No~ember 1938
The GRAMOPHONE
Next I applied myself to eliminating whole works. I ruthlessly deprived Mozart of all but his last two symphonies, but not without a silent tear being shed over the lovely minuet and trio of the thirty-ninth.
I even dared to attack Beethoven in like manner. I wrested from him the charming little symphony in C major, and the exhilarating work in D major, Op. 36. Then I approached the Fourth and Eighth . . . need I say that I approached them with diffidence? I scarcely dared to lay impious hands on works upon which Ludwig himself had set the seal of his affection; but in th e end they went . . . and I have no excuse to offer, save that their inclusion would have meant an all-Beethoven entry.
Under the influence of this iconoclastic impulse , I immediately decided to cut off two such lesser l ights-by comparisonas Dvor·ak and Tchaikovsky: but here I was faced with a new consideration-nostalgia. The fourth symphonies of both these composers are already very dear to me, but they are comparatively new-found friends, so I decided to eliminate them; with an effort I took my mind off" Les Presages," and forced myself to think on Beethoven-away went Tchaikovsky's Fifth. I was left with the New World and Pathetique symphonies-my earliest symphonic loves, and for the life of me I couldn't cast them away, so for the time, at least, they shall remain.
Brahms-here was a problem. All four of his symphonies are very dear friends of mine. I have records of the First and Fourth, and I know the Second pretty well; the Third is the one with which I am least familiar, so I decided to let that one go, but i t has already curled itself into my affections well enough to cause some misgiving.
Finally, Schubert. . . . Again the choice was quite impossible, but i t eventually devolved upon the C major, as I did not know i t so well as the Unfinished. . . . Though whether this is sufficient excuse for casting aside such a wonderful work is another matter.
I was now left with the following complete symphonies: The 40th and 41st of Mozart. The 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and 9th of Beethoven. The 1st, 2nd and 4th of Brahms. The Unfinished Symphony of Schubert. The 5th and 6th'of Dvorak and Tchaikovsky respectively. I chose the first movement of Mozart's 40th, and the Finale of the Jupiter. I chose the first two movements of the Eroica, the first and last movements of the Fifth, the lovely Peasants' Merrymaking (third movement) of the Pastorale Symphony, the wonderful contrapuntal Allegretto and the terrific finale from the Seventh, and the first three movements of the Ninth.
I chose the second movement and finale of Brahms' first symphony, the last three movements of his Second, and the first two movements of the Fourth. I chose the first two movements from the New World Symphony, and the first and third movements of the Pathetique. I left the Unfinished Symphony untouched.
This left me with the following list of movements: Fiut Movements.
Mozart's 40th; Beethoven's 3rd, 5th and 9th; Schubert's 8th; Brahm's 4th and Tchaikovsky's 6th; Dvorak's Fifth. Total 8. Second Movements.
Beethoven's 3rd, 7th and 9th; Schubert's 8th; Dvorak's 5th; Brahms' 1st, 2nd and 4th. Total 8. Third Movements.
Beethoven's 6th and 9th; Brahms' 2nd; Tchaikovsky's 6th. Total 4. Finales.
Mozart's Jupiter; Beethoven's 5th and 7th ; Brahms' 1st and 2nd . Total 5.
I started by attacking the Finales. The two Beethoven examples had to remain, equally obviously the wonderful Finale to the Jupiter must remain, so the two Brahms excerpts had to go.
Then came the Third Movements; here I onlly had to eliminate one competitor, and once more the choice of who should be left out fell to Brahm,. I knew Tchaikovsky better here.
The Second Movements provided a much harder problem. Finally I decided that the great Funeral March from the Eroica must remain, as must the glorious Allegretto from the Seventhmy favourite symphony. The third place I eventually allotted to the Largo from the New World symphony-a movement which I shall always hold especially d ear, as i t was the first symphonic movement ever to arouse my interest.
The First Movements were the greatest difficulty. Eventually I plumped for the opening of the Fifth, then I decided on the colossal first movement of the Ninth , a nd finally I chose the Allegro of the Unfinished to fill my last gap.
Before I put clown the final list, I would like to offer my condolences to poor Johannes Brahms, who held no less than seven places out of the preliminary twenty-five, and who now has no places at all.
For your convenience I shall put the final placings on yet another sheet. I trust that this rambling discursion will not have bored you unduly. I thank you for the amusement which this competition has given me, and for the great benefit and enjoyment which THE GRAMOPHOJl.'E has been to me for the last three years.
First Movements.
FINAL PLACINGS
I . Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C Minor (Op. 67). 2. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D Minor (Op. 125). 3. Schubert's Eighth Symphony in B Minor (The
" Unfinished.") Second Movements.
I . Beethoven's Third Symphony in E Flat (Op. 55) (Eroica). 2. Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in A Major (Op. 92). 3. Dvorak's Fifth Symphony in E Minor (Op. 95) (from the
New World). Third Movements.
I . Beethoven's Sixth Symphony in F Major (Op. 68) (The
Pastoral). 2. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in D Minor (Op. 125). 3· Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony in B Minor (Op. 74)
(The Pathetique). Finales.
I . Beethoven's Fifth Symphony in C Minor (Op. 67). 2. Beethoven's Seventh Symphony in A Major (Op. 92). 3. Mozart's Forty-first Symphony in C Major (K. 55 I) (The
Jupiter). Isn't the proportion of Beethoven's music remarkable ? But then I can scarcely imagine a list in which i t wouldn't figure equally prominently.
And I cannot resist printing a few more letters : From Mr. J. Lillywhite, of the Meteorological Office, Parafield Aerodrome, Adelaide, South Australia. September 30th.
Though I have been a reader of THE GRAMOPHONE for over five years, this is the first occasiQn I have entered for one of your competitions, mainly because the t ime l imit has often been too short for Australian entries to reach London. The Empire Air Mail servi ce, with its reduced postage rates, has changed all that, and has, I hope, brought the two countries close r together in other ways. Because of the critical situation in Europe this last week, I had not considered i t worth while submitting an entry for this competition, but the easing of tension these last two days prompts me to send this last minute list, and with i t the hope that by the t ime i t reaches London, a stronger p eace will have settled on Europe.
I have long intended to write a letter to THE GRAMOPHONE ; there are so many interesting differences between the lot of the gramophile in England, and that of his Australian cousin, that a
