Who says that the introductions and finales should get all the attention? This week on the show, we're looking at adagios, scherzos, intermezzos, and other interior movements in a show we're calling "Stuck In The Middle."Â Find some middle ground in our playlist below:
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827), Symphony No. 7 in A major: II. Allegretto – For symphonies, introductions and finales often get most of the glory. They are often the fastest, loudest, most virtuosic, and demand the most attention. But every once in a while, the often-overlooked interior movements can achieve something spectacular. That was the case for the second movement from Beethoven's Seventh Symphony. The work premiered in December 1813 at a benefit concert for wounded soldiers from a recent battle against Napoleon's army-the symphony premiered alongside Beethoven's most martial piece, Wellington's Victory. The Seventh Symphony was an immediate success, met with applause that "rose to the point of ecstasy," according to one contemporary critic. But, it was the second movement that had an encore at the premiere, a movement hailed at the time for being, quote "the crown of modern instrumental music." It was so popular at the time that, in concerts, orchestras would sometimes substitute other slow movements with this one by Beethoven.
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- Felix Mendelssohn (1809–1847), Octet in E-flat major, Op. 20: III. Scherzo – Middle movements can take many forms: mournful adagios, lilting minuets. But one common type of middle movement from the 19th century was the scherzo. The word "scherzo" literally translates to "joke" in Italian, and it's a rapid, light, virtuosic, and often ironically comic movement. Haydn and Beethoven codified the scherzo, but it was Mendelssohn who perfected it. Mendelssohn was only 16 years old when he wrote his Octet in E-flat major, and it became his first undisputed masterpiece. Its scherzo, with its lightning fast passagework and its already mature use of counterpoint, was the standout movement, and established Mendelssohn as the young composer to watch. This movement was so impressive that when Mendelssohn premiered his first symphony a few years later, he swapped out its third movement with an orchestral arrangement of this scherzo, knowing it would be a crowd pleaser.
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- George Frideric Handel (1685–1759), Water Music, Suite in G major: Menuet – A common type of middle movement in symphonies, string quartets, and sonatas is the minuet. In the classical and romantic eras, minuets were often paired with trios, two contrasting triple-meter sections performed da capo (that is, minuet, then trio, then minuet again). The minuet likely had its origins in 17th-century France, where it was a delicate, triple-meter dance practiced in the court of King Louis XIV. Its name probably derives from the French word "menu," meaning slender or small, referring to the steps of the dance. Minuets made their way into Baroque instrumental dance suite, along with other popular dance forms like the bourree, gavotte, and sarabande. That's the form in which it appears in Handel's suite known as Water Music, a work written for King George I and performed on his royal barge along the River Thames. The moderate tempo of the minuet was popular enough by the end of the 18th century that it became almost standard in large-scale instrumental works, even without its dance associations.
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- Gustav Mahler (1860–1911), Symphony No. 5: IV. Adagietto – Mahler's Adagietto, the fourth movement from his Fifth Symphony, is another middle movement that has outgrown its symphonic origins, performed probably more often as a standalone piece. In fact, the Adagietto was performed in England 36 years before the entire symphony premiered! "Adagietto" literally means "a little slowly," but many conductors take this movement extremely slowly-which is why it's often performed as a dirge. It was performed at the funeral for Robert Kennedy in 1968, memorials for Leonard Bernstein in 1990 after he passed away, and played a central role in the 1971 Italian film drama Death In Venice. However, the Adagietto was actually a love song. Mahler wrote it soon after he met his wife Alma Schindler. According to conductor Willem Mengelberg, Mahler gave this movement to her as a gift before they were married, a declaration of love with no words.
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- Giovanni Battista Pergolesi (1710–1736), La Serva Padrona – As the sets for opera seria became more and more complex, the time needed to change the scenery between acts became almost unbearable. Starting at the very beginning of the 18th century, a comic intermezzo was inserted between acts to provide entertainment during this empty space. The intermezzi gradually evolved from a simple bridge between acts to an independent and complete musical work. Although he only lived to be 26, Giovanni Battista Pergolesi was the leading figure in the rise of comic opera and intermezzi in early 18th-century Italy. The work is an important example of pre-classical style, and it remained in the intermezzo repertoire for decades after it was composed.
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- Georges Bizet (1838–1875), Carmen: Entr'acte to Act III – The overture is the piece of instrumental music that begins a theatre production, be it an opera or a musical. The piece of instrumental music played between the acts of a production is called an "Entr'acte" (which literally translates in French to "between the acts). It's basically the musical accompaniment to an intermission. This particular entr'acte comes between acts 2 and 3 of Georges Bizet's Carmen, just as Don José decides to throw away his life as a soldier and join Carmen and her group of smugglers-a decision that will ultimately lead to Carmen's death at the hands of Don José. People have tried to interpret this flute and harp entr'acte duet as reflecting the plot in some way. But in fact, Bizet originally wrote this music to be used as an entr'acte in L'Arlésienne, a set of incidental music he wrote three years earlier for a play.
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- Béla Bartók (1881–1945), String Quartet No. 4: III. Non troppo lento – Bartok focused his attention on chamber music in the late 1920s, composing his Fourth String Quartet in the summer of 1928, only one year after finishing his sonically-experimental third quartet. It was originally conceived as a four movement work, but Bartók added an additional movement to give it a symmetrical five-movement structure, sometimes referred to as an "arch form." Throughout his life, Bartok held a secondary interest in architecture and mathematics. He wrote the third movement of his quartet as if it were the keystone of an arch. Movements one and five are melodically linked, as are two and four, but the third movement is completely independent, a "musical wedge" between the other movements. The third movement has also been classified as "Night Music," a term Bartok used to describe the style of certain compositions that were evocative of nocturnal nature sounds and images.
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- Joseph Bodin de Boismortier (1689–1755), Divertissement de campagne – French composer Joseph Baudin de Boismortier was very prolific and financially successful. He wrote many pieces for amateurs and pedagogical works, and his output included a large number of concertos for various instruments, as well as Divertissments which were performed alongside popular operas by Lully and Rameau. Divertissments were inserted as interludes between acts of the main show. Sometimes, they had nothing to do with the plot of the opera they were a part of, and featured instrumental pieces, ballets and other forms of group dancing. Boismortier was able to make a living solely from the publication and sale of this music. Its broad appeal made for good business, especially because the pastoral aesthetic was in vogue among French aristocracy.
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- John Williams (b. 1932), Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back: "Yoda's Theme" – John Williams' music takes a page out of opera composer Richard Wagner's book, especially with the use of leitmotifs and character themes. This particular theme is first heard in the middle film of the original Star Wars series The Empire Strikes Back, when our hero Luke visits Dagobah, the murky swamp planet, to receive tutelage from the wise Yoda. Appropriately, this particular character's theme is brought back in subsequent Star Wars films whenever Yoda makes an appearance. The Empire Strikes Back is the second installment of the original Star Wars trilogy, and is arguably the most popular middle film of all time. After the success of the first film, Lucas hoped to become independent of the Hollywood film industry, and choose to finance his next movie completely on his own dime. It initially received mixed reviews but grew to become the fan favorite, particularly for its famous plot twist in which Darth Vader reveals he is Luke's father.
