Antonin Dvořák
Antonin Dvořák was born in Muehlhausen, Bohemia, on September 8, 1841. As a boy he studied the violin with the village schoolmaster. He subsequently attended the Organ School in Prague. After completing his studies, he played in various orchestras in Prague, including that of the National Theater from 1861 to 1871 where he came under the influence of Smetana, father of Bohemian national music. Dvořák first attracted interest as a composer with Hymnus, a choral work introduced in 1873. Two years later he won the Austrian State Prize for a symphony, and in 1878 he became famous throughout Europe with the Slavonic Dances. In 1883 he was appointed organist of the St. Adalbert Church in Prague. From 1892 to 1895 he was the director of the National Conservatory in New York. During this period he was influenced in his compositions by the folk music of the American Negro and Indian. From 1901 until his death he was director of the Prague Conservatory. He died in Prague on May 1, 1904.
A prolific composer of operas, symphonies, chamber and piano music, and songs, Dvořák stood in the forefront of the Romantic composers of the late 19th century and among the leading exponents of Bohemian national music. He was gifted with an expressive melodic gift, a strong and subtle rhythmic pulse, and an inventive harmonic language. Whatever he wrote was charged with strong emotional impulses, whether he used the style of Bohemian folk music or those of the American Negro and American Indian.
The Carnival Overture (Carneval), written in 1891, is one of three overtures planned by the composer as a cycle to portray “three great creative forces of the Universe—Nature, Life, and Love.” A unifying element among them was a melody intended to describe the “unchangeable laws of Nature.” Eventually, Dvořák abandoned this plan and published the three overtures separately, calling them In Nature (In der Natur), op. 91, Carnival, op. 92, and Othello, op. 93.
Dvořák himself provided a description of the music of Carnival Overture. He aimed to describe “a lonely, contemplative wanderer reaching the city at nightfall where a carnival of pleasure reigns supreme. On every side is heard the clangor of instruments, mingled with shouts of joy and the unrestrained hilarity of the people giving vent to their feelings in songs and dances.” The overture begins with a lively section portraying the gayety of the carnival. A subdued melody in the violins brings relaxation, but the hubbub soon returns. Another gentle episode depicts a pair of lovers in a secluded corner; the principal melodic material in this part is offered by the solo violin, and by the English horns and flutes. The brilliant opening material returns. It is with this spirit of revelry that the overture ends.
The Humoresque in G-flat major is the seventh in a set of eight Humoresques for piano (1894). This delightful, elegant piece of music in three-part song form has been transcribed not only for orchestra but for every possible instrument or combinations of instruments, and is undoubtedly the most popular composition by the composer. It was Fritz Kreisler, the famous violin virtuoso, who helped make the work so famous. Kreisler visited Dvořák in 1903 and asked him for some music. Dvořák showed him a pile of compositions, most of it completely unknown. Among these was the G-flat major Humoresque. Kreisler transcribed it for violin and piano, introduced it at his concerts, later recorded it, and made it universally popular. As we know it today the Humoresque is not the way Dvořák intended it to sound. Dvořák wanted it to be a light, whimsical piece of music, a “humoresque,” in fast tempo. Kreisler transcribed it in a slower tempo and more sentimental mood; and it is in this style that Humoresque is now known and loved.
The Indian Lament is one of several compositions by Dvořák influenced by the idioms of American-Indian music. While serving as director of the National Conservatory in New York, he paid a visit to the town of Spillville, Iowa. There three Iroquois Indians visited him and entertained him with authentic Indian music. Dvořák was so taken with this strange and haunting lyricism, and the primitive rhythms, that he wrote several major works incorporating these idioms. One was a Sonatina in G major for violin and piano, op. 100 (1893). Its slow movement is a delicate song embodying the intervallic peculiarities of authentic American-Indian music. Fritz Kreisler edited this movement and named it Indian Lament, the version in which it has become famous. Gaspar Cassadó transcribed this movement for cello and piano.
