The Andante con moto from symphony No. 1 (now complete) is cast in what is generally considered rondo form A-B-A-C-A-B-A, but its dramatic conflicts and non-repeating material has little in common with a traditional rondo. It opens with a pastoral melody on the flute that is the central idea of the movement. It is developed in a variety of ways until it reaches a climax. The second theme then arrives in the violins. It opens with a condensed fragment of the melody that attempts to unfold against lush contrapuntal textures mainly in the winds. On the 3rd try the melody finally unfolds in full in the violins while an extravagant contrapuntal accompaniment brings this to a moment of sublimity in the high strings. The opening theme rather slyly returns as a clarinet moves deftly from a tentative iteration of the 2nd theme right into the former (in a notable transitional moment, as if at a crossroads). From here the 1st theme is developed afresh and begins to build up an extended climax, with an apotheotic character...but at it's height a microtone in the horn signals the arrive of a chromatic motif, wild arpeggios in the string and sharp blasts from the trumpets shatter the tonality, until the C theme rushes in. The building climax continues and bridges back to a rather martial return to the A theme. At last a definitive tutti climax is reached and the excitement disperses to rumbling basso/celli arpeggios, a gnomish duo between the contrabassoon and bass clarinet of the A theme accompanied by bells and triangle. The B theme returns with rich contrapuntal strings and culminates in an emotionally bittersweet moment. There is a return to the quiet pastoral mood of the opening until a chilly dissonance on a sustained chord. Here the A theme returns with an ominous sound, but this is soon transformed in the radiant and powerful coda, reminiscent in the final bars of Bruckner.

All three themes that appear in this movement have important parts in the succeeding movements. The chief problem with concluding this symphony was having to write the opening movement last. In fact the succeeding movements were indeed the preceding movements, as all of them were written beginning with the Allegro festivo in spring of 2022 through the finale Allegro deciso (June 2023). With the experiential gap widening it was time to finish. For the sake of unity and as a way to reaquaint myself with the previous material, I decided from the outset that I would use a theme from all three movements as the basis of the Andante con moto. A careful listen to the Allegro deciso will reveal the relationship with The legato 2nd theme there and the primary theme of Andante con moto. The 2nd theme in 3/4 time is the theme from the B section of the Scherzo...only in this setting I had to graft it into a new context and what emerged was the theme having to discover itself, as it slowly emerges as a full-fledged melody. I have to also point out that the B theme was derived as a melodic expansion of the main motivic shape of the fast scherzo in the first place. And for the C theme of this "rondo" form I took the two-headed beast from the Andante funebre: the 'death motif' with it's leading 1/4 tone and the central theme, my own variation of a medieval melody from a choral setting I found in a video on Youtube (which I can no longer find or cite). I have posted a playlist with all 4 movements in succession for those interesting in hearing the entire work. I can only apologize for the quality of the other 3 mock-ups from Notion 6. Good headphones and generous ears may make it tolerable. I hope in the coming year to present this symphony in a much better light and post it here.

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