Zemlinsky “Lyric” Symphony

Alexander von ZemlinskyThe Lyric Symphony op. 18, of Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942) was composed in 1922, and received its premiere in June 1924 in Prague under the composer’s direction. It is Zemlinsky’s best-known work.

The symphony is in seven connected movements, and is scored for baritone and soprano soloists in addition to the standard orchestra; the sung texts are taken from the work of Rabindranath Tagore, in a German translation by Hans Effenberger.

The movements are:

  • Ich bin friedlos, ich bin durstig nach fernen Dingen
  • O Mutter, der junge Prinz’
  • Du bist die Abendwolke
  • Sprich zu mir Geliebter
  • Befrei mich von den Banden deiner Süße, Lieb
  • Vollende denn das letzte Lied
  • Friede, mein Herz

Alban Berg claimed to have been inspired by the symphony, and quoted the third movement in his Lyric Suite for string quartet.


The form of Alexander von Zemlinsky’s best-known and most often performed work, A Lyric Symphony, owes a debt to Mahler. In 1922 he wrote to a friend, “This summer I’ve written something along the lines of Das Lied von der Erde.” Like that work, the present work is part symphony, part orchestral song cycle, and its sumptuous orchestrations fall between the late-Romantic tradition of Mahler and the modernism of the Second Viennese School of Arnold Schoenberg, et. al. And, like Das Lied… the texts are drawn from an Eastern source, the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). In seven remarkable, impassioned poems, soprano and baritone soloists speak of love, from longing to passion fulfilled to farewell and release. Zemlinsky’s music captures Tagore’s opulent language, heavy with symbolism and breathtaking beauty. The structure of the symphony falls roughly into three parts: the first two songs deal with yearning and desire “Ich bin friedlos, ich bin durstig nach fernen Dingen” (“I am restless, I thirst for distant things”) and “O Mutter, der junge Prinz” (“Oh mother, the young prince”). The middle portion of the A Lyric Symphony sings of love fulfilled: “Du bist die Abendwolke” (“You are the evening cloud”) and “Sprich zu mir, Geliebter” (“Speak to me, Beloved”); and the final section is about separation and leave-taking: “Befrei mich von den Banden deiner Süße, Lieb“ (“Set me free from the bonds of your sweetness, Love”), the heart-breaking “Vollende denn das letzte Lied” (“Finish, then, the last song”); and the finale “Friede, mein Herz“ (“Be at peace, my heart”).

PERFORMANCE DATE:
Saturday, April 10, 2010