Symphony No. 6 is an orchestral work by Carlos Chávez, composed in 1961–62.

History

The Sixth Symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic in celebration of their 1962–63 opening season in

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...

. Composition was completed in 1962 and a date was scheduled for the symphony's premiere in the spring of 1963, but Chávez continued revisions to the score and the date had to be postponed. It was finally premiered in New York on 7 May 1964 in Philharmonic Hall, Lincoln Center, by

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...

and the New York Philharmonic, to whom the score is dedicated.

Instrumentation

The symphony is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, cor anglais, two clarinets, two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, two trumpets, two trombones, bass trombone, tuba, timpani, percussion (two players), and strings.

Analysis

The work is in three movements: #Allegro energico #Adagio molto cantabile #Con anima Far from the experimental approaches Chávez adopted in his earlier symphonies, the Sixth accepts the classical forms. The first movement is a sonata-allegro, beginning with a

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

theme recalling the symphonic style of the Romantic era. A bitonal transition leads to the second theme, in the dominant key of G major. After extensive development, the recapitulation is followed by a developmental

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, including a strict

mirror canon The mirror canon (also called a canon by contrary motion) is a type of canon which involves the leading voice being played alongside its own inversion (i.e. upside-down). The realisation from the 'closed' (unrealised) form can be effected by placi ...

on the first theme. The movement fades to nothing in a constant march in triplets. The second movement functions as a short but intense interlude between the outer movements. It falls into two sections, the first beginning in the brass and woodwinds, finally giving way to the violins. This is followed, after a descending transitional passage in the low brass, by the second section, where the double basses present the theme that will form the basis of the finale. There is a suggestion of the contrapuntal atmosphere, and even an anticipation of the two counterthemes of the first variation of the following movement. The symphony closes with a magisterial passacaglia. After the announcement of the bass

ostinato In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

in the tuba, there follow thirty-four variations, a

fugue In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

with two expositions, and then a further seven variations to conclude. The twenty-ninth variation evokes a Brahmsian sound as a culmination, reflecting the illustrious antecedent Chávez has accepted as his model, and the main theme from the first movement returns in the thirtieth. The last statement of the bass theme brings the movement to an imposing close in C major.

Discography

* ''The Six Symphonies of Carlos Chávez ''. Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de México; Carlos Chávez, cond. 3-LP set (stereo). CBS Masterworks 32 31 0002 (32 11 0020, 32 11 0022, 32 11 0024). New York: CBS, 1967. * ''The Six Symphonies of Carlos Chávez''. London Symphony Orchestra; Eduardo Mata, cond. 3-LP set (stereo). Vox Cum Laude 3D-VCL 9032. New York: Moss Music Group, 1983. Reissued on 2-CD set as ''Carlos Chávez: The Complete Symphonies''. VoxBox2 CDX 5061. Hauppauge, NY: Moss Music Group, 1992.

References

Sources * *

. 1967
Letter to Carlos Chávez (28 July)
"The Aaron Copland Collection ca. 1900–1990". The Library of Congress: American Memory website (Accessed 30 June 2012). * Orbón, Julián. 1987a. "Las sinfonías de Carlos Chávez." (part 1) ''Pauta: Cuadernos de teoría y crítica musical'' 6, no. 21 (January–March): 63–75. Reprinted as "Las sinfonías de Carlos Chávez" in: Julián Orbón. ''En la esencia de los estilos y otros ensayos'', foreword by Julio Estrada, 148–58. Madrid: Editorial Colibrí, 2000. . * Orbón, Julián. 1987b. "Las sinfonías de Carlos Chávez." (part 2). ''Pauta: Cuadernos de teoría y crítica musical'' 6, no. 22 (April–June): 81–91. * Rickards, Guy. 2013.
Chávez Symphonies 1–6
. ''

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'' (9 January). * Orbón, Julián. 2015. "Carlos Chávez's Symphonies", translated, introduced, and annotated by Leonora Saavedra. In ''Carlos Chávez and His World'', edited by Leonora Saavedra, 62–75. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015. (cloth); . Translated from the Spanish liner notes for ''Chávez: The Complete Symphonies'', London Symphony Orchestra, Eduardo Mata (cond.). Peerless Records, 1982. * Parker, Robert L. 1983. ''Carlos Chávez, Mexico's Modern-Day Orpheus''. Twayne's Music Series. Boston: Twayne Publishers. . * Parker, Robert. 2001. "Chávez (y Ramírez), Carlos (Antonio de Padua)". '' The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', second edition, edited by

Stanley Sadie Stanley John Sadie (; 30 October 1930 – 21 March 2005) was an influential and prolific British musicologist, music critic, and editor. He was editor of the sixth edition of the '' Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1980), which was publ ...

and John Tyrrell. London: Macmillan.

External links