Friday, October 2nd, 2009 | by Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Antonín Dvořák
B. Sept. 8, 1841 in Nelahozeves, Czech Republic
D. May 1, 1904 in Prague, Czech Republic

Composed in the fall of 1889, the Eighth Symphony has a distinctly autumnal character. Its wistful, folk-like themes; rustling, darkly-hued orchestral textures; and relatively free style of melodic development evoke images of a late-season idyllic outing, replete with peasant dances, bird calls and hunting fanfares. According to the Dvořák scholar, Otakar Šourek, the composer was in search of “something different from his other symphonies” and wished to “shape the music content of his ideas in a new manner.” READ MORE

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Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 | by Detroit Symphony Orchestra

Antonín Dvořák
B. Sept. 8, 1841, Nelahozeves, Bohemia
D. May 1, 1904, Prague, Czech Republic

Life was sweet for Dvořák as his fiftieth birthday approached in 1891. Whether the composer was feeling philosophical that year, we can only surmise. But more than one commentator has seen his cycle Nature, Life, and Love, composed in 1891, as the product of midlife musing. The Carnival Overture forms the middle panel in this triptych and was composed between July and September 1891. All three parts, including the Overtures In Nature’s Realm and Otello, were performed for the first time at a concert in Prague in April 1892, a farewell for the composer before he departed for the New World. READ MORE

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