THE FLORIDA ORCHESTRA | 2017-2018 43
Program Notes
virtuoso pyrotechnics unsurpassed, but his performance
of simple melodies was of such purity and sweetness that
it moved his audiences to tears. So far was he beyond the
competition that he seemed almost, well, superhuman.
Perhaps, the rumor spread, he had special powers, powers
not of this earth. Perhaps, Faust-like, he had exchanged his
soul for the mastery of his art. The legend (propagated and
fostered, it is now known, by Paganini himself) had begun.
Paganini, like most virtuoso instrumentalists of the 19th
century, composed much of his own music. Notable among
his oeuvre are the breathtaking Caprices for Unaccompanied
Violin, works so difficult that even today they are accessible
only to the most highly accomplished performers. The last
of the Caprices, No. 24 in A minor, served as the basis for
compositions by Schumann, Liszt and Brahms, and was also
the inspiration for Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of
Paganini, which he combined with the ancient chant melody
Dies Irae (“Day of Wrath”) from the Roman Catholic Requiem
Mass for the Dead.
What To Listen For
The Rhapsody, a brilliant showpiece for virtuoso pianist, is
a set of 24 variations. The work begins with a brief, eightmeasure
introduction followed, before the theme itself
is heard, by the first variation, a skeletal outline of the
melody. The theme, 24 measures in length, is stated by
the unison violins. The following variations fall into three
groups, corresponding to the fast–slow–fast sequence of the
traditional three-movement concerto.
ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
SYMPHONY NO. 9 IN E MINOR, OP. 95,
“FROM THE NEW WORLD”
Duration: ca. 40 minutes
Overview
When Antonín Dvořák, aged 51, arrived in New York City on
September 27, 1892 to direct the new National Conservatory
of Music, both he and the institution’s founder, Mrs. Jeanette
Thurber, expected that he would help to foster an American
school of composition. He was clear and specific in his
assessment: “I am convinced that the future music of this
country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies.
They can be the foundation of a serious and original school
of composition to be developed in the United States…. There
is nothing in the whole range of composition that cannot find
a thematic source here.” The “New World” Symphony was
not only Dvořák’s way of pointing toward a truly American
musical idiom but also a reflection of his own feelings about
the country. “I should never have written the Symphony as I
have,” he said, “if I hadn’t seen America.”
What To Listen For
The “New World” Symphony is unified by the use of a motto
theme that occurs in all four movements. This bold, striding
phrase, with its arching contour, is played by the horns as
the main theme of the sonata-form opening movement,
having been foreshadowed (also by the horns) in the
slow introduction. Two other themes are used in the first
movement: a sad, dance-like melody for flute and oboe
that exhibits folk characteristics, and a brighter tune, with
a striking resemblance to Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, for the
solo flute.
Many years before coming to America, Dvořák had
encountered Longfellow’s epic poem The Song of Hiawatha,
which he read in a Czech translation. The great tale remained
in his mind, and he considered making an opera of it
during his time in New York. That project came to nothing,
but Hiawatha did have an influence on the “New World”
Symphony: the second movement was inspired by the forest
funeral of Minnehaha; the third, by the dance of the Indians
at the feast. That the music of these movements has more in
common with the old plantation songs than with the chants
of native Americans is due to Dvořák’s mistaken belief that
African-American and Indian music were virtually identical.
The second movement is a three-part form (A–B–A), with
a haunting English horn melody (later fitted with words by
William Arms Fisher to become the folksong-spiritual Goin’
Home) heard in the first and last sections. The recurring
motto here is pronounced by the trombones just before
the return of the main theme in the closing section. The
third movement is a tempestuous scherzo with two gentle,
intervening trios providing contrast. The motto theme,
played by the horns, dominates the coda.
The finale employs a sturdy motive introduced by the horns
and trumpets after a few introductory measures in the
strings. In the Symphony’s closing pages, the motto theme,
Goin’ Home and the scherzo melody are all gathered up and
combined with the principal subject of the finale to produce
a marvelous synthesis of the entire work — a look back across
the sweeping vista of Dvořák’s musical tribute to America.
© 2018 Dr. Richard E. Rodda
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