The Role of Keyboard Instruments in Three Romantic Symphonies

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The Role of Keyboard Instruments in Three Romantic Symphonies

A discussion on the role of keyboard instruments in three Romantic symphonies: Neils Gade’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor Op. 25 (1852), Camille Saint-Saëns’s Symphony no. 3, ‘Organ’ in C minor Op. 78 (1886) and Vincent d’Indy’s Symphony on a French Mountain Air (Symphonie Cevenole) op. 25 (1886)

The keyboard instruments have been largely associated with solo repertoire since its genesis. While rarely used in the orchestra, a keyboard instrument can be an effective tool to add colours to a Symphony. As orchestration principally affects the richness of the music and consequently the effect of a Symphony, conscientious use of the keyboard instruments is mandatory. This essay aims to discuss three Romantic symphonies that exploit the keyboard instruments’ versatility, sonority and its ability to take on the role of an orchestral instrument, respectively.

Neils Gade’s Symphony No. 5 in D Minor Op. 25 (1852)

Contrary to popular belief that “innovative use of the piano as an orchestral instrument occurred first in France, since it first appears in the scores of Saint-Saëns, d’Indy, Debussy, and Stravinsky” (Adler, 2002, 469), Neils Gade’s fifth symphony is presumably the first to introduce this novel idea as acknowledged by Brown that “I know of no symphony prior to Gade’s op. 25 with an obbligato piano ” (Brown, 2007, 459).

Being “something of an experiment” (Brown, 2007, 465), Gade explores the versatility of the piano as both an accompanying and a solo instrument, as in a symphony versus a concerto. This is echoed in Berlioz’s sentiments that “the piano can be seen in two ways: as an orchestral instrument, or as a complete little orchestra in itself” (Shepherd, 2008, 9).

The symphony, which was a wedding gift to his wife, Sophie , opens with an unyielding declaration by the strings and contrasts quickly with a softer passage as the piano glides in with arpeggiated figures. While the absence of a double exposition clears doubts of the symphony being a concerto, it is hard to overlook the dialogues between the orchestra and the piano, which are typical of the concerto form. Upon close study of the music, one will notice that the movement is dominated by the orchestra rather than the piano and as elucidated by Brown in a table (Figure 1), the “different orchestra/piano relationships are used to underline the different and changing functions” (Brown, 2007, 460), resulting in an intriguing movement.

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