Classics Explained: DVORAK - Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World' (Siepmann)

Format:

Sound recording

Author/Creator:

Siepmann, Jeremy, Author.

Contributor:

Dvořák, Antonín, 1841-1904, Composer.

Naxos Digital Services US.

Series:

Naxos Music Library.

Naxos Music Library

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spoken Word.

Local Subjects:

Spoken Word.

Genre:

Video recordings.

Sound recordings.

Physical Description:

1 online resource.

Place of Publication:

Hong Kong : Naxos Digital Services US Incorporated, 2002.

System Details:

Mode of access: Available online.

Contents:

A quiet beginning: sorrow, syncopation, and sequence ( 02 min., 38 sec. ) / Dvorak

Instrumental colour as a prime element: clarinets and bassoons, an outburst by the French horn ( 57 sec. ) / Dvorak

The opening tune again, with different instrumental colouring: now flutes and oboes ( 32 sec. ) / Dvorak

The first big surprise: strings, shattering drumbeats, shrieks from flutes, oboes, and clarinets ( 37 sec. ) / Dvorak

Cellos and basses take us into a new key while flutes and oboes dance in syncopation. ( 32 sec. ) / Dvorak

Horns, violas, and cellos introduce a new idea, soon to evolve into the main theme. ( 31 sec. ) / Dvorak

A tiny detail from the opening culminates in a wild drumming that heralds A Major event ( 43 sec. ) / Dvorak

Introduction complete ( 02 min., 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

A solo horn introduces the main theme, perkily answered by bassoons and horns. ( 39 sec. ) / Dvorak

The theme moves to G Major; answering phrase from flutes, oboes, bassoons. ( 33 sec. ) / Dvorak

Long crescendo, tremolo strings, back to tonic and biggest statement yet of the main theme. ( 39 sec. ) / Dvorak

Transition to the secondary theme through the use of sequence. Sonata form; satability and flux ( 01 min., 36 sec. ) / Dvorak

Three-bar groupings and again the use of sequence, spelling out a chord ( 34 sec. ) / Dvorak

The sequence continues to rise, and the four-bar phrase returns as the standard unit. ( 18 sec. ) / Dvorak

The first violins start off the next phrase, but the melodic shape is more compact. ( 21 sec. ) / Dvorak

The violins fall silent; the violas and cellos answer with a new figure ( 09 sec. ) / Dvorak

So now we have a two-bar group, made up of statement and answer. ( 07 sec. ) / Dvorak

The same thing again (though not quite the same) ( 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

Transition complete. The secondary theme arrives, with French horns as 'bagpipes'. ( 01 min. ) / Dvorak

The 'bagpipe drone' is taken over by cellos, with their insistently repeated G and D. ( 19 sec. ) / Dvorak

The tune is taken up by cellos and double-basses, 'shadowed' by the second violins. ( 57 sec. ) / Dvorak

The violins continue a pattern of steady pairs, and the cellos and basses introduce a new idea. ( 33 sec. ) / Dvorak

Unexpectedly, we find ourselves back with the secondary theme. A new idea emerges. ( 26 sec. ) / Dvorak

Again we hear the shortened version of the secondary theme ( 33 sec. ) / Dvorak

The suspense is heightened as everything slows down ( 25 sec. ) / Dvorak

This beautiful flute tune is said to resemble 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'. ( 47 sec. ) / Dvorak

A big crescendo leads to a final statement of the closing theme ( 01 min., 16 sec. ) / Dvorak

The development section begins with a conversation between cellos, double-bases, and violins. ( 01 min., 09 sec. ) / Dvorak

The beginning of the closing theme is taken up in turn by the horn, piccolo, and trumpet. ( 18 sec. ) / Dvorak

Sequential chirping from the oboes based on the 'answering' part of the main theme, now in thE Major ( 18 sec. ) / Dvorak

Much of the development comes from a diminution of the closing theme from the exposition. ( 19 sec. ) / Dvorak

A tiny detail becomes A Major ingredient, giving an agitated quality to an originally sunny tune. ( 31 sec. ) / Dvorak

Through a sequence of keys so quickly that it is hard to keep track of them ( 37 sec. ) / Dvorak

The main theme from massed cellos and double-basses, topped by two trumpets over tremolo violas ( 01 min., 46 sec. ) / Dvorak

After that major climax, we arrive at the threshold of the recapitulation ( 01 min., 04 sec. ) / Dvorak

