In recognition of National Poetry Month, this week's Morning Glories explore the symphonic poem. We'll hear five depictions of stories drawn from the realm of rhyme.
Monday
Franz Liszt: Symphonic Poem No. 2 "Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo"
Liszt is generally credited with creating the symphonic poem — a free-form piece inspired by a pre-existing narrative. "Tasso, Lamento e Trionfo" is based on works by Byron and Goethe about a sixteenth-century Italian court poet, Torquato Tasso.
Tuesday
John Knowles Paine: Shakespeare's Tempest
Though you won't hear much iambic pentameter in Paine's symphonic depiction of Shakespeare, the scenes and characters of "The Tempest" are clearly illustrated through recurring musical themes, a hallmark of tone poems.
Wednesday
Antonin Dvorak: The Golden Spinning Wheel
Four of Dvorak's symphonic poems are based on poems from "A Bouquet of Folk Legends" by Czech author Karel Jaromir Erben. Other Czech composers, like Leos Janacek and Bohuslav Martinu, also found inspiration in this collection.
Thursday
Peter Tchaikovsky: Manfred Symphony
Byron's poem "Manfred", one of the most well-known representations of inner struggle and supernatural themes, has been retold in music by several composers, most notably Schumann, Tchaikovsky, and Nietzsche.
Friday
Jean Sibelius: Tapiola One of several programmatic works by Sibelius drawn from the national epic poem of Finland, The Kalevala, "Tapiola" depicts the pine forests of Finland and the forest spirit Tapio.
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