Overview
Introduction
The Symphony in C "Roma" is the second of Georges Bizet's symphonies. Unlike his first symphony, also in C major, which was written quickly at the age of 17, Roma was written over an eleven-year span, between the ages of 22 and 33 (he died at age 36). Bizet was never fully satisfied with it, subjecting it to a number of revisions, but died before finishing his definitive version. All four movements were performed in his lifetime, but never all on the same occasion. The full symphony in its latest revision was premiered in 1875, after his death. It is perhaps because of Bizet's dissatisfaction that the work is often said to be "unfinished". However, in the form in which it exists today, it is a complete work and is fully scored. It has been recorded a number of times but is not often heard on the concert platform.
Background
Bizet won the Prix de Rome in 1857, which required him to spend the following two years studying free of charge at the French Academy in Rome, followed by a year studying in Germany. He never went to Germany, but stayed in Rome until July 1860.
By 1861 he had written the Scherzo, still generally considered the best movement of the work. It was performed privately in November 1861, and received a public performance on 11 January 1863, conducted by Jules Pasdeloup at the Cirque Napoléon, at which Camille Saint-Saëns was present. It was poorly performed and provoked a hostile reaction from many concert subscribers. Nevertheless, it was given another performance on 18 January at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, and this time received a much more positive reaction.
By 1866 he had written his first version of the complete work, in which the first movement was a Theme and Variations,
The full symphony in its latest known version was premiered after his death, in 1875.
Title
In form, the work stands somewhere between a symphony and a symphonic suite. Grove's Dictionary says: "It is not sufficiently explicit for programme music and too carelessly constructed for an abstract symphony". However, this renaming could only have occurred after 1935 (60 years after Bizet's death), when the very existence of his first symphony, the Symphony in C, was made known to the world for the first time.
The work
Roma is a very unequal work. The Scherzo is usually singled out as its best movement, full of liveliness and grace. The outer movements contain both brilliance and academic pedantry, and the slow movement is not generally well regarded, sometimes being described as "ponderous and boring".
Structure
The four movements of Roma are:
- Andante tranquillo, leading to an Allegro agitato (C major)
- Scherzo – Allegretto vivace
- Andante molto (F major)
- Allegro vivacissimo (Finale).
The work takes about 31 minutes to play.
