Symphony No. 3
for symphony orchestra (1995/97)

Listen to an excerpt (512K MP3)

28 minutes

Symphony No. 3 was composed at the invitation of conductor Werner Andreas Albert and is dedicated to him. Scored for orchestra only, this Third Symphony is a work of genuine appeal and it features some striking orchestral writing. Again it contains features which we have heard in the Second Symphony, including the employment of motoric rhythms and some quite distinctive writing for wind instruments.

It opens dramatically with timpani rolls and some chordal figures in the strings. The motor rhythms in quavers begin early in the piece and with themes and fragments of themes being tossed around, the large shadow of Sibelius is never far away.

But after a driving climax, suddenly a more reflective passage marked Lusingando (flatteringly, alluringly) enters on the oboe and is then taken over and shared by the other wind instruments and soon the strings. It rises to great heights of passion before subsiding back from whence it came. Keen-eared listeners may notice some affinity between the glorious string writing here and that in the final pages of Vaughan Williams’ Fifth Symphony, although any connection seems unintentional.

The movement then proceeds through further rousing climaxes, distinctive Bracanin ‘maestoso’ passages, and another sublime slower section (featuring more magnificent solo passages for wind) before drawing to an emphatic and singularly impressive conclusion, complete with exotic colourings on glockenspiel and harp.

The second movement, Andante lusingando, is particularly deeply felt, beginning with constantly changing slow rhythms which convey a sense of the melodies ‘breathing’. Again we hear just a hint of Sibelian thematic fragments before a more vigorous Allegro enters abruptly and with the snare drum introducing an almost military feel to proceedings. In the middle of the movement a typical Bracanin device – an ostinato pattern in crotchets in the lower strings and wind – introduces a greater sense of urgency before the poignant main theme and mood of calm resignation return for the conclusion.

An upward rush in the bassoon and cello introduces the Allegro vivace, built around swirling quaver figures. Once again the glockenspiel is used with imagination to embellish the melodies with shards of broken glass. Over a base of strings, wind and brass toss ideas playfully from one to another as the movement surges on toward its unexpectedly abrupt climax.

We then arrive at another Bracanin maestoso in the energetic finale. Fragments of melody heard in earlier movements are progressively pieced together as once more the sense of triumph, so familiar from the Second Symphony, is evoked once more. A more expressive passage, marked Andante cantabile, provides an intense contrast as it returns throughout the movement, but before long one senses the forces being marshalled once more as the insistent rhythms assert their dominance. Elegy and action are brought into an unusual organic unity as a cymbal and drum flourish brings down the rousing final chord.

This composer, who is so fascinated by time, has once again demonstrated his musical gift, which is to make that very same time stand still.

© 2000 Martin Buzacott