Grove's dictionary of music and musicians

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f260 SCHERZO SCHEEZO
^called Minuets while having little or nothing
in common with even the Symphony Minuets
of Haydn and Mozart. Amongst Beethoven's
endless devices for novelty should be noticed
the famous treatment of the Scherzo in the G
minor Symphony ; its conversion into a weird
and mysterious terror, and its sudden reappearance,
all alive and well again, in the midst
of the tremendous jubilation of the Finale.
Symphony No. 8, too, presents some singular
features. The second movement is positively
a cross between a slow movement and a Scherzo,
partaking equally of the sentimental and the
humorous. But the Finale is nothing else
than a rollicking Scherzo, teeming with eccentricities
and practical jokes from beginning to
end, the opening jest (and secret of the movement)
being the sudden unexpected entry of
the basses with a tremendous sharp, afterwards
turned into D flat, and the final one, the
repetition of the chord of F at great length as
if for a conclusion, and then, when the hearer
naturally thinks that the end is reached, a start
off in tnother direction with a new coda and
wind-up.
As a specimen of true Scherzo—that is, a
movement in strict form and with quaint and
whimsical humorous devices springing up unexpectedly,
but naturally, throughout,— the
Scherzo of the Ninth Symphony must ever
stand without a rival. The tiny phrase which
is the nucleus of the whole is feooentrioally introduced,
and prepares us at the outset for aU
manner of starts and surprises. The idea of
using the drums for this phrase seems to have
tickled Beethoven's fancy, as he repeats it again
and again.
Humour is more unexpected in Schubert
than in Beethoven, and perhaps because of its
unexpectedness we appreciate it the more. The
Scherzo of the major Symphony is full of
happy thoughts and surprises, as fine as any
of Beethoven's, and yet distinct from them.
The varied changes of rhythm in two, three,
and four bars, the piquant use of the wood
wind, and above all the sudden and lovely
gleam of sunshine
Fhite.
combine to place this movement among the
things imperishable. The Scherzos of the Octet,
the Quintet in C, and above all, the PF. Duet
in C, which Joachim has restored to its rightful
dignity of Symphony, are all worthy of honour.
The last named, with its imitations by inversion
of the leading phrase, and its grotesque bass
is truly comical.
It is much to be regretted that the more
modem composers have lost sight of the true
bearing of the Scherzo so completely. Mendelssohn
indeed has given it an elfish fairy character,
but though this is admirable in the
'Midsummer Night's Dream,' it is perhaps a
little out of place elsewhere. Lightness and
airy grace his Scherzos possess to admiration,
in common withhisCapricoios, which they closely
resemble ; but the musical humour which vents
itself in unexpected rhythms and impudent upstartings
of themes in strange places, neither
he nor any later composer seems to have had
an idea of. Mendelssohn has not used the title
'Scherzo' to either of his five symphonies, though
the 'Vivace non troppo' of the Scotch, the
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Allegretto ' of the Ldbgesang, and the ' Allegro
Vivace' of the Meformation are usually called
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Scherzos.' It is sufficient to name the String
Octet, the two PF. Trios and the two Quintets
for Strings, as a few of his works which contain
the most striking specimens in this line. As
before mentioned, his Capriccios for Piano are
pieces of the same order, and No. 4 of the
Sieben Charakter-stucke' (op. 7) may be classed
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with them.
With Schumann we find ourselves again in a
new field. Humour, his music seldom, if ever,
presents, and he is really often far less gay in
his Scherzos than elsewhere. He introduced
the innovation of two Trios in his Bb and
Symphonies, PF. Quintet, and other works,
but although this practice allows more scope
to the fancy of the composer in setting forth
strongly contrasted movements in related
rhythm, it is to be deprecated as tending to
give undue length and consequent heaviness to
what should be the lightest and most epigrammatic
of music. Beethoven has repeated the
Trios of his Fourth and Seventh Symphonies,
but that is quite another thing. Still, though
Schumann's Scherzos are wanting in lightness,
their originality is more than compensation.
The Scherzos of his orchestral works suffer also
from heavy and sometimes unskilful instrumentation,
but in idea and treatment are fuU
of charm. Several of his Kreisleriana and other
small PF. pieces are to all intents and purposes
Scherzos.
Though the modern composers have not produced
many remarkable Scherzos, it is not for
want of trying. Bubinstein has a very pretty
idea in 6-4 time in his Pianoforte Octet, and a
very odd one in his A major Trio. The Ocean
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Symphony has two Scherzos, in excellent contrast,
the first being in 2-4 time, and slightly
Schumannish, and the second in 3-4 time, with
quite a Beethoven flavour. The first of these is
not, however, entitled.Scherzo by the composer