Symphony No. 8 (Dvořák): Difference between revisions
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[[Image:Dvořák 8058.jpg|thumb|upright|250px|The title page of the autograph score of Dvořák's eighth symphony]] |
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| name = Symphony No. 8 |
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| ⚫ | The '''Symphony No. 8''' in G major, Op. 88, [[Jarmil Burghauser|B]]. 163, is a symphony by [[Antonín Dvořák]], composed in 1889 at [[Vysoká u Příbramě]], [[Bohemia]], on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. Dvořák conducted the premiere in [[Prague]] on 2 February 1890. In contrast to other symphonies, the music is cheerful and optimistic. |
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| composer = [[Antonín Dvořák]] |
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| image = Dvořák 8058.jpg |
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| image_size = 280px |
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| caption = The title page of the autograph score |
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| key = G major |
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| catalogue = {{plainlist| |
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* Op. 88 |
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* [[Jarmil Burghauser|B]]. 163 |
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}} |
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| composed = {{Timeline-event|date={{Start date|1889|08|26|df=y}}|end_date={{End date|1889|11|08|df=y}}|location=[[Vysoká u Příbramě]]}} |
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| dedication = Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts |
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| style = [[Romantic music|Romantic]] |
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| movements = 4 |
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| premiere_date = {{Start date|1890|02|02|df=y}} |
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| premiere_location = Prague |
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| premiere_conductor= Antonín Dvořák |
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| premiere_performers= |
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| published = |
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| first_recording = |
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}} |
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| ⚫ | The '''Symphony No. 8''' in G major, Op. 88, [[Jarmil Burghauser|B]]. 163, is a symphony by [[Antonín Dvořák]], composed in 1889 at [[Vysoká u Příbramě]], [[Bohemia]], on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. Dvořák conducted the premiere in [[Prague]] on 2 February 1890. In contrast to other symphonies of both the composer and the period, the music is cheerful and optimistic. |
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== History == |
== History == |
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Revision as of 09:06, 30 August 2013
| Symphony No. 8 | |
|---|---|
| by Antonín Dvořák | |
 The title page of the autograph score | |
| Key | G major |
| Catalogue |
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| Style | Romantic |
| Composed | 26 August 1889 – 8 November 1889: Vysoká u Příbramě |
| Dedication | Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts |
| Movements | 4 |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 2 February 1890 |
| Location | Prague |
| Conductor | Antonín Dvořák |
The Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, B. 163, is a symphony by Antonín Dvořák, composed in 1889 at Vysoká u Příbramě, Bohemia, on the occasion of his election to the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature and Arts. Dvořák conducted the premiere in Prague on 2 February 1890. In contrast to other symphonies of both the composer and the period, the music is cheerful and optimistic.
History
Dvořák composed and orchestrated within the two-and-a-half-month period from 26 August to 8 November 1889 at his summer resort in Vysoká u Příbramě, Bohemia. The score was composed on the occasion of his admission to "Böhmische Kaiser-Franz-Joseph-Akademie für Wissenschaft, Literatur und Kunst" (Bohemian Academy of Emperor Franz Joseph for the Encouragement of Science, Literature and Arts), in thanks for his election. Dvořák conducted the premiere in Prague on 2 February 1890.
Dvořák tried to achieve a marked difference to his Seventh Symphony, a stormy romantic work: "... ein von meinen anderen Symphonien verschiedenes Werk zu schreiben, mit individuellen, in neuer Weise ausgearbeiteten Gedanken" (... to write a work different from my other symphonis, with individual thoughts, developed in a new way). The Eighth is cheery and lyrical and draws its inspiration more from the Bohemian folk music that Dvořák loved.[1]
The Eighth Symphony is performed fairly frequently, but not nearly as often as the more famous Ninth Symphony ("From the New World"). In this regard it enjoys a similar status to the Seventh Symphony. A typical performance of the Eighth lasts about 36 minutes, making it one of Dvořák's shorter symphonies.
Structure and scoring
The symphony is in four movements:
- Allegro con brio (G major)
- Adagio (C minor)
- Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace (G minor)
- Allegro ma non troppo (G major)
The work is scored for 2 flutes (2nd doubling piccolo)*, 2 oboes (1st doubling english horn)*, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, and strings.
The orchestration of piccolo and English Horn is extremely unusual in this symphony. The piccolo only sustains a long note in unison with the flute at the exposition of the 1st movement and the English Horn only plays a short, but exposed phrase during the second recapitulation of the main "bird call" theme, also in the 1st movement. In some editions the 2nd oboe doubles on English horn rather than the 1st oboe as indicated in most scores.
Music
The first movement is a powerful and glowing exposition characterized by liberal use of timpani. It opens with a lyrical G minor theme in the cellos, horns, clarinets and bassoon with trombones, violas and double basses pizzicato. This gives way to a "bird call" flute melody. The general cheery nature of this movement is contrasted sharply by the more ominous minor-key sections. Peter Laki notes for a performance of the National Symphony Orchestra that the development section "works up quite a storm". In the recapitulation, the second main theme is played by the English horn, two octaves lower than in the exposition. The movement ends with a "short but very energetic coda".[1]
Despite being marked Adagio the second movement, in reality, moves along at quite a reasonable speed. It begins with a typically beautiful clarinet duet and ends quietly, but contentedly.
Most of the third movement is a melancholy waltz in 3/8 time. Near the end, the meter changes to 2/4, and the music ends in a manner not unlike that of the second movement. It is interesting to notice that the first notes of the Trio section (G major) are used in the Coda in 2/4. The movement is not the typical minuet or scherzo, but compares as an "intermezzo" to the third movements of the First and Second Symphony by Brahms. In contrast to the "sweet and languid waltz" of the first theme, the second, "functioning as a "trio," sounds more like a Bohemian folk dance".[1]
The finale, formally a "complex theme-and-variations", is the most turbulent movement. It begins with a fanfare of trumpets, then progresses to a beautiful melody which is first played by the cellos. The tension is masterfully built and finally released at approximately two minutes into the piece, with a cascade of instruments triumphantly playing the initial theme at a somewhat faster pace. A central contrasting episode is derived from the main theme. From there the movement compellingly progresses through a tempestuous middle section, modulating from major to minor several times throughout. After a return to the slow, lyrical section, the piece ends on a chromatic coda, in which brass and timpani are greatly prominent. Laki summarises: "Dvorák's handling of form is indebted to Beethoven and Brahms, but he filled out the form with melodies of an unmistakably Czech flavor and a joviality few composers at the time possessed. The variations vary widely in character: some are slower and some are faster in tempo, some are soft (such as the virtuosic one for solo flute), and some are noisy; most are in the major mode, though the central one, reminiscent of a village band, is in the minor. The music is always cheerful and optimistic."[1]
References
- ^ a b c d Laki, Peter (2010). "Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88". Kennedy Center, program notes for the National Symphony Orchestra. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
Literature
[
- Christoph Hahn, Siegmar Hohl (Hg.), Bertelsmann Konzertführer, Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh/München 1993, ISBN 3-570-10519-9
- Harenberg Konzertführer, Harenberg Kommunikation, Dortmund, 1998, ISBN 3-611-00535-5
- Hansjürgen Schaefer: Konzertbuch Orchestermusik A-F, VEB Deutscher Verlag für Musik, Leipzig 1958 ] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)
External links
- Free scores by Symphony No. 8 at the International Music Score Library Project (IMSLP)
- Full score from the Indiana University School of Music
- Free recording of Dvořák's Symphony No. 8 by the Columbia University Orchestra
- Free download by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Carlo Maria Giulini from radio4.nl
