The second movement is a _scherzo_ in C major, _sehr mässig_ (very moderately), in 3-4. William Foster Apthorp found the theme to be "a modified version of the so-called 'Rheinweinlied,'" and this theme of "a rather ponderous joviality" well expresses "the drinkers' '_Uns ist ganz cannibalisch wohl, als wie fünf hundert Säuen!_' (As 'twere five hundred hogs, we feel so cannibalic jolly!) in the scene in Auerbach's cellar in Goethe's _Faust_." This theme is given out by the violoncellos and is followed by a livelier contrapuntal counter theme, which is developed elaborately. In the trio horns and other wind instruments sing a _cantilena_ in A minor over a long organ-point on C. There is a pompous repetition of the first and jovial theme in A major; and then the other two themes are used in combination in their original form. Horns are answered by strings and wood-wind, but the ending is quiet.
The third movement, _nicht schnell_ (not fast), in A flat major, 4-4, is really the slow movement of the symphony, the first theme, clarinets and bassoons over a viola accompaniment, reminding some of Mendelssohn; others of "_Tu che a Dio spiegasti l'ali_," in _Lucia di Lammermoor_. The second theme is a tender melody, not unlike a refrain heard now and then. On these themes the _romanza_ is constructed.
The fourth movement, _feierlich_, E flat minor, 4-4, is often described as the "Cathedral scene." Three trombones are added. The chief motive is a short figure rather than a theme, which is announced by trombones and horns. This appears augmented, diminished, and afterwards in 3-2 and 4-2. There is a departure for a short time to B major, but the tonality of E flat minor prevails to the end.
_Finale_: _lebhaft_, E flat major, 2-2. This movement is said to portray a Rhenish festival. The themes are of a gay character. Towards the end the themes of the "Cathedral scene" are introduced, followed by a brilliant _stretto_. The _finale_ is lively and energetic. The music, as a rule, the free development of thematic material of the same unvaried character.
I. Andante; allegro II. Romanza III. Scherzo IV. Largo; finale (Played without pause.)
Weingartner regards the D minor symphony of Schumann as inferior to the first and second of the same composer. I fail to see why. Surely this symphony does not fall behind its companions; it is the one of Schumann's four that can be heard with full enjoyment. The middle movements breathe a romantic spirit that Schumann himself never surpassed as expressions of gentle, dreamy melancholy. I know of few more haunting pages in orchestral music than those of the trio in the _scherzo_.