Symphony #7
DVORAK 1841-1904
Antonin Dvořák was popular during his lifetime because he appealed to both conservative and radical musicians. He was able to combine an admiration for earlier composers (Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, and Wagner) with a respect for and understanding of contemporary musical developments such as nationalism. Additionally, he was respected by his Czech countrymen. As a Czech, he was able to remain above the disagreements that tended to divide both French and, especially, German composers. His equal comfort writing choral music, operas, chamber music, and orchestral music helped him avoid the narrow appeal that sometimes plagued specialist composers.
Dvořák’s orchestral works exhibit a high level of craftsmanship. This is due in part to his first professional position – a nine-year tenure as an orchestral violist which he earned after graduating from a conservatory in Prague in 1859. During his tenure he performed the works of Liszt, Berlioz, and Wagner – the later performance, in 1863, conducted by the composer. These performances helped him obtain practical solutions to the problems of orchestral writing. This understanding, combined with a great admiration for the works of the classical masters, led him in the direction of symphonic composition based upon classical models similar to those used by his good friend Johannes Brahms.
The purely symphonic output of Dvořák began with the somewhat experimental Symphony No. 1 in 1865 and continued to the mature perfection of the Symphony No. 9 in 1893. He suppressed his first four symphonies because he felt they were immature. (They were published after his death.) His first truly mature work in the idiom (and the first to be published as No. 1) was Symphony No. 6 in D major.
Ever since Dvořák heard Brahms work, he longed to write one in a similar mood. In the fall of 1884, the London Philharmonic Society commissioned a new symphony and he had the opportunity. Dvořák immediately set to work and finished the score of his Symphony No. 7 in only three months. The first performance took place on April 22, 1885 in London with the composer conducting. He revised the work the following June, and it was published as No. 2. Most critics consider it to be his finest symphony.
To recognize the distinct parallels between Dvořák and Brahm’s work, compare Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 in D major with Brahms’ Symphony No. 2. You’ll notice the similar sunny and extroverted spirit of the two symphonies. Further paralleled are Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 in D minor and Brahm’s Symphony No. 3 in F minor which could both be viewed as a glimpse into a tragic, personal world.
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 7 opens with a passionate and powerful movement that rarely offers repose. Agitated rhythms in the lower accompaniment voices, particularly the strings, contribute to the feeling of continual restlessness. The subsequent slow movement is not only the longest of the four, but perhaps the best example of Dvořák’s ability to write long, beautiful melodies. In particular, the solo horn melody has rarely been equaled in its power and majesty. Rather than provide a traditional scherzo movement, Dvořák chose to substitute a furiant, a fast Czech folk dance that alternates between two and three beats per measure. He increased the tension by frequently juxtaposing the conflicting beat patterns. A gentle pastoral trio section serves as an effective contrast before the furiant repeats. The opening of the final movement returns the listener to the tragic mood of the first movement. As it unfolds, successions of themes and climaxes gradually lead the tonality from D minor to a triumphant conclusion in D major.
Concert Performance
Orchestration
2 flutes, piccolo, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, and strings