Dvorak flouts tradition by setting the secondary theme and the closing theme in unexpected keys. ( 01 min., 10 sec. ) / Dvorak

The tumultuous convulsion of the coda brings the first movement to its epic close. ( 03 min., 09 sec. ) / Dvorak

Humpty Dumpty: putting the bits back together again ( 20 sec. ) / Dvorak

First movement (complete) ( 11 min., 36 sec. ) / Dvorak

The very opening chords unmistakably herald the arrival of something special. ( 01 min., 06 sec. ) / Dvorak

The role of instrumentation in setting the scene... ( 01 min., 10 sec. ) / Dvorak

...and in enhancing the quality of one of the most famous tunes in symphonic history. ( 01 min., 29 sec. ) / Dvorak

The cor anglais is joined by the clarinet, creating a fascinating change in the timbre. ( 01 min., 08 sec. ) / Dvorak

For the closing part of the tune, there is another new sonority: cor anglais plus bassoon. ( 24 sec. ) / Dvorak

The closing bar is repeated by clarinets and bassoons, the horn adding a new touch ( 28 sec. ) / Dvorak

Back to the start to hear the whole of the story so far, this time without commentary ( 02 min., 24 sec. ) / Dvorak

A change of scoring: the slow opening chords return, this time played by the winds alone. ( 01 min., 14 sec. ) / Dvorak

The changes in scoring are just beginning. ( 02 min., 35 sec. ) / Dvorak

The flutes and oboes introduce a new tune, over hushed tremolo strings. ( 01 min., 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

A memorable combination of continuous, asymmetrical melody with steady, march-like counterpoint. ( 01 min., 28 sec. ) / Dvorak

Back in that woodland glade, the light and shadows have changed, revealing new shapes and patterns. ( 01 min., 33 sec. ) / Dvorak

The next section is new and forward-looking, yet also a kind of dream-recollection of a past scene. ( 01 min., 30 sec. ) / Dvorak

An abrupt change of mood, much discussion and embellishment, and a hushed note of expectancy ( 02 min., 01 sec. ) / Dvorak

Subjectivity and expertise; Sourek and Tovey disagree; onwards, into the final section ( 05 min., 14 sec. ) / Dvorak

Cue to whole movement ( 10 sec. ) / Dvorak

Second movement (complete) ( 12 min. ) / Dvorak

Dvorak, Beethoven, and the Scherzo. Dvorak purposely confuses the listener's expectations. ( 01 min., 54 sec. ) / Dvorak

Using a little fanfare, Dvorak further builds up expectation before revealing the main theme. ( 21 sec. ) / Dvorak

When the theme is revealed, we find that it is not exactly a tune. ( 36 sec. ) / Dvorak

Two little bursts of rhythm provide the seeds from which much of the movement grows. ( 24 sec. ) / Dvorak

It is the second half of the theme that dominates. ( 22 sec. ) / Dvorak

Back to the beginning to hear the whole of this opening section ( 48 sec. ) / Dvorak

Without ever being remotely 'academic' or 'intellectual', there is much counterpoint going on here. ( 20 sec. ) / Dvorak

Dvorak's very Czech love of combining conflicting rhythms, sometimes metres ( 02 min., 31 sec. ) / Dvorak

A clearly transitional passage, obsessed with the rhythmic tag that both opens and closes the theme ( 30 sec. ) / Dvorak

Sooner than we may have expected, we seem to have arrived at the Trio section. ( 01 min., 07 sec. ) / Dvorak

A new kind of tone quality sheds a subtly different light on the theme. ( 35 sec. ) / Dvorak

The flutes and oboes now chime in with an answering variant of the opening... ( 21 sec. ) / Dvorak

...and the cellos and bassoons take up the original version of the theme. ( 43 sec. ) / Dvorak

A false alarm: it was not the traditional Trio section at all, but rather part 2 of Scherzo proper ( 52 sec. ) / Dvorak

Soon, after a very rapid build, the Scherzo proper does reach its final phase. ( 01 min., 13 sec. ) / Dvorak

The orchestral texture thins dramatically, and we approach what this time really is the Trio section. ( 01 min., 28 sec. ) / Dvorak

The Trio section is reminiscent more of the 'Old World' than the 'New'. ( 50 sec. ) / Dvorak

In the second half of the Trio, a new tune emerges, a kind of Slavonic waltz. ( 01 min. ) / Dvorak

