I. Lento lugubre II. Vivace con spiritio III. Pastorale, andante con moto IV. Allegro con fuoco
Although Byron was adamant that in 1817 he was entirely ignorant of Faust, literary scholars are unanimous is suspecting the influence of Goethe behind Manfred. Byron’s dramatic poem differs greatly from Goethe in its characteristically Byronic weltschmerz, a pain, which in the words of Antal Szerb "because the world is as it is, not more beautiful, not better, not adapting better to our beautiful dreams. It is at once aristocratic and a slightly self satisfied withdrawal into the citadel of the Ego." This feeling appealed to the sensibilities of many 19th century composers. Schumann composed a Manfred Overture, and in 1885, Tchaikovsky, encouraged by Balakirev, produced a programme symphony from Byron’s work. In the poem, Manfred arrives in Switzerland, oppressed by some sin committed in the obscure past. First he seeks out the Alpine fairies but cannot rely on their help. Next he visits Armiman’s underground empire, where at his request, the spirit of his beloved Astarte is summoned, who he had hurtled to destruction. Manfred is hoping for redemption but how he can finally win absolution with his death remains an unanswered question. From this story with relatively little action, Tchaikovsky weaves a traditional four movement symphony. The beginning of the first movement seems to contrast Manfred’s two most important characteristics, his hopeless conflict with himself and his loss of fighting spirit which he had in abundance in his heroic phase (in the strings theme) before his crime. The later B minor Andante is probably Astarte’s portrait. The second movement is clearly a scherzo in which – according to Tchaikovsky – "the Alpine fairies appear before Manfred beneath a rainbow." A slow movement in an innocent rocking 6/8 time follows ("Pastorale. The simple, free and peaceful life of the mountain dwellers.") Finally in the finale "Manfred appears in Ariman’s underground palace. During the bacchanalia, Astarte’s shade appears, who predicts the end of earlier sufferings. The death of Manfred." Here a fugue portrays the battle between the hero and the powers of hell (to the theme of the fanfare heard at the beginning), and the final bars of the work seem to bring the redemption that remains unstated in Byron, as the two first movement themes, representing Manfred and Astarte, peacefully unite.