The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Paul Dukas (1865-1935)

THE STORY

Dukas’s breathtaking orchestration in The Sorcerer’s Apprentice was a marvel to contemporary audiences, and his exploration of harmony clearly influenced both Stravinsky and Debussy. Composed in 1897, the work has also managed to become one of the most successful pieces of concert music to cross over into American popular culture, thanks to Walt Disney’s Fantasia (1940)—indeed, “Sorcerer Mickey” is an enduring character even today.

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is a programmatic work based on the 1797 poem “Der Zauberlehrling” (“The Sorcerer’s Apprentice”) by the German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749-1832), whose imaginative works had a grip on many 19th-century composers. The poem describes a young sorcerer’s apprentice who, growing tired of the menial chore of fetching pails of water, attempts a spell to animate a broom to complete the task. Finding he has no control over the magic broom, the apprentice tries to split it with an axe, only to find that each half becomes a whole broom—now the work continues at twice the pace! To the relief of the apprentice, the sorcerer returns just in time to break the faulty spell and restore order.

LISTEN FOR

• Foreshadowing in the mysterious introductory section, which displays the themes of the main body of the piece in fragmentary forms
• Extensive harp and percussion parts combining with the strings in washes of sound
• The familiar main theme marching through the work, ever evolving and gaining intensity until the final moments of the piece where, like the brooms, it is finally contained by the sorcerer

INSTRUMENTATION

Piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, bass clarinet. two bassoons, contrabassoon, four horns, four trumpets, three trombones, timpani, percussion, harp, strings