The main theme of the Trio returns against a much fuller orchestral background. ( 36 sec. ) / Dvorak

Then it is all a matter of repeats, until we reach the coda, which ends with an explosive bang. ( 01 min., 15 sec. ) / Dvorak

Third movement (complete) ( 08 min., 07 sec. ) / Dvorak

Like the first movement, the fourth begins not with its main theme but with an introduction. ( 47 sec. ) / Dvorak

The main theme: an imposing march, introduced by trumpets and trombones, with timpani ( 48 sec. ) / Dvorak

The main theme, part two. A codetta-like passage closes off the march ( 01 minutes, 01 sec.

) / Dvorak

The 'transitional' theme, while outwardly contrasting, is actually a hidden variant of the march. ( 53 sec. ) / Dvorak

A point of future obsession ( 16 sec. ) / Dvorak

The second half of this 'transitional' theme is given to the winds the strings have finished. ( 16 sec. ) / Dvorak

The 'obsession' takes root, with a ten-fold repetition, before the arrival of the second subject. ( 57 sec. ) / Dvorak

The hidden traps in sonata-form terminology: 'second main theme' vx. 'second subject' ( 02 min., 31 sec. ) / Dvorak

The unexpected entry and subsequent ubiquity of 'Three Blind Mice' ( 01 min., 23 sec. ) / Dvorak

We meet the mice again, now in the cellos and double-basses, where they persistently refuse to run. ( 36 sec. ) / Dvorak

More 'Three Blind Mice' material ( 30 sec. ) / Dvorak

The mice return to the basement, where the bassoons have joined the cellos and double-basses. ( 19 sec. ) / Dvorak

Next, they are back with the clarinets who pass them back to the cellos ( 18 sec. ) / Dvorak

Now they return to the high winds, delicately trilling. ( 15 sec. ) / Dvorak

Relief, at last: the mice back off, making way for a remainder of the main theme from the trumpets. ( 34 sec. ) / Dvorak

The mice yield to woodpeckers; the main theme is now doubled in speed ( 01 min., 07 sec. ) / Dvorak

The triplets of the 'transitional' theme are now handed down through strings ( 23 sec. ) / Dvorak

Reminders of past movements begin to fly by, thick and fast, sometimes very fast. ( 28 sec. ) / Dvorak

In fact there are three bits of quotation going on here simultaneously. ( 23 sec. ) / Dvorak

The violas react every time the 'Goin' Home' theme is quoted by the winds. ( 35 sec. ) / Dvorak

The rhythm of the opening of the 'Goin' Home' theme dominates, transformed by trumpets ( 35 sec. ) / Dvorak

The march theme reappears as a Mendelssohnian fairy; the main theme from the 1st mov. now returns. ( 01 min., 55 sec. ) / Dvorak

We reach an interesting point: have we heard the beginning of the recapitulation, or not? ( 01 min., 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

Perhaps this is it? Back for a reminder of the theme proper, as we first heard it ( 01 min., 41 sec. ) / Dvorak

Tovey places the start of the recapitulation here. ( 01 min., 27 sec. ) / Dvorak

The main theme recast in pathetic rather than heroic terms - and with magical scoring ( 01 min., 51 sec. ) / Dvorak

This unexpected crisis in confidence plays A Major role in the overall dramatic impact of the mov. ( 01 min., 49 sec. ) / Dvorak

The main theme returns - not complete, but chopped up into shorter and shorter fragments. ( 01 min., 30 sec. ) / Dvorak

A glorious thematic stew; high drama, a powerful build-up... but then? ( 56 sec. ) / Dvorak

The dramatic highpoint of the mov., an astonishing transformation, but first, back to the original ( 01 min., 26 sec. ) / Dvorak

The same chords again, this time blasted out by the entire wind and brass sections ( 01 min., 09 sec. ) / Dvorak

Now we are into the finishing stretch, but the surprises continue to the very end of the very end. ( 01 min., 42 sec. ) / Dvorak

Summary, context, and cue into the whole movement ( 01 min., 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

Fourth movement (complete) ( 11 minutes, 05 sec. ) / Dvorak

Participant:

Siepmann, Jeremy, Artist -- Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra -- Dvorak, Antonin, Composer

Notes:

Naxos Digital Services electronic collection.

Streaming audio.

Publisher Number:

0636943806524

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license.