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Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60

Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60
Antonín Dvořák
(b. September 8, 1841 near Prague; d. May 1, 1904 in Prague)

Written in 1880, Symphony No. 6 stands at the crossroads of Dvořák's personal connection with the eminent German composer, Johannes Brahms, and his own Czech roots. There's a tale to tell about how a Czech composer, befriended by a German composer, wrote a symphony for an Austrian orchestra. It's complicated.

By 1877 Dvořák had attracted the attention of Brahms (German, but living in Vienna). Brahms' support got Dvořák an in with Simrock, Brahms publisher in Berlin. Dvořák's first publication with Simrock, was a book of Slavonic dances that were very successful and that Brahms loved. Brahms' connections to the Vienna Philharmonic led to a Dvořák premiere in 1879. The Vienna Philharmonic conductor Hans Richter was enthusiastic and urged Dvořák to write a symphony for his orchestra.

Dvořák dived in and finished the 6th Symphony in October 1880. Instead of the premiere he expected in December 1880, Dvořák began to get excuses and evasion from Richter. The truth turned out to be that the orchestra players balked at playing the music of a foreigner, relatively little known there, in two consecutive seasons. So the work finally had its debut in Prague in March 1881 and Richter, to whom the work is dedicated, conducted it in London in 1882. Almost inconceivably, the Vienna Philharmonic didn't program it until 1942. Simrock at least published it on schedule but called it Symphony No. 1 because it was the first Dvořák symphony published. Today it is No. 6 based on scholarship by Otakar Šourek (1883-1956) who ordered all the symphonies by composition date.

The first movement has a graceful lilt to it. In the same key (D major) and meter (3/4) as Brahms' 2nd symphony from just three years before in 1877 and with an equally sunny disposition, it must be homage to Dvořák's good friend.

Of the very slow second movement Šourek said it “has the quality of a softly yearning nocturne and of an ardently passionate intermezzo.” The woodwinds have many fine solo moments and the French horns also get their melodic moments—a bit unusual in Dvořák.

The third movement is called a scherzo but subtitled furiant—more to the point. The furiant is a Bohemian dance form, rapidly shifting between 2/4 and 3/4 rhythm. The furiant’s beginning and end are aggressive and heavily accented. Although this is quintessential Dvořák, Brahms must have loved it as he was famous for his mixing duple and triple meter figures. The middle trio is much more relaxed and features piccolo solos.

The final movement also corresponds to Brahms' 2nd in instrumentation, tempo, key, and meter—a clear sign of homage to Brahms—and at the beginning, the melody is generous and decorous like the opening of the first movement. These moments return, but much of the movement crosses into boisterousness Brahms might have found unseemly and ends with positively electric exuberance.

(c)2011, 2012, 2017, 2023  by Steven Hollingsworth, Creative Commons Public Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Contact: steve@trecorde.net

Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60

Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60
Antonín Dvořák
(b. September 8, 1841 near Prague; d. May 1, 1904 in Prague)

Written in 1880, Symphony No. 6 stands at the crossroads of Dvořák's personal connection with the eminent German composer, Johannes Brahms, and his own Czech roots. There's a tale to tell about how a Czech composer, befriended by a German composer, wrote a symphony for an Austrian orchestra. It's complicated.

By 1877 Dvořák had attracted the attention of Brahms (German, but living in Vienna). Brahms' support got Dvořák an in with Simrock, Brahms publisher in Berlin. Dvořák's first publication with Simrock, was a book of Slavonic dances that were very successful and that Brahms loved. Brahms' connections to the Vienna Philharmonic led to a Dvořák premiere in 1879. The Vienna Philharmonic conductor Hans Richter was enthusiastic and urged Dvořák to write a symphony for his orchestra.

Dvořák dived in and finished the 6th Symphony in October 1880. Instead of the premiere he expected in December 1880, Dvořák began to get excuses and evasion from Richter. The truth turned out to be that the orchestra players balked at playing the music of a foreigner, relatively little known there, in two consecutive seasons. So the work finally had its debut in Prague in March 1881 and Richter, to whom the work is dedicated, conducted it in London in 1882. Almost inconceivably, the Vienna Philharmonic didn't program it until 1942. Simrock at least published it on schedule but called it Symphony No. 1 because it was the first Dvořák symphony published. Today it is No. 6 based on scholarship by Otakar Šourek (1883-1956) who ordered all the symphonies by composition date.

The first movement has a graceful lilt to it. In the same key (D major) and meter (3/4) as Brahms' 2nd symphony from just three years before in 1877 and with an equally sunny disposition, it must be homage to Dvořák's good friend.

Of the very slow second movement Šourek said it “has the quality of a softly yearning nocturne and of an ardently passionate intermezzo.” The woodwinds have many fine solo moments and the French horns also get their melodic moments—a bit unusual in Dvořák.

The third movement is called a scherzo but subtitled furiant—more to the point. The furiant is a Bohemian dance form, rapidly shifting between 2/4 and 3/4 rhythm. The furiant’s beginning and end are aggressive and heavily accented. Although this is quintessential Dvořák, Brahms must have loved it as he was famous for his mixing duple and triple meter figures. The middle trio is much more relaxed and features piccolo solos.

The final movement also corresponds to Brahms' 2nd in instrumentation, tempo, key, and meter—a clear sign of homage to Brahms—and at the beginning, the melody is generous and decorous like the opening of the first movement. These moments return, but much of the movement crosses into boisterousness Brahms might have found unseemly and ends with positively electric exuberance.

(c)2011, 2012, 2017, 2023  by Steven Hollingsworth, Creative Commons Public Attribution 3.0 United States License.

Contact: steve@trecorde.net