Symphonie concertante

Karl Amadeus Hartmann pays homage to Igor Stravinsky’s Le sacre du printemps in the slow central section of his 5th Symphony. The famous opening theme is first quoted by the clarinet and continued by a muted trombone and bassoon. The framing movements are characterised by the spirit of the Baroque concerto: here a variety of solo wind instruments compete with one another. Originally conceived as a concerto for solo trumpet and wind instruments, individual sections of the work took form during Hartmann’s ‘wild’ years when he was experimenting with multifarious styles.