Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 "From the New World"

I wrote these notes last week for the upcoming concert. i'm posting them now because i have them, but honestly, i won't bother trying to improve too much on them even though they could obviously be more detailed - who needs another recap of the new world symphony? it's only one of the best-loved, most accessible symphonies ever written - if you find these notes short, you should just go listen to it. i also did an individual movement post on the scherzo last year which you can find here. i won't even post a recording here, just go find one. if you find yourself needing more mental stimulation, play the last movement and try to identify every time one of the previous movements' themes comes up.

as printed in the 2012 Ithaca College symphony orchestra block 1 concert program:

From 1892 to 1895, Dvorak lived in New York as the director of the National Conservatory of Music, and this fruitful period (during which he drew much inspiration from American folk music) would yield his most celebrated works. Among his output during these years are his tenth String Quartet No. 10 in F Major, the “American,” the famous cello concerto in B minor, and this work, by far the most popular of his nine symphonies, which he penned from December 1892 to May 1893 on commission by the New York Philharmonic.

With its wealth of captivating, memorable themes, this symphony has found lasting popularity worldwide. Dvorak made a point of studying the spirit and identifying characteristics of Negro and Native American folk music, which he deemed “practically identical”: he believed that these sources were the treasure trove that would anchor the American musical identity. However, though he made a conscious effort to incorporate the folk music's idiosyncrasies, he never used anything but original themes in this symphony. (This is also true of most of the folk-music-inspired works he composed, for example his lively and nationalistic Slavonic Dances.) The musical influences represented here have been traced not only to Negro and Native American tunes, but also heavily utilize rhythms from his native Bohemian. The work's charm is not in the use of folk material per se, but rather in Dvorak's ability to develop those exotic influences within a classic symphonic form, scoring them authentically yet idiomatically for standard orchestral instruments.

The first movement begins with a slow introduction: a plaintive melody is scored for celli, and punctuated by a horn call. Soon the subdued mood gives way to a more dramatic outburst in the strings, timpani, and horns; this leads us to the movement proper, which is a brisk Allegro Molto in sonata form. It is this movement which Dvorak most closely associates with his effort to embody the native American spirit within characteristic “national” melodies. The first of these themes is a rising and falling arpeggio, developed vigorously and dramatically; the second theme, first given by solo flute and then violins, is more lyrical, but retains the rhythmic lilt of the first.

The second movement a Largo, is introduced by grandiose brass chords that lead us to the key of D-flat Major. The famous english horn solo which follows is one of the most iconic tunes in all of symphonic repertoire, and Dvorak credits this and most of the material in the movement to the inspiration he drew from Longfellow's poem Hiawatha. The serene mood of the theme contrasts with the more melancholy middle section, which is in the enharmonic minor key of C-sharp and begins with a wistful oboe solo, accompanied by fluttering, undulating figures in the strings. The transformative moment is a soft, surprise cadence in C-sharp major, which lifts the music in a more lively direction leading to a great climax. The english horn theme and opening material return largely unaltered, save a gorgeous variant given by the strings, steadily reduced until the music seems to pause, mid-breath. Solo violin and cello dance alone for a moment, before being joined by the rest of the string section to bring the movement to a close.

The scherzo, which returns to the key of E minor, also derives its inspiration from Hiawatha, specifically the scene in which the Indians dance at Hiawatha's triumphant return from battle. It is representative of Dvorak's scherzi in all the best ways: a compelling pulse with fetching, danceable rhythms that can be traced to Dvorak's folk roots. The contrasting trio is more lighthearted and dulcet; it is set in the relative C Major.

Dvorak describes the fiery last movement as a recall and synthesis of all the themes of the previous movements. The powerful introduction heralds a striking theme given by the horns. With every reintroduction of prior themes Dvorak adds new material and innovative twists, and the movement climaxes with a chord progression analogous to that which began the second movement. The final section brings the symphony to a thundering coda, ending on a chord that dissolves into silence.

Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 - III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace

i can't remember the last time i actually updated this thing on consecutive days :( ok, here is some dvorak. the reason i am not updating well these days is because i am having an audition this weekend that has sort of been taking precedence. this post covers the movement that i would conduct in the third round, assuming i made it that far.

since everyone basically already knows this symphony probably, i'll just post some interesting recordings and comment on the form (a standard ternary form). this movement is your standard scherzo, basically: ternary form, ABA.
the A part, the scherzo itself, is itself a rounded binary form: a skittering first theme firmly in e minor, which builds upon itself into something that includes the entire orchestra. it cadences in the original key, then slows down a bit into a poco sostenuto, and we get a second theme in e major, which is more lilting, the other side of the classic dvorak coin. this is played by all the winds, and finally the celli at the end. then theme a comes back for a repeat, rounding off the binary first half.
the trio is heralded by a creepy little arpeggio begun in the celli and continued (after some interjections by the winds) by the violas. then the violins take over a tail end of that arpeggio and raise an a-flat into an a, segueing gracefully into a dancelike c-major section which itself is also a rounded binary (in which the first half, a series of dotted wind chords above the violin arpeggios, comes back after the second trio theme, which is a series of rapid plays on the interval of the sixth). then a bridge section leads us back to the top and we repeat the scherzo.
the second time through we skip to the coda, which holds suspense by emphasizing unstable tremolo chords in the strings starting with a weird C7. horn and wind solos play on the main motif of eighth-eighth-quarter quarter quarter, and then the strings take a half step up, giving us a Db major chord. then one more step up: D major, which morphs into f-sharp minor (one note difference), B-Major, and a cadence in E major, during which the trumpet recalls the main theme from the first movement. the triumph rapidly decays into E minor, though, which is the end of that.
ahem, if you can't tell, i'm studying a lot of vocab terms. see my other blob for what else i've been studying.
here's celibidache. so slow. but i'm using this as inspiration, hope i have the guts to not rush like this this weekend.

Dvorak: Symphony No. 7 - II. Poco Adagio

this whole symphony is closely related - directly inspired, in fact - to brahms 3rd, which is probably one of my favorite three symphonies of all time. this symphony, too, is a great favorite of mine, especially the very popular third mvt. :)

this is a pretty sympathetic recording, if a bit on the brisk side. youtube actually doesn't offer a whole lot for this movement.
i'll be brief today. this symphony was written in 1885. it's the first of the trilogy of symphonies dvorak is mostly known for, originally billed as No. 2, composed on commission by the London Royal Philharmonic Society [dvorak's symphonies were pretty much all published out of order in terms of when he actually composed them. see if you can find the original order :) ]. he wanted it to reflect the political struggles of the Czech, but as opposed to being simply full of patriotism, it was a pretty conscious attempt to internationalize his message. probably every program note ever written about this symphony mentions two quotes by dvorak - "may this czech music move the world" (referring to the symphony) and "there is not one superfluous note" (referring to the 2nd mvt in particular).

the reason he refers to the 2nd movement this way is because originally the movement was about 150% as long. a really interesting experiment using his original score for this movement can be found here.
http://kingouf.wordpress.com/jukebox/dvorak-symphony-no-7/
the coolest thing, i think, is how you can sort of hear nuggets of the third movement in the stuff that gets cut out (beginning about 4 minutes in). i don't think anyone knows for sure, but it is kind of cool to imagine that he culled the superfluous parts of the 2nd mvt to make them into the awesome 3rd mvt that we know.

other things to note about the symphony in general are the semi-program/subtitles attached to it. it's sometimes called the "tragic" symphony, usually with reference to the then-recent death of his mother, and makes terrific use of an "undercurrent" of tension - sometimes (as in the very opening of the symphony) with drones and tremolo, other times (as in the sinuous string melody around 1:15 of the recording, and the dark colored wind chords that affirm it). more subtly, notice how almost every line ends in sort of wistfulness, never really reaching the heights you want it to (just listen to the beginning - it's nice chorale writing, but not exactly cathartic).

for one of the most beautiful horn solos and horn writing, go to 2:20. fantastic.

one of my favorite things about dvorak slow movements is that they aren't ever sleepy. note the tumultuous f minor section at 3:02 (one more "disappointment" arrival, when you think it's going to hit the big F Major... and it keeps getting further - d-flat major after this). also note how the line keeps falling and falling.

as a violinist i'm pretty much obliged to have my favorite part in the movement be the violin melody at 3:56 which is angsty and songful and really worth savoring, especially the out-of-nowhere d-sharp (and the big b-octave yawn right after that).
but as always in dvorak, celli get the best melodies (5:22). man, i wish i could play that instrument.