Liszt wrote thirteen symphonic poems, most of which were based on poetry, drama or painting. There is often a preface in front of the score to explain the author's creative intention and theme, or to quote relevant poems to explain the theme of the work. This preface or quoted poem is the title of the work. For example, the title of Liszt's third symphonic poem is "Overture", which is adapted from Lamartin's "Poetry Meditation", and the preface written by Liszt according to this poem is published in front of the score as the title of this symphonic poem. The full text of the preface is like this: "What else can our life be except a group of overtures that sing the first solemn note with' death'? Love is the morning sun in everyone's heart, but how can the initial happiness and joy not be attacked by storms, so that good dreams are broken and shrines are destroyed; Under the cruel blow, how can we not rush out of the storm, throw ourselves into a quiet country life and seek comfort from memories? However, it is impossible for human beings to live in the embrace of nature and in gentle retreat for a long time. When the horn sounded the warning signal, he immediately took risks, no matter what kind of fighting ranks he was called to participate in; In order to fully restore self-confidence and gain enough strength in the battle. "
Lamartin's original poems are full of doubts about life and reveal negative and pessimistic thoughts. Liszt interprets Lamartin's poems according to his own point of view, and regards the stages on the road of life written in the poems as "a series of overtures" and depicts them as vivid life scrolls; Although frustrated by the blow, I finally affirmed my life and threw myself into it with confidence and vitality. Liszt flexibly applied the principle of sonata form according to the need of expressing the content of the topic. All the themes of the whole song are born out of a tune. This tone contains three tones, which are summed up from the tones of the language expressing questions. Every theme degenerated from this tone has made various changes every time it reappears, which is used to express different images and artistic conception. This technique is called "theme transformation". This "theme deformation" is a common technique used by Liszt in concertos and symphonic poems, and it is also a common technique used in various title music after Liszt.
His third symphony takes the form of a free sonata. The beginning is the introduction of Andante, and the music raises a philosophical question to explore the true meaning of life in a questioning tone. The main part is a solemn andante, which shows that life is full of youthful vitality, just like the rising sun. The connecting part is a lyric theme, which shows the warmth and happiness of love; It changed from C major in the main part to E major in the auxiliary part. The minor part is also a lyric theme to express love, which appears in E major. The development part describes the wind and rain on the road of life, and the music material is also the development of interrogative tone. This piece of music uses a lot of modelling technique, the ups and downs of cello chromatic melody, the sharp and tense disharmonious chords of woodwind and stringed instruments, the roar of brass instruments and the roar of timpani to describe the gale, lightning and thunder. When the music reaches its climax, the chromatic scale on woodwind and stringed instruments will drop. Like a storm, it is shocking. The insertion part behind the expansion part is an idyllic poem describing rural life. The storm gradually subsided, and after the rain cleared, the oboe played a beautiful tune, like a shepherd's flute playing. This piece of music is a variation connecting some themes in the presentation part. In the centerfold. We can also hear the deformation of the sub-theme of the exhibition department. The love theme of the deputy department. Now it's pastoral poetry. The pastoral gradually became excited and became a March. Brass instruments sounded the horn of battle, calling on heroes to meet new life and struggle. This bugle call is another variation of the joint theme.
Here's the reverse part, put the secondary part first. The theme of the Ministry is transformed into a battle March again here. Finally, the theme of the main part appears, like the presentation part, without deformation. It shows that the hero has recovered his confidence and youthful strength in the battle. Liszt thinks: "Titles can endow instrumental music with various subtle personality colors, which are almost the same as those expressed by different poetic forms." Therefore, he called his single movement entitled Symphonic Music "Symphonic Poetry". Liszt's symphonic poems, such as Listening in the Mountain, Prelude, Mazeppa, Ideal and From Cradle to Grave, are all works with poetry as the theme, expressing the artistic conception of poetry. There are also some symphonic poems that take painting as the theme or describe natural scenery, which can be called "acoustic painting", "symphonic painting" or "symphonic painting". Russian composer Bao Luoting's On the Prairie of Central Asia is a genre painting of symphonic music.
