Honegger's Symphonies

Synopsis

When asked to name some important musical works associated with World War II, music lovers are apt to think of the sonatas and symphonies Prokofiev and Shostakovich wrote during those years. But three symphonies by Swiss composer Arthur Honegger form another compelling war triptych.

Honegger spent the war years in occupied France, and his Symphony No. 2, which premiered in 1942, might be considered a symphony of the grim wartime resistance. It is scored for strings alone, but at the very end includes an optional trumpet solo, a dramatic gesture that seems an emotional call to action.

Honegger’s Symphony No. 3, which premiered on August 17, 1946, is titled A Liturgical Symphony, with the titles of each of its movements taken from the Latin Mass for the Dead. Considering the great loss of life on all sides of the conflict just ended, this work, too, packs an emotional wallop.

And to round out the triptych, Honegger’s Symphony No. 4, from 1947, is subtitled The Delights of Basel. This music captures the elusive and bittersweet mood of a Europe tentatively groping its way back to normal life, closing with a decidedly wistful evocation of carnival time in the Swiss city of Basel.

Music Played in Today's Program

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955): Symphonies Nos. 2 and 3 Oslo Philharmonic; Mariss Jansons, conductor; EMI 55122

Arthur Honegger (1892-1955): Symphony No. 4 (Deliciae Basiliensis) Lausanne Chamber Orchestra; Jesus Lopez-Cobos, conductor; Virgin 91486

On This Day

Births

• 1903 - American composer and pianist Abram Chasins, in New York City

• 1928 - American composer T.J. (Thomas Jefferson) Anderson, in Coatesville, Pennsylvania

• 1943 - English composer Edward Cowie, in Birmingham

Deaths

• 1786 - Frederick the Great, King of Prussia, flute player and amateur composer, 74, in Potsdam

• 1958 - French composer Florent Schmitt, 87, in Neuilly-sur-Seine

• 1961 - French-born American composer and harpist Carlos Salzedo, 76, in Waterville, Maine

• 1973 - French composer Jean Barraque, 45, in Paris

• 1981 - American composer Robert Russell Bennett, 87, in New York City

• 1983 - American lyricist Ira Gershwin, 86, in Beverly Hills, California

Premieres

• 1876 - First complete performance of Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle concludes at Bayreuth with a performance of Götterdämmerung (The Twilight of the Gods)

• 1937 - John Ireland: A London Overture at a Proms Concert conducted by Sir Henry Wood

• 1946 - Honegger: Symphonie Liturgique (No. 3) in Zürich, conducted by Charles Munch, to whom the work is dedicated

• 1953 - von Einem: opera Der Prozess (The Trial), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria. This opera is based on the novel by Franz Kafka.

• 1955 - Werner Egk: opera Irische Legende (Irish Legend), at the Salzburg Festival in Austria

• 1974 - Penderecki: Magnificat, for bass solo, chorus, and orchestra, in Salzburg, Austria

Others

• 1928 - Swedish composer Kurt Atterberg wins $10,000 Schubert Centenary Prize offered by Columbia Phonograph Company of New York for his Symphony in C

• 1957 - During lecture at the Tanglewood Festival, American composer Gunther Schuller coins the phrase “third stream” to describe a type of composition in which elements of jazz are organized within a classical musical structure