THE STORY BEHIND: Dvořák's Symphony No.8

On January 21, Tania Miller and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra will present ROMANTIC CHOPIN with pianist Sara Davis Buechner.

Title: Symphony No.8, op.88, B.163, G major
Composer: Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)
Last time performed by the Rhode Island Philharmonic: Last performed January 28, 2012 with Larry Rachleff conducting. This piece is scored for flute, piccolo, oboe, English horn, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani and strings.

The Story: The year 1889 was a particularly happy and productive one for Antonín Dvořák. During that summer, he began to sketch ideas for his Eighth Symphony at his country house in Vyoská. Ideas came to him so quickly that he complained he could not set them down fast enough. He completed the symphony’s sketch between September 6 and 23, and finished the scoring on November 8 in Prague. Dvořák conducted the premiere of his Eighth Symphony there in April 1890 as part of his induction into Emperor Franz Josef’s Czech Academy of Science, Literature, and the Arts.
       
The first movement of the symphony virtually overflows with thematic ideas. Particularly striking and colorful is the introductory theme heard in the cellos. It returns before and after the development section. The main themes of this movement are varied in character and rich in Czech flavor. There is particularly effective woodwind writing during the development section.
       
The second movement has been dubbed a “mood picture” because of similarities between it and the Poetic Mood-Pictures, Op. 85, no. 3, “At the Old Castle.” Whether a connection really exists, the movement is extremely appealing. The theme heard at the beginning provides ample ideas for the composer to vary and transform as the movement progresses. Oddly, this movement begins in the key of E-flat major, but later the music continually gravitates to C major.
       
In place of a Scherzo movement, Dvořák supplies a waltz, Allegretto grazioso, a Brahmsian gesture. Also Brahmsian are the long-breathed opening phrases. The “sturdy peasant lilt” of the main section contrasts with a Trio section, the theme of which is a quote from Dvořák’s opera, The Stubborn Lovers. The divergence between the rhythm of this melody (in normal triple time) and its accompaniment (in extended rhythms with shifting accents) is noteworthy.
       
A trumpet fanfare announces the symphony’s finale. This previews the principal motive of the main theme, which immediately follows. As in the introductory theme that opens the symphony, the cellos present this idea. It takes the form of two repeated strains, and these provide the substance for the following set of variations. Toward the end, the tempo quickens little by little, propelling the movement to a joyful finish.

Program Notes by Dr. Michael Fink © 2023 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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