Symphony, Op. 21

1928 · Op. 21 · Clarinet, bass clarinet, two horns, harp and strings

Two interlocking canons open the first movement, their voices passing between instruments. The second has a clarinet theme, seven variations and a coda.

3 min

Recording

II. VariationenParis Chamber Orchestra; René Leibowitz
2:46
The second movement of Webern’s Symphony, Op. 21, is a theme, seven variations and a coda in 99 bars. René Leibowitz conducts the Paris Chamber Orchestra in a recording on the Dial label that was reviewed in June 1950.
Listening notes
1. Theme, bars 1–⁠11
  The clarinet plays the theme in bars 1–⁠11. Its phrases divide into two halves of five and a half bars, and bar 6 is the midpoint.
2. Variation 1: double canon
  Variation 1 (bars 11–⁠23) begins as the theme ends. It is a double canon at the quarter note: first violin with cello, second violin with viola.
3. Variation 4: the midpoint
  Variation 4 (bars 45–⁠55) is the midpoint of the movement; Webern described it so himself. Its phrases divide 5 + 1 + 5 bars, with bar 50 at the centre.
4. First performance, New York, 1929
  Alexander Smallens conducted the League of Composers orchestra in the first performance, at Town Hall, New York, on 18 December 1929. Olin Downes wrote in the New York Times that the audience “laughed it out of court”.
5. Coda, bars 89–⁠99
  The coda (bars 89–⁠99) is related to the theme: its phrases again divide into 5.5 + 5.5 bars, with bar 94 at the centre. Variations 5, 6 and 7 are related to variations 3, 2 and 1.
Open in the Concert Hall

More by Webern