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Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, "Rhenish"
Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was born June 8, 1810 in Zwickau (Saxony) and died July 29, 1856 at the Endenich asylum, near Bonn. His “Rhenish” Symphony was composed between November 2 and December 9, 1850. Schumann conducted its first performance on February 6, 1851 in Düsseldorf. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Robert Schumann’s role in the history of the symphony was a critical one, coming as it did during a period when interest in the genre was flagging. While the origins of the symphony as we know it may be found in the mid-18th century, the high point of its development may be said to extend from roughly the 1780s—when Haydn started to reach his maturity with the “Paris” Symphonies—through the last symphonies of Mozart, composed in the latter part of the decade, and, of course, the mighty nine symphonies of Beethoven, extending from 1800 through 1824. But what then was to follow?

Schumann bewailed the fate of the symphony in an article published in 1839 in the journal he helped to found, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Interestingly, the key to any move forward was to lay in the discovery of the past, namely the last symphony of Franz Schubert (the “Great” Symphony in C Major), a work of extraordinary innovation that sadly lay dormant until the year 1839, at which time Schumann rescued it from obscurity by insisting on its performance in Leipzig on March 21, 1839. A glowing review of this piece by Schumann followed in 1840, and his own career as a composer of symphonies ensued in 1841 with the first version of his D-minor Symphony (revised in 1851 and known as his Symphony no. 4). His Symphony No. 1 dates from 1841, while his Symphony No. 2 was composed in late 1845 and early 1846.

Schumann’s Third Symphony (Rhenish), composed in 1850, was actually the last of his four symphonies in respect to date of composition. It came into existence at the time the composer accepted an appointment as Music Director of the Düsseldorfer Allgemeine Musikverein. Düsseldorf is located north of Cologne on the banks of the Rhine, and Schumann was eager to drink in its landscape and culture after his time in Dresden. Among his explorations of the Rhine Valley was the discovery of the magnificent and imposing Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), the acknowledged inspiration for the fourth of the Rhenish Symphony’s five movements.

Yet one cannot escape the feeling that the other movements also reflect Schumann’s impressions of the river itself and its surroundings. Take, for example, the turbulent cross-rhythms that inform the opening of the first movement (marked Lebhaft, or lively), in which we feel ourselves literally swept up in the mighty river’s currents. (Surely it was no accident that Schumann’s disciple, Johannes Brahms, wrote these same cross-rhythms into the opening of his own Third Symphony!). Even the Scherzo: Sehr mässig has the feel of an oarsman pulling his boat against a strong current.

Any program one might project for the third movement, Nicht schnell, would be even more speculative, but as is the case for all the themes one encounters in this symphony, its interconnectedness to the rest of the piece is palpable. As indicated earlier, fourth movement, marked Feierlich (ceremoniously), was inspired by the architectural majesty of the Cologne Cathedral, conceived “in the character of an accompaniment to a solemn procession.” At one time it was thought that Schumann had attended the solemn ecclesiastical ceremony celebrating the elevation of Archbishop Johannes von Geiβel to Cardinal, held in the cathedral. Schumann’s diary, however, reveals that the composer did not attend due to illness. The “solemn procession,” therefore, existed in Schumann’s fertile musical imagination. But even its self-consciously antiquated notation—a feature of which audiences would not aware without consulting the score—bespeak the language of the high church. Schumann imitates the effect of the pipe organ by bringing in three trombones—instruments traditionally associated with sacred space.

The trombones remain in use as the Rhenish Symphony concludes with a vigorous finale that draws together the various thematic strands, rhythms, and counterpoints that filled the symphony’s first four movements. Triumphant horns and solemn trombones seem to lead “Father Rhine” along its inexorable flow to the sea.


Program Note by David B. Levy, © 2003/2014/2026

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat Major, Op. 97, "Rhenish"
Robert Schumann

Robert Schumann was born June 8, 1810 in Zwickau (Saxony) and died July 29, 1856 at the Endenich asylum, near Bonn. His “Rhenish” Symphony was composed between November 2 and December 9, 1850. Schumann conducted its first performance on February 6, 1851 in Düsseldorf. It is scored for 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, timpani, and strings.

Robert Schumann’s role in the history of the symphony was a critical one, coming as it did during a period when interest in the genre was flagging. While the origins of the symphony as we know it may be found in the mid-18th century, the high point of its development may be said to extend from roughly the 1780s—when Haydn started to reach his maturity with the “Paris” Symphonies—through the last symphonies of Mozart, composed in the latter part of the decade, and, of course, the mighty nine symphonies of Beethoven, extending from 1800 through 1824. But what then was to follow?

Schumann bewailed the fate of the symphony in an article published in 1839 in the journal he helped to found, the Neue Zeitschrift für Musik. Interestingly, the key to any move forward was to lay in the discovery of the past, namely the last symphony of Franz Schubert (the “Great” Symphony in C Major), a work of extraordinary innovation that sadly lay dormant until the year 1839, at which time Schumann rescued it from obscurity by insisting on its performance in Leipzig on March 21, 1839. A glowing review of this piece by Schumann followed in 1840, and his own career as a composer of symphonies ensued in 1841 with the first version of his D-minor Symphony (revised in 1851 and known as his Symphony no. 4). His Symphony No. 1 dates from 1841, while his Symphony No. 2 was composed in late 1845 and early 1846.

Schumann’s Third Symphony (Rhenish), composed in 1850, was actually the last of his four symphonies in respect to date of composition. It came into existence at the time the composer accepted an appointment as Music Director of the Düsseldorfer Allgemeine Musikverein. Düsseldorf is located north of Cologne on the banks of the Rhine, and Schumann was eager to drink in its landscape and culture after his time in Dresden. Among his explorations of the Rhine Valley was the discovery of the magnificent and imposing Kölner Dom (Cologne Cathedral), the acknowledged inspiration for the fourth of the Rhenish Symphony’s five movements.

Yet one cannot escape the feeling that the other movements also reflect Schumann’s impressions of the river itself and its surroundings. Take, for example, the turbulent cross-rhythms that inform the opening of the first movement (marked Lebhaft, or lively), in which we feel ourselves literally swept up in the mighty river’s currents. (Surely it was no accident that Schumann’s disciple, Johannes Brahms, wrote these same cross-rhythms into the opening of his own Third Symphony!). Even the Scherzo: Sehr mässig has the feel of an oarsman pulling his boat against a strong current.

Any program one might project for the third movement, Nicht schnell, would be even more speculative, but as is the case for all the themes one encounters in this symphony, its interconnectedness to the rest of the piece is palpable. As indicated earlier, fourth movement, marked Feierlich (ceremoniously), was inspired by the architectural majesty of the Cologne Cathedral, conceived “in the character of an accompaniment to a solemn procession.” At one time it was thought that Schumann had attended the solemn ecclesiastical ceremony celebrating the elevation of Archbishop Johannes von Geiβel to Cardinal, held in the cathedral. Schumann’s diary, however, reveals that the composer did not attend due to illness. The “solemn procession,” therefore, existed in Schumann’s fertile musical imagination. But even its self-consciously antiquated notation—a feature of which audiences would not aware without consulting the score—bespeak the language of the high church. Schumann imitates the effect of the pipe organ by bringing in three trombones—instruments traditionally associated with sacred space.

The trombones remain in use as the Rhenish Symphony concludes with a vigorous finale that draws together the various thematic strands, rhythms, and counterpoints that filled the symphony’s first four movements. Triumphant horns and solemn trombones seem to lead “Father Rhine” along its inexorable flow to the sea.


Program Note by David B. Levy, © 2003/2014/2026