Symphony No. 1

The work is dedicated to Jan Krenz – Baird’s friend and one of the three members of Group 49. Scored for large symphony orchestra, the composition consists of five movements.

I. Allegro con fuoco

A lively and dramatic sonata allegro is at times monumental, similarly to Dmitri Shostakovich’s symphonies. The C major chord at the end is only an echo of the minor-major tonality, though it is because of it that the work is referred to as Symphony in C major.

II. Quasi largo

This brief, very lyrical, but also sad movement quietens down the emotions from the previous segment. It is a lullaby lulling to eternal sleep, built primarily by the strings, with added colour provided by the harp, the piano and, occasionally, by the wind instruments.

III. Presto assai (scherzando)

Its form is that of a scherzo (ABA), with a lively, light and colourful section A, and calm, melodious and clearly modal (Lydian) section B. Section A is thematically similar to the first movement of Sonatina No. 2 for piano and to the Giocosa Overture. Here, too, there appears a C major chord, emphatically closing section A.

IV. Adagio molto (misterioso)

In its character and structure it is similar to the second movement of the Sinfonietta – in the accompanying ostinato and in the sound axis of the entire movement in the form of the C note and C major chord. The stopping of the orchestral tutti on the C major chord makes for an emphatic ending of the entire movement. However, the composer surprises the listener, deriving a sombre theme from this joyful chord. As a result, the narrative gradually fades away, stopping on a “smudged” and equivocal chord of E minor.

V. Allegro non troppo ma giocoso

In its nature, this fragment recalls the third movement of the Symphony. Its structure comprises three phases and is based on the material known from previous movements. A brilliant coda is based on a signal-like, repeated C major chord. Although the nature of the music changes for a moment (there appears a fragment full of reverie, reflection and retrospective pause), the whole work ends in a lively and joyful mood.

Symphony No. 1 is, after the Sinfonietta, another step in Baird’s implementation of the neo-classical style in the symphonic form. It is characterised by, among others, free harmony, which only refers to major-minor chords. In successive movements of Symphony No. 1 the composer draws on the music of Mieczysław Karłowicz (first movement), Dmitri Shostakovich (second movement), Sergei Prokofiev (third movement), and develops his own ideas from the Sinfonietta (fourth movement). The work is also an expression of Baird’s personal fascination with Gustav Mahler’s post-romantic symphonic music. 

Symphony No. 1 won Tadeusz Baird the State Art Prize, 3rd class (1951).