Symphony 7 - Dvorak (1841-1904)

Dvorák was born in a small Bohemian village on the river Vltava 45 miles to the north of Prague. How extraordinary, in view of later developments, that his schooling finished when he was eleven years old so that he could become……….an apprentice butcher! Talent will out and he spent his spare time learning the viola, organ, piano and composition. Eventually, father was persuaded to let him do the music job properly and, aged sixteen, he was enrolled at the Prague Organ School. The training there was strictly that of a church musician but Dvorák rushed off to orchestral concerts at every opportunity. After graduating in 1859 he was appointed principal viola in a theatre orchestra and supplemented his income giving lessons. Not enough time was left for composition and he left the orchestra in 1871 to pursue his first love incidentally his other sort of first love spurned him in spite of a dedicated song-cycle, "Cypress Trees". Never mind, he soon recovered and married the young lady's sister with whom he had the most felicitous relationship throughout his life lucky escape perhaps!

In 1874 Dvorák made a determined effort to win a major award by entering some fifteen works for the Austrian National Prize. He won, receiving a very welcome bursary and the admiration of Brahms who was one of the adjudicators. This was indeed a timely push in the right direction. All credit to Dvorák's attractive personality that, in the world of composers where calumny is not unknown, he was befriended and helped not only by such an important fellow composer as Brahms but also, in later years, by Tchaikovsky. Brahms, who came bundled with rather a surly reputation, liked the young man's music so much that he even introduced him to his own publisher, a major step forward for Dvorák. Digressing for a moment, it is said that a young hopeful repeatedly brought his prized manuscript for Brahms' approval. He was eventually rewarded with an audience. Brahms leafed through the music score at some speed before remarking, "How interesting tell me, where do you buy your manuscript paper?" To complete the irrelevencies, I can't resist telling you that one of the Dvorák's cousins invented the Dvorák typewriter keyboard which, I am told, is far superior to the Qwerty version. As I fumble at the keyboard typing these notes, I could do with anything that would help.

The publication of Dvorák's early works, in particular the Slavonic Dances and Moravian Songs, attracted international attention. His music was soon taken up by leading conductors and instrumentalists and, for once, he was not a prophet without honour in his own country where, with his senior, Smetana, he had helped establish a Nationalist School of composition based on a long tradition of folk-lore and folk-music. He was just as popular in England; the Seventh and Eighth Symphonies were written for performance here and his choral works were immensely successful. In 1891 he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the University of Cambridge and appointed Professor of Composition at the Prague Conservatoire. At the other end of Europe his friend, Tchaikovsky, had arranged concerts for him in Moscow which proved to be another personal triumph. Then, of course, came the well-chronicled sojourn in the New World where he was appointed Director of the newly opened National Conservatory of Music in New York. During his five years in the USA, he was homesick and this feeling is expressed in the melancholy of some of his "American" works. However, just before making his return to his beloved "homeland", he finished the magnificent Cello Concerto. On his welcome return to Bohemia in 1895, he took up his previous position at the Prague Conservatoire, later becoming its Director. The remaining years of his life were spent composing symphonic poems, string quartets and three operas. In spite of the popularity of the "New World" symphony, many of you will know and appreciate this Seventh Symphony, together with the Cello Concerto, as one of his supreme symphonic achievements.

The Symphony reveals all of Dvorák's freshness, gift of melody and technical mastery with a conciseness and depth of feeling which is perhaps not so prominent in other works. The four richly satisfying movements are wonderfully contrasted. After the rewarding symphonic structure of the first movement, how telling to contrast the sublime depth of the slow movement with the airy fleetness of the folky scherzo. The Finale has stature yet a lightness of touch that sees the music fairly zip along. This sublime music is all the while illuminated by Dvorák's superb handling of orchestral colour and melody. I first conducted this Symphony in Carnegie Hall with the American Symphony Orchestra at a conducting competition in New York. I hadn't a clue what I was doing and I'm sure the orchestra felt exactly the same - I trust that matters have improved at least a little since then!

The Norfolk Symphony Orchestra is a registered Charity No. 263422