"[INTRODUCTION]
"The symphony is concerned with three main themes, that of the husband, that of the wife, and that of the child. The husband theme is divided into three sections, the first of which is marked gemächlich ('easy-going,' or 'deliberate,' given out by 'cellos), the second sinnend ('meditative,'[159] oboe,) and the third feurig ('fiery,' violins). The first section of the symphony, the Introduction, is devoted to an exposition and treatment of the chief themes, or groups of themes, its most striking feature being the introduction of the child theme on the oboe d'amore, an instrument which has practically fallen out of use.[160] The composer himself has spoken of this theme as being of 'almost Haydnesque simplicity.' On this follows a very characteristic passage, which has been interpreted as representing the child in its bath.[161]
"[SCHERZO]
"The Scherzo bears the headings Elternglück—Kindliche Spiele ('Parents' Happiness'—'The Child at Play'). Its chief theme is the child theme in a new rhythm. At its end the music suggestive of the bath recurs, and the clock strikes seven. We then come to the lullaby, where we have another version of the child theme.
"[ADAGIO]
"The sub-headings of the Adagio are Schaffen und Schauen—Liebes-scene—Träume und Sorgen
('Doing and Thinking'—'Love Scene'—'Dreams and Cares'). This elaborate section introduces no new themes of any importance, and is really a symphonic slow movement of great polyphonic elaboration and superlatively rich orchestral color. The gradual awakening of the family is next depicted by a change in the character of the music, which becomes more and more restless, the use of rhythmical variants of previous themes being very ingenious; and then there is another reference to the bath music, and the glockenspiel[162] indicates that it is 7 A.M.
"[FINALE]
"In this way we reach the final Fugue. The principal subject of this is also a new version of the child theme. Its sub-title is Lustiger Streit—Fröhlicher Beschluss ('Merry Argument'—'Happy Conclusion'), the subject of the dispute between father and mother being the future of the son. The Fugue (the chief subject of which is another variant of the child theme) is carried on with unflagging spirit and humor and great variety of orchestration.... As the Fugue proceeds, the child theme gradually grows more and more prominent, and finally seems to dominate the whole score." ["The child seems to have hurt himself in boisterous play," says another commentator. "The mother cares for him, and the father also has a soothing word.">[ "Some new themes, all more or less akin to it, and all in the nature of folk-tunes, are introduced. The father and mother, however, soon assume their former importance, and the whole ends with great spirit and in the highest good-humor, with an emphatic reassertion of the husband theme with which it began, suggesting that the father had the last word in the argument."
FOOTNOTES:
[142] From the English version of John P. Jackson.
[143] See page 75 (foot-note).
[144] "Rubato": literally, "robbed"; in the phrase, "tempo rubato," a direction that the strict rhythm of the movement be relaxed by prolonging certain notes at the expense of others, which are thus "robbed" of their precise time-value.
[145] Alexander Ritter (1833-1896), composer, violinist, conductor (he married a niece of Wagner, an actress, Franziska Wagner), met Strauss at Meiningen in 1885, during the latter's term there as assistant conductor under Hans von Bülow. The acquaintanceship was of vital consequence to Strauss. "Before I knew Ritter," he himself has said, "I had been brought up in a severely classical school. I had been nourished exclusively on Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven; and then I became acquainted with Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, and Brahms. It is only through Ritter that I came to understand Liszt and Wagner.... Ritter was exceptionally well-read in all the philosophers, ancient and modern, and a man of the highest culture. His influence was in the nature of a storm-wind. He urged me on to the development of the poetic, the expressive, in music, as exemplified in the works of Liszt, Wagner, and Berlioz."
[146] To comment upon this reference to a classic form of musical structure would lead too far afield, although Strauss's suggestion as to the form of his work is not altogether jocose.
[147] See page 12 (foot-note).
[148] See page 184 (foot-note).