Bridge: Sections 11-13

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BBeginning at section 11, the bridge between the exposition and the development presents us with an interesting combination of themes, reminding us of what has gone before (subjects one and two) and giving us more hints about what is to come (remember that little theme buried at the end of the first subject – bars 43-48?).  An extract from the first subject (slightly amended) is played briefly by the tubas and lower woodwinds in E minor (the original was based on a tonic A, remember?).  This is followed immediately by the second subject, played this time by the oboes, first clarinets and (later) the horns in its original key (E major). 

Section 12 introduces yet another interlude built on a B major seventh -- the “tear jerker” chord we first heard at the end of the second subject.  In performance, I think that the major seventh (in this case A# in the piccolo, B# in the clarinets and so on) should be similarly emphasized. Sustained Bs in the lower woodwinds and (eventually) the horns prepare us for the key of B minor.  Section 13 returns to that mysterious theme we heard briefly twice before (once at the end of the first subject and once in the bridge).  Its incarnation here begins with the flutes at bar 110 and is echoed immediately afterwards by the oboe and then the clarinets and bassoon, producing a sort of cascade effect:

Soon afterwards, however, the music builds to a crescendo and it seems that something is really going to happen.   The composer, however, cuts the theme short once again with a headlong rush into the development section.