Romantic Music here we come!

Few works for the concert hall have won such immediate and continuing popularity as Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’. Dramatic, lyrical, and spacious, it presents a rich panorama of ravishing and exciting orchestral colours, reflecting the experiences and emotions of the great Czech composer during his years in America towards the end of the nineteenth century. Its abiding magic might seem beyond analysis, but in this detailed and fascinating tour Jeremy Siepmann explores the inner-workings of a masterpiece, his enthusiasm not only intact but enhanced.

Dvořák’s ‘New World’ Symphony is undoubtedly a much-played, much-loved masterpiece – but why? What are the ‘New World’ connections, and how does it link with the 19th-century symphonic tradition that was so much the composer’s musical heritage? This informal but fascinating and detailed account enriches our appreciation of one of the most popular symphonies without the need for any theoretical knowledge of music.


Disc 1

Dvorak, Antonin

  An Introduction to… DVORAK Symphony No. 9 ‘From the New World’
1. A quiet beginning: sorrow, syncopation, and sequence 00:02:38

2. Instrumental colour as a prime element: clarinets and bassoons, an outburst by the French horn 00:00:57

3. The opening tune again, with different instrumental colouring: now flutes and oboes 00:00:32

4. The first big surprise: strings, shattering drumbeats, shrieks from flutes, oboes, and clarinets 00:00:37

5. Cellos and basses take us into a new key while flutes and oboes dance in syncopation. 00:00:32

6. Horns, violas, and cellos introduce a new idea, soon to evolve into the main theme. 00:00:31

7. A tiny detail from the opening culminates in a wild drumming that heralds a major event 00:00:43

8. Introduction complete 00:02:05

9. A solo horn introduces the main theme, perkily answered by bassoons and horns. 00:00:39

10. The theme moves to G major; answering phrase from flutes, oboes, bassoons. 00:00:33

11. Long crescendo, tremolo strings, back to tonic and biggest statement yet of the main theme. 00:00:39

12. Transition to the secondary theme through the use of sequence. Sonata form; satability and flux 00:01:36

13. Three – bar groupings and again the use of sequence, spelling out a chord 00:00:34

14. The sequence continues to rise, and the four – bar phrase returns as the standard unit. 00:00:18

15. The first violins start off the next phrase, but the melodic shape is more compact. 00:00:21

16. The violins fall silent; the violas and cellos answer with a new figure 00:00:09

17. So now we have a two – bar group, made up of statement and answer. 00:00:07

18. The same thing again (though not quite the same) 00:00:05

19. Transition complete. The secondary theme arrives, with French horns as ‘bagpipes’. 00:01:00

20. The ‘bagpipe drone’ is taken over by cellos, with their insistently repeated G and D. 00:00:19

21. The tune is taken up by cellos and double – basses, ‘shadowed’ by the second violins. 00:00:57

22. The violins continue a pattern of steady pairs, and the cellos and basses introduce a new idea. 00:00:33

23. Unexpectedly, we find ourselves back with the secondary theme. A new idea emerges. 00:00:26

24. Again we hear the shortened version of the secondary theme 00:00:33

25. The suspense is heightened as everything slows down 00:00:25

26. This beautiful flute tune is said to resemble ‘Swing Low, Sweet Chariot’. 00:00:47

27. A big crescendo leads to a final statement of the closing theme 00:01:16

28. The development section begins with a conversation between cellos, double – bases, and violins. 00:01:09

29. The beginning of the closing theme is taken up in turn by the horn, piccolo, and trumpet. 00:00:18

30. Sequential chirping from the oboes based on the ‘answering’ part of the main theme, now in the major 00:00:18

31. Much of the development comes from a diminution of the closing theme from the exposition. 00:00:19

32. A tiny detail becomes a major ingredient, giving an agitated quality to an originally sunny tune. 00:00:31

33. Through a sequence of keys so quickly that it is hard to keep track of them 00:00:37

34. The main theme from massed cellos and double – basses, topped by two trumpets over tremolo violas 00:01:46

35. After that major climax, we arrive at the threshold of the recapitulation 00:01:04

36. Dvorak flouts tradition by setting the secondary theme and the closing theme in unexpected keys. 00:01:10

37. The tumultuous convulsion of the coda brings the first movement to its epic close. 00:03:09

38. Humpty Dumpty: putting the bits back together again 00:00:20

39. First movement (complete) 00:11:36

40. The very opening chords unmistakably herald the arrival of something special. 00:01:06

41. The role of instrumentation in setting the scene… 00:01:10

42. … and in enhancing the quality of one of the most famous tunes in symphonic history. 00:01:29

43. The cor anglais is joined by the clarinet, creating a fascinating change in the timbre. 00:01:08

44. For the closing part of the tune, there is another new sonority: cor anglais plus bassoon. 00:00:24

45. The closing bar is repeated by clarinets and bassoons, the horn adding a new touch 00:00:28

46. Back to the start to hear the whole of the story so far, this time without commentary 00:02:24

47. A change of scoring: the slow opening chords return, this time played by the winds alone. 00:01:14

48. The changes in scoring are just beginning. 00:02:35

49. The flutes and oboes introduce a new tune, over hushed tremolo strings. 00:01:05

50. A memorable combination of continuous, asymmetrical melody with steady, march – like counterpoint. 00:01:28

51. Back in that woodland glade, the light and shadows have changed, revealing new shapes and patterns. 00:01:33

52. The next section is new and forward – looking, yet also a kind of dream – recollection of a past scene. 00:01:30

53. An abrupt change of mood, much discussion and embellishment, and a hushed note of expectancy 00:02:01

54. Subjectivity and expertise; Sourek and Tovey disagree; onwards, into the final section 00:05:14