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Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was a Czech composer of classical music. He spent most of his life in his home city of Prague, but it was during his visit to the United States that he wrote his most popular work, his Symphony No.9 "From the New World".
It is sometimes said that Dvorak used elements from American music like Spirituals and Native American music in that symphony. Dvorak was interested in these musics, but denied using any tunes from them in the symphony. In an article published in the New York Herald on December 15, 1893, he wrote "I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music". Despite this, it is generally considered that the work has more in common with the folk music of Dvorak's native Czechoslovakia than with American music.
Also while in the USA he heard a performance of a cello concerto by the composer Victor Herbert. He was so excited by the possibilities of the cello and orchestra combination displayed in this concerto that he wrote a cello concerto of his own, the Cello Concerto in B minor (1895). Since then the concerto he wrote has grown in popularity and today it is frequently performed. He also left an unfinished work, the Cello Concerto in A major (1865), which was completed and orchestrated by the German composer Günter Raphael between 1925 and 1929.
Dvorak's works were catalogued by Jarmil Burghauser in Antonin Dvorák. Thematic Catalogue. Bibliography. Survey of Life and Work (Export Artia Prague, Czechoslovakia, 1960). In this catalogue, for example, the New World Symphony (Opus 95) is B178.
Dvořák's Symphonies
For a while, the numbering of Dvořák's symphonies was rather unclear; the "New World" symphony has alternately been called the 5th, 8th and 9th. In this article they are numbered according to the order in which they were written (this is the normal numbering system used today).
Unlike many other composers who shied away from the symphony until their mature years (notably his mentor Johannes Brahms), Dvořák wrote his Symphony No. 1 in C minor when he was only 24 years of age. Subtitled The Bells of Zlonice after a village in Dvořák's native Bohemia, it is clearly the work of an inexperienced composer, yet certainly charming and showing a lot of promise. Clearly the scherzo is the strongest movement, but the others are not uninteresting. There are many formal similarities with the 5th Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven, yet harmonically and in his instrumentation he is more a romantic composer, following Franz Schubert.
Not very remarkable, but not of low quality either, is Symphony No. 2 in B flat major, still looking up to Beethoven. But Symphony No. 3 in E flat major clearly shows the sudden and profound impact of Dvořák's recent aquaintance with the music of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt.
The influence of Wagner was not lasting, however; it can hardly be heard anymore in Symphony No. 4 in D minor. This last of Dvořák's early symphonies is also the best. Again the scherzo is the highlight, but already Dvořák shows his absolute mastery of all formal aspects.
Dvořák's middle symphonies, Symphony No. 5 in F major (published as No. 3) and Symphony No. 6 in D major (published as No. 1), are happy, pastoral works, not as famous as their later cousins, but quite charming in their own right.
Symphony No. 7 in D minor (published as No. 2) is an emotionally turbulent work, certainly the most typically romantic symphony Dvořák wrote, reminding one of Tchaikovsky's Pathétique. There could hardly be a starker contrast to Symphony No. 8 in G major (published as No. 4), a very modern work which could almost have been written by Gustav Mahler. Both are incredible works which should not be missed in anyone's collection, and indeed the 8th should be counted among the very finest symphonies of the entire 19th century.
By far the most popular, however, is Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 in E minor, better known under its subtitle, From the New World. Written soon after Dvořák's arrival in America, it is simply bursting of memorable themes. The spectacular finale brings all of these together to crown the accomplishments of one of the greatest symphonists.
Two of the best recordings of these symphonies are the cycles by Rafael Kubelik and Libor Pešek.
Further reading
- John Clapham, Dvorak (David & Charles, 1979)