Dvořák’s Largo is the second movement of his Symphony No. 5 in E minor better known as the Symphony from the New World (1893). This is the symphony written by Dvořák during his visit to the United States as director of the National Conservatory. One of his students was Harry T. Burleigh, who brought to his attention the music of the Negro Spiritual. These melodies moved Dvořák so profoundly that he urged American composers to use the style, technique and personality of these Negro songs as the basis for national American music. As if to set an example, Dvořák wrote several compositions in which his own melodic writing was strongly influenced by the Negro Spiritual. The most significant of these was his symphony, which received its world première in the United States (at a concert of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra on December 15, 1893, Anton Seidl conducting). The main spacious, poignant melody of the Largo movement—given by English horn over string harmonies after a few preliminary chords—so strongly simulates the personality of a Negro Spiritual that it was long thought that Dvořák was indulging in quotation. This is not true; the melody is Dvořák’s own. Many transcriptions of this melody exist. One is the familiar song, “Goin’ Home,” lyrics by William Arms Fisher (also one of Dvořák’s pupils); another is a composition for violin and piano by Fritz Kreisler called Negro Spiritual Melody; a third is an adaptation for salon orchestra by Sigmund Romberg.
This Largo movement has two other melodies besides the basic one in the Negro-Spiritual style. One is heard in flute and oboe, and the second in the oboe.
The Scherzo Capriccioso, in D-flat major, op. 66 (1883) is one of the composer’s liveliest and most dynamic larger works for orchestra, but in an idiom that is neither Bohemian nor American. It is in two sections. The first is the Scherzo, opening with an energetic subject for horns that is a kind of a motto theme for the entire work. The principal melody that follows is stated by full orchestra; after that comes a waltz-like tune for violins. The second part of the composition, a trio, is introduced by an expressive melody for English horn. A secondary theme then comes in the strings and wind. The principal idea of the first section now receives extended treatment before the second theme of the second part returns in a modified form. The work ends with a coda in which effective use is made of the opening motto subject.
Dvořák achieved international fame for the first time with the first set of eight Slavonic Dances, op. 46, published in 1878. He had been recommended to the publisher Simrock by Brahms; it was the publisher who suggested to Dvořák that he write Slavonic dances similar to the Hungarian dances which Brahms had made so popular. Dvořák wrote his first set for piano four-hands; but these instantly proved so successful that Simrock prevailed on Dvořák to orchestrate them. In 1886, Dvořák wrote a second set of eight Slavonic Dances, op. 72, once again both for four-hand piano and for orchestra. Though the melodies and harmonic schemes in all these dances are Dvořák’s, they have caught the essence of the Slavonic folk song and dance, and to such a degree that their authentic national character has never been questioned. Karel Hoffmeister wrote: “Something of the Slavic character speaks in every phrase of them—the stormy high-spirited mood of the Furiants; the whimsical merriment, the charm, the touch of coquettry, the ardent tenderness of the lyrical passages.”
The following are among the best known of these dances:
C major, op. 46, no. 1. A chord sustained through one measure is followed by a whirlwind presto passage. After a sudden pianissimo we hear a second rhythmic melody. Music of a more serene character appears in flute and strings after a change of key. A force climax is evolved to set the stage for the return of the opening whirlwind subject.
E minor, op. 46, no. 2. A poignant melody is here contrasted with a dynamic rhythmic section. Fritz Kreisler transcribed this dance for violin and piano.
A-flat major, op. 46, no. 6. A dance melody with a strong rhythmic impulse is the opening subject. Pianissimo chords lead to a new virile subject, but there soon comes a decisive change of mood with two expressive melodies. This dance, however, ends dynamically.
G minor, op. 46, no. 8. This is one of the gayest of the Slavonic dances, alive in its electrifying changes of dynamics and tonality.
E minor, op. 72, no. 2. This is one of the best loved of all these dances, a song of rare sensitivity and sadness, only temporarily alleviated by the more optimistic music of the middle section. Fritz Kreisler transcribed it for violin and piano.
A-flat major, op. 72, no. 8. Here, as in the preceding E minor dance, the emphasis is on tender, elegiac song in strings. A dramatic middle section provides some relief, but the gentle moodiness of the opening section soon returns. Fritz Kreisler transcribed it for violin and piano.
Songs My Mother Taught Me is one of Dvořák’s most celebrated songs. It is one of seven gypsy songs, based on Slavonic-gypsy folk idioms, gathered in op. 55 (1880); the lyrics are by Adolf Heyduk. This nostalgic, delicate melody has enjoyed numerous transcriptions, including one for violin and piano by Fritz Kreisler, and another for cello and piano by Alfred Gruenfeld.