Honegger - First Symphony - 1. Allegro Marcato

Honegger’s criminally under-performed first symphony starts with a rhythmically aggressive first movement. Several contrasting thematic episodes are presented. For me, the jazzy, syncopated theme for strings and brass evokes a kind of jaded urbanism. Another theme brings to mind a striving naivety. In any case, the mechanical rhythms that underpin most of the piece end up swallowing up any lyrical elements and eventually grind to a stop, with the muted tuba (of all things) having the last word.