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Saturday, January 4, 2020

Musical Interlude

(For politics, please scroll down)

Enjoy one of my favorite symphonic pieces: Symphony No. 9 in E Minor (aka the "New World" Symphony) by Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)....


Index to this symphony's four movements:

1. Adagio - Allegro molto
2. Largo 11:55
3. Scherzo: Molto vivace - Poco sostenuto 24:57
4. Allegro con fuoco 32:35

About the above piece:
...[Dvořák] composed the Symphony No. 9 in 1893, and while American music inspired him, he did not use any American melodies in the work. He wrote in the American style of pentatonic scale use and did it so well that for a long time many put the cart before the horse, especially in regards to the melody from the 2nd movement. A song named Goin' Home takes its melody from the symphony, not the other way around. The words were not set to the melody until many years after the symphony had been written.

The premiere of the work was the greatest success of Dvořák's career, as each movement was applauded so much that he had to take a bow after each. He had created interest in the work months before its premiere when he was quoted in New York newspapers as saying that an American school of composition should be built around Negro and Native American melodies....
Read the rest HERE.

5 comments:

  1. One of my favorites too... I will swing by later for the full thing.. Have a great day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. A beautiul, extremely touching work. I've loved it for many years. I wish I had time to enjoy it today, but the phone has been ringing off the hook.!

    Maybe later . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Franco,
      Hoping that you got back to listening to this selection.

      Delete
  3. Brings back lots of memories, especially 1st movement.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, Jez. I hope that you are doing well.

      Yes, this piece often has listeners' memories associated with it.

      Delete

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