Classical Works Spotlight #359--Dvorak

[erik]

Dvorak puts a Bohemian spin on a form that was hugely mined by Haydn and Mozart a century before in the work in this week's Classical Works Spotlight.

Dvorak: SERENADE FOR WINDS IN D MINOR, OP. 44

Although Dvorak’s orchestral works were gaining traction by the late 1870s, this hadn’t quite extended to his symphonies, which, up until the Sixth, appeared to be appropriating a fair amount of Wagner (his burgeoning friendship with Johannes Brahms would change that, along with his own penchant for the folk melodies of his native Bohemia). In the meantime, however, he did create two highly important serenades for small orchestras. The first was his celebrated E Major Serenade For Strings. The second was his 1878 D Minor Serenade For Winds, a work that reflected the old-world atmosphere of outside musical performances at castles of the Rococo period in Bohemia, with rhythms that were distinctly Bohemian, but also with an approach not totally different from the various wind serenades of Haydn and Mozart. The orchestral component is that of pairs of oboes, clarinets, and bassoons, along with three French horns; in order to enhance the force of the bass line of the work, Dvorak later added a cello and a double bass. This four-movement serenade is roughly of the size of the earlier all-string E Major Serenade; and despite the somewhat darker tone, it remains a stepping stone for Dvorak towards the four symphonies (nos. 6-9) that established him as one of the pre-eminent composers of the late 19th century.



St. Paul Chamber Orchestra/HUGH WOLFF (Teldec)

Included:
SERENADE FOR STRINGS IN E MAJOR, OP. 22

[egoodstein]

Don't know this recording, but I like the SPCO a lot (possibly the finest smaller orchestra in the USA), so thanks for heads up. Good point that Serenades, esp. this one really, were stepping stones between his symphonies, and of course interesting works on their own. I think it's also intriguing to compare the work to the Slavonic Dances and even maybe the Violin Concerto of roughly the same era, and even his 'experiments' on early chamber music, like the string quintet adding an extra bass, with some of the orchestration here. And it is interesting how he 'reconfigured' the classical sounds/ideas of similar works of Haydn and Mozart into a somewhat more 'Romantic' form. Dvorak to me is almost always appealing and really quite varied in nature, sounds, orchestration and had interesting evolution. He has a very distinctive voice (if with many influences/connections of course), and influential even in America as much as Central Europe. It's good he has been seen as an important composer in recent years, with much more of his repertoire available on disc and played live too.

[erik]

I would say that Dvorak, like Brahms, had an affinity for the Classical era because he saw the continued validity of what was created in that era; and while his works were obviously more elaborate in concept, he still found ways of integrating the structure of that era (and Brahms was clearly a formative influence) into what he himself was doing. This particular Serenade For Winds was perhaps a way of paying a Bohemian homage to Mozart's elaborate Gran Partita for winds (which, strictly speaking, was his Serenade No. 10), albeit in about half the time of Mozart's.

Dvorak may have been of a different era; but, again like Brahms, he had a healthy respect of what had come before.