory appeals to the other senses in the way of a dramatic story,
scenic effect, dancing and costumes--as in opera--to cloak poverty of
invention and to mollify the judgment of the listener. I grant that
the composition of an original opera is a high achievement, but we
know how many composers have won