This is a symphonic poem describing the scenery of Kyrgyz grassland and showing patriotism from it. In front of the music, Bao Luoting wrote the title of this work: "On the vast grassland of Central Asia in Pingsha, a little-known Russian song of peace came. The footsteps of horses and camels can be heard in the distance, as well as strange songs with oriental tunes. An indigenous caravan approached. Under the protection of the Russian army, it crossed the boundless desert, rushed on the road safely, and drifted away with the caravan freely and carefree. Russian songs and Asian tunes are combined to form a harmonious harmony, and its echo gradually disappears in the air of the grassland. "
At the beginning of the music, the violin played a continuous high-pitched sustained tone, and the clarinet played a long Russian tune (A major) against the background of describing the empty atmosphere of the grassland, which was repeated by the horn at a tone of six degrees lower, as if it were an echo floating on the grassland. Then, the cello and viola plucked the strings, depicting the footsteps of horses and camels in the distance. In this context, the British bagpipes played a beautifully decorated oriental tune (A minor). Once again, when we heard a Russian tune played by the clarinet and the horn echoed with it, there was already full harmony. Then, all the musical instruments played Russian tunes powerfully, describing that the Russian army was approaching. Once again, British bagpipes and cellos played oriental tunes, which were repeated by violins in different tones. Then the two tunes are combined at the same time with polyphony to describe the encounter between the indigenous caravan and the Russian army on the grassland. In this piece of music, Russian tunes are played with oboe, while oriental tunes are played with violin first, and then moved to cello. Finally, in the conclusion, French horn and various woodwind instruments take turns to blow out fragments of Russian tunes, describing the gradual disappearance of singing on the grassland. The above introduces the symphonic poems which are based on poetry and describe natural scenery. Now let's listen to another symphony poem based on sculpture-the Monument to the People's Heroes created by Qu Wei. This is an epic symphonic poem, which expresses people standing in front of the monument to the people's heroes and remembering the heroic achievements of the martyrs, and their hearts are full of infinite reverence and admiration. The Monument to the People's Heroes was established to commemorate the people's heroes who died in China's revolutionary struggle against domestic and foreign enemies for more than 0/00 years. Eight revolutionary historical reliefs carved with white marble are embedded around the monument, namely "Burning Opium Smoke", "Jintian Village Uprising", "Wuchang Uprising", "May 4th Patriotic Movement", "May 30th Movement", "August 1st Nanchang Uprising", "Anti-Japanese Guerrilla War Behind the Enemy" and "Successfully Crossing the River to Liberate China". This symphony poem does not describe the specific revolutionary historical events expressed in each relief, but generally describes the heroic fighting spirit and noble revolutionary sentiment of the people's heroes.
The whole song is written in sonata form. The adagio begins with the cello and the double bass playing a deep and serious bass tune, which shows people's mourning and meditation when they pay homage to the monument to the people's heroes. Then the violin and viola played clear chords to express their admiration for the people's heroes.
The main part is a heroic and decisive battle March, which uses the technique of imitating polyphony. Every voice is cadenced, showing the heroic image of fighting bravely for the revolutionary cause. The sub-department is a theme of folk song style, which shows the heroes' broad mind and love for the motherland and the people.
The deputy department developed a passionate image through variation, and then the mood gradually calmed down and the music entered the development department. In the development department, the struggling image of the main department has been actively developed, which has become overwhelming. The author uses the technique of "fugue paragraph" when developing the main part. In the last paragraph of the development department, the theme develops at an expanded pace. Accompanied by timpani and bass stringed instruments, the four corners of the pipe imitate each other and reach a climax step by step, describing the surging revolutionary struggle; Make persistent efforts. Since the climax of the reproductive department, the main department and the deputy department have infiltrated each other and made new progress. When the main part reached its climax, trumpets and trombones blew out the melody of the auxiliary part with passionate and generous tones, accompanied by gongs, describing the heroic sacrifice of the people's heroes; Then the music turned to adagio, and woodwinds and stringed instruments played the theme of the introduction, picking up horns with each other, showing infinite sadness. This is a dramatic turning point in the reproductive sector. The music image of the deputy department in the reproduction department changed from memory to admiration, and the sound mode of the main department was added in the middle, which showed the idea of moving forward through the blood of martyrs. At the end, the theme of the main part is transformed into a solemn allegro in major, which shows the people's praise for the heroes in the square. 19 from the 20th century, many famous composers in Europe wrote symphonic poems. The symphonic poems of composers in Eastern Europe and Northern Europe often contain patriotic thoughts about their own history, geography and literature. For example, Bedrich Smetana's My Motherland consists of six symphonic poems, which eulogize the magnificent rivers and mountains and glorious history of the motherland. The Water Monster, The Witch at Noon, The Golden Spinning Wheel and The Wild Pigeon by A de Vozak are based on the folk narrative poem Bouquet Collection by Czech poet K.J. Alben (181~1870). Sibelius's Culer Vaud and Le Minkkinen are both symphonic poems based on the Finnish national epic Ka Laivaara (translated as Hero's Country), while his Song of Finland is a patriotic work against the rule of Russian Empire.
Strauss called his Don Juan, Macbeth, Death and Purification, Zarathustra and The Life of a Hero "symphonic poems", which are aliases of symphonic poems. Some symphonic music in sibelius also uses this name. In addition, the genre of symphonic poetry also includes audio and video (such as Musorgskiy's Picture Exhibition and Night on a Barren Mountain), symphonic painting, symphonic sketch, symphonic picture, symphonic narrative, symphonic legend, symphonic fairy tale (such as prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, symphonic fantasia, etc.