The Symphony No. 1 in D minor, Op. 9, was completed by Ernő Dohnányi in 1901, when the composer was 24. Premiered in 1902, it is an early work by Dohnányi, and is his first full venture into orchestral writing (the 1896 Symphony in F was neither completed nor published). Although audibly influenced by the prevailing voices of the time, including Bruckner, Strauss, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Mahler and Brahms, the work nonetheless demonstrates a formidable handling of complex compositional techniques and is a notable precursor to what would become Dohnányi's distinctive neoromantic style. As with most of his public work, Dohnányi published the composition under the Germanized version of his name, Ernst von Dohnányi. The symphony is 50–55 minutes in duration.
Contents
Structure
The work is structured, uncommonly for Dohnányi's time, in five movements. It opens with the customary fast movement; the next three are in a slow-fast-slow configuration, with two calmer movements on either side of a vigorous scherzo. The finale is the work's longest section, and ends in a triumphant conclusion.
The score is marked as follows:
- Allegro ma non troppo
- Molto adagio
- Scherzo - Presto
- Intermezzo - Andante con moto
- Finale - Introduzione, Tema con variazione e Fuga
Orchestration
The symphony is written for an orchestra typical of the late-Romantic era:
Recordings
There have been two major recordings of this symphony, both in 1998. Matthias Bamert, who had two years earlier conducted the premiere recording of Dohnányi's Symphony No. 2, directed a performance with the BBC Philharmonic with Chandos Records label; Leon Botstein conducted the London Philharmonic with Telarc label. The information of the two recordings is as follows:
In addition to these, numerous informal and unprofessional recordings have been made and are typically not available for purchase.