Dvořák Symphony No. 8 PRESENTATION BY DANIEL SMITH

Dvořák Symphony No. 8 PRESENTATION BY DANIEL SMITH

Antonín Leopold Dvořák Pronnciation by native Czech speaker Lived 1841 1904 1857-9 Organ School First pblication at age 20 Played Viola 1873 married Anna Freqent visits to England 1891 Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge 1892 National Conservatory of Msic in New York 1895 retrned to Bohemia 1897 visited Brahms on his death bed 1901 Director of the Prage Conservatory 1904 Died after 5 weeks of illness

Dvorak s World and Msical Vocablary Hobbies: Unsal phrasing Raising Pigeons (birdsong) Harmonic twists Watching Trains Czech folk msic American Spiritals Dance rhythm Primitivism Nrsery tnes Wagner Liszt Brahms* Lyricism Well traveled person Evoke patterns of speech

Dvorak s Other Work 10 Operas Choral Msic & Songs Chamber Msic 9 Symphonies 9 Symphonic Poems Other Orchestral: Sites, Overtres, Single-Movement

Context for No. 8 1885 Wagner Das Reingold 1886 Wagner Tristan nd Isolde 1888 Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 5 Sleeping Beaty 1888 Dvorak The Jacobin (7 th Opera) 1889 Mahler Symphony No. 1 1889 Strass Don Jan & Death and Transfigration

Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op.88 Dedicated to the Bohemian Academy of Emperor Franz Joseph for the Encoragement of Arts and Literatre, in thanks for my election." Composed 1889, premiered in Prage 1890 Dvorak s most original symphony David Hrwitz Derivative of a limited nmber of elements Form difficlt to analyze. Breaks traditional strctres. Important role of the flte leads the work Pastoral Symphony (No. 2 & No. 5 were also pastoral) Relatively short (36 mintes) Absolte msic (as opposed to programmatic, althogh Dvorak wrote both)

Orchestration 2 Fltes Timpani II dobles picc. 2 Oboes I dobles E.horn 2 Clarinets 2 Bassoons Violin I Violin II Viola Cello 4 Horns (F,C,D) Doble Bass 2 Trmpets (F,C,D) 3 Trombones Tba

Movement I: Allegro con Brio Sonata-Allegro form (kinda) Divided into three sections w/coda Each section begins with same melody all in G minor G minor -> G major (at times ambigos mode) Opening orchestration reminiscent of Brahms Rich and lyrical melody Only time the English horn plays is in the Recap as the bird call

Movement I: Themes All 3 occrrences of the Main Theme (G minor) Bird Call (G major) *as recorded by the Frankfrt Radio Symphony

Dimintion, Derivative, and other Motives Dimintion of bird call Dimintion & variation of first theme Closing Theme (reminiscent of Mozart s Jpiter)

Movement II: Adagio Set of 9 variations Introdction in Eb major bt movement is in C minor Elements of a fneral march Reminiscent of Beethoven s Eroica a marvel of imaginative scoring. Steingberg Featres the flte (again) and a solo violin

Movement II: Theme Main Theme More Bird Calls Motive from mvt. 1

Excerpt: Mvt. II Variation 4

Movement III: Scherzo Less scherzo and more elegant waltz Theme is derivative of the second movement Trio theme is from The Stbborn Lovers 1874 Opera Coda melody is derivative of the Trio Folk and dance msic inflence Chromatic and modal lines Crossrhythms (mostly 2:3) G minor theme, G major trio

Movement III: Motives Main Theme Trio & Coda Theme

Movement IV Theme & Variations Opening Fanfare Contains motives and elements of all pervios movements First theme is a Slavic-sonding Scherzo and Trio in ABA Virtosic flte part Ends with dramatic accelerando and timpani hmor

Movement IV Opening Fanfare Closing Last Measre timpani Violin I

Sorces Hrwitz, David. Dvorák: romantic msic's most versatile genis. Pompton Plains, NJ: Amades Press, 2005. Print. Stedman, Preston. The symphony. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1979. Print. Steinberg, Michael. The symphony: a listener's gide. New York: Oxford U Press, 1999. Print.