DVOŘÁK NEW WORLD SYMPHONY

by Michelle Pellay-Walker

Masterworks Three (rescheduled from January 2024)

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): The Year 1812, Ouverture Solennelle, Opus 49
First Performance:  Moscow (Ippolit Karlovich Al’tani, conductor):  in front of the nearly completed Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, August 1882

One of Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s most popular compositions, the 1812 Overture was composed in October and November of 1880, in commemoration of Russia’s successful defense of Moscow against the forces of Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion of the country in the fall of 1812.  The scoring is robust, featuring woodwinds in pairs (plus piccolo and English horn), a full brass section (including cornets), timpani, percussion, and strings.  Oh yeah:  Let’s not forget the cannons!!  Sometimes, an auxiliary brass band will join the orchestra at the climax of the work, especially in outdoor performances.  Given the celebratory nature of the work, it is, as one might expect, a rousing patriotic compilation of Russian elements.  The Russian Orthodox hymn, O Lord, Save Thy People (scored by Tchaikovsky for divided violas and cellos, though many recordings now exist that feature choral performances), opens the work as a prayer for deliverance, and is repeated near its end as a vehicle for giving thanks.  A march-like fanfare (representing the Russian army), and La Marseillaise (representing Napoleon’s Grande Armée) both feature prominently in the music representing the battle sequences.  A lullaby, followed by a children’s folk tune, can be heard between two of these three sections.  The final sequence introduces the cannon (16 shots in all), along with a return to the opening hymn;  chimes imitate the ringing of church bells, and the march-like fanfare takes over, concluding with a quote of the Imperial Russian National Anthem, God Save the Tsar, as a last patriotic reference.  It is worth noting that the 1812 Overture has become very popular in the United States for use in patriotic events, thanks to Arthur Fiedler’s programming of the work for a Boston Pops Independence Day concert in the mid-70s.      

Maurice Ravel (1875-1937):  Concerto in G Major for Piano and Orchestra
First Performance:  Orchestre Lamoureux (Maurice Ravel, conductor;  Marguerite Long, soloist):  Paris, January 1932

Maurice Ravel spent nearly three years working on the effervescent Concerto in G Major, between 1929 and 1931.  The work is dedicated to Marguerite Long, who gave its premiere in 1932;  she was also the featured soloist in its first recording.  The scoring is relatively light, featuring single woodwinds plus auxiliary family members, only four brass instruments, with more focus placed on a fairly substantial percussion section, harp, and strings.  In an interview with French music critic Pierre Leroi (quoted in Arbie Orenstein’s biography of Ravel), he states the following:

“…My only wish…was to write a genuine concerto, that is, a brilliant work, clearly highlighting the soloist's virtuosity, without seeking to show profundity.  As a model, I took two musicians who, in my opinion, best illustrated this type of composition:  Mozart, and Saint-Saëns.”  

Given his focus on jazz, along with Basque folk music as influences, I daresay that he succeeded in this aim.  The first movement is a relatively straightforward sonata form, with prominent passagework featuring the piccolo, trumpet, and e-flat clarinet.  The exquisite second movement, to me, calls to mind the middle movement of Samuel Barber’s Violin Concerto;  Ravel cites the second movement of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet as having provided influence.  The flute and the English horn are especially lovely here.  Movement three returns to the explosive playfulness of the first movement, with notable solos in the e-flat clarinet and the bassoon.          

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904):  Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Opus 95, "From the New World"
First Performance:  New York Philharmonic (Anton Seidl, conductor):  Carnegie Hall, December 1893

During his tenure at the National Conservatory in New York City,  Antonín Dvořák was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write the symphony that we now know as the “New World” Symphony.  It was given its premiere at Carnegie Hall in December of 1893, with Anton Seidl conducting.  What is so astonishing about this work is the thematic unity that Dvořák weaves effortlessly throughout the entire composition, making it one of the premiere examples of cyclism in 19th century repertoire.  Themes appear and reappear on a regular basis, tying the entire symphony together as a cohesive whole.  The first movement hints at its primary theme in the introduction, stating it in its entirety at the beginning of both the exposition and the recapitulation, and returning to it in each subsequent movement.  The third theme of this movement (sometimes referred to as the “Swing Low” theme due to its similarity to the spiritual, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot) reappears in movements three and four.  The second movement's opening and closing brass chorales return during the climax of movement four.  This movement's main theme, a beautiful English horn solo that was eventually set with words (the spiritual we know as "Goin' Home"), is restated in movements three and four.  Finally, the initial rhythmic gesture, from the first two measures of movement three's first theme, finds its way into the development and the coda of movement four.