Symphony No.1 - Darius Milhaud

Basel Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Alun Francis.

I - Pastoral. Modérément animé: 0:00
II - Très vif: 7:11
III - Très modéré: 11:48
IV - Final. Animé: 18:20

Milhaud's Symphony No.1 was composed in 1939, being commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the orchestra. Despite being written on the outbreak of World War II, and during a period of illness and anxiety from the composer, the piece is of a luminous neoclassicism we could broadly categorize as Mediterranean in style. It was premiered in Chicago conducted by the composer, who decided to emigrate to America along his family.

The main interest for Milhaud at the time was to master the problem of using polytonality in larger forms and ensembles. Polytonality is the practice of using more than one distinct key at the same time, and is a major aspect of Milhaud's style. His problem was, first, to keep the competing tonal centres clear (rather than letting the tonality become obscured and collapse into atonality). Another problem was that the resulting dissonances generated a lot of overtones, which had the potential to create a muddy orchestral texture. Milhaud therefore for the most part avoided full-sized ensembles in his instrumental music to this point in his life.

The first movement is structured in a modified sonata form. It begins with a lyrical, pastoral main theme on flutes, unfolding in a graceful and elegant manner. A more active and animated second theme is introduced by woodwinds, but hardly contrasting in nature. A light and carefree development of these materials ensue, culminating in a bright climax. We find no standard recapitulation, instead the tempo slows down and a serene coda ends the movement.

The second movement is a monothematic scherzo. It opens with a rhythmic main theme introduced by woodwinds over percussion, it employs the characteristic use of bitonality from Milhaud. The music is also reminiscent of Milhaud's earlier Brazilian period. After a robust climax, a flowing fugue starts with the main theme as the subject. A vigorous coda, derived from the main theme, ends the movement in full force.

The third movement takes the form of a theme and variations. It begins with a lyrical main theme in form of an expressive chorale. The ensuing variations are contrasting in nature and dominated by the woodwinds, again exploring polytonality in an assured manner. The music darkens as it adopts the rhythm of a funereal march, growing into a dramatic and dissonant climax. A serene coda, with a solo of the English horn, brings the movement to a calm conclusion.

The fourth movement is written in a modified sonata form. It begins with a solemn and bitonal chorale on full orchestra as the main theme, contrasted by a lighter, dance-like second theme on the wood with a certain Provençal feel. Follows a cheerful and animated development that combines these materials. The recapitulation opens with the chorale theme followed by the second. Shortly after both themes are juxtaposed in counterpoint, a brilliant coda ends the whole work.

Picture: "Le Pilat" (1935) by the French painter Albert Marquet.

Musical analysis mostly written by myself. Sources: https://tinyurl.com/2dba533b and https://tinyurl.com/2auk5wz5

Unfortunately, the score is not freely available.