Classics Explained: Dvorak - Symphony No. 9, 'from The New World'

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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A quiet beginning: Sorrow, syncopation, and sequence
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Instrumental colour as a prime element: Clarinets and bassoons, an outburst by the French horn
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The opening tune again, with different instrumental colouring: Now flutes and oboes
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The first big surprise: Strings, shattering drumbeats, shrieks from flutes, oboes, and clarinets
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Cellos and basses take us into a new key while flutes and oboes dance in syncopation.
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Horns, violas, and cellos introduce a new idea, soon to evolve into the main theme.
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A tiny detail from the opening culminates in a wild drumming That heralds A Major event
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Introduction complete
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   An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A solo horn introduces the main theme, perkily answered by bassoons and horns.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The theme moves to G Major; answering phrase from flutes, oboes, bassoons.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Long crescendo, tremolo strings, back to tonic and biggest statement yet of the main theme.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Transition to the secondary theme through the use of sequence. Sonata form; satability and flux
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Three-bar groupings and again the use of sequence, spelling out a chord
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The sequence continues to rise, and the four-bar phrase returns as the standard unit.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The first violins start off the next phrase, but the melodic shape Is more compact.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The violins fall silent; the violas and cellos answer with a new figure
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": So now we have a two-bar group, made up of statement and answer.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The same thing again (though not quite the same)
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Transition complete. The secondary theme arrives, with French horns as 'bagpipes'.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The 'bagpipe drone' Is taken over by cellos, with their insistently repeated G and D.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The tune Is taken up by cellos and double-basses, 'shadowed' by the second violins.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The violins continue a pattern of steady pairs, and the cellos and basses introduce a new idea.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Unexpectedly, we find ourselves back with the secondary theme. A new idea emerges.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Again we hear the shortened version of the secondary theme
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The suspense Is heightened as everything slows down
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": This beautiful flute tune Is said to resemble 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A big crescendo leads to a final statement of the closing theme
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The development section begins with a conversation between cellos, double-bases, and violins.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The beginning of the closing theme Is taken up in turn by the horn, piccolo, and trumpet.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Sequential chirping from the oboes based on the 'answering' part of the main theme, now in thE Major
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Much of the development comes from a diminution of the closing theme from the exposition.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A tiny detail becomes A Major ingredient, giving an agitated quality to an originally sunny tune.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Through a sequence of keys so quickly That It Is hard to keep track of them
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme from massed cellos and double-basses, topped by two trumpets over tremolo violas
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": After That major climax, we arrive at the threshold of the recapitulation
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Dvorak flouts tradition by setting the secondary theme and the closing theme in unexpected keys.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The tumultuous convulsion of the coda brings the first movement to its epic close.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Humpty Dumpty: Putting the bits back together again
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": First movement (complete)
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The very opening chords unmistakably herald the arrival of something special.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The role of instrumentation in setting the scene...
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": ...And in enhancing the quality of one of the most famous tunes in symphonic history.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The cor anglais Is joined by the clarinet, creating a fascinating change in the timbre.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": For the closing part of the tune, there Is another new sonority: Cor anglais plus bassoon.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The closing bar Is repeated by clarinets and bassoons, the horn adding a new touch
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Back to the start to hear the whole of the story so far, This time without commentary
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A change of scoring: The slow opening chords return, This time played by the winds alone.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The changes in scoring Are just beginning.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The flutes and oboes introduce a new tune, over hushed tremolo strings.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A memorable combination of continuous, asymmetrical melody with steady, march-like counterpoint.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Back in That woodland glade, the light and shadows have changed, revealing new shapes and patterns.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The next section Is new and forward-looking, yet also a kind of dream-recollection of a past scene.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": An abrupt change of mood, much discussion and embellishment, and a hushed note of expectancy
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Subjectivity and expertise; Sourek and Tovey disagree; onwards, into the final section
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Cue to whole movement
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Second movement (complete)
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Dvorak, Beethoven, and the Scherzo. Dvorak purposely confuses the listener's expectations.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Using a little fanfare, Dvorak further builds up expectation before revealing the main theme.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": When the theme Is revealed, we find That It Is not exactly a tune.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Two little bursts of rhythm provide the seeds from which much of the movement grows.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": It Is the second half of the theme That dominates.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Back to the beginning to hear the whole of This opening section
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Without ever being remotely 'academic' or 'intellectual', there Is much counterpoint going on here.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Dvorak's very Czech love of combining conflicting rhythms, sometimes metres
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A clearly transitional passage, obsessed with the rhythmic tag That both opens and closes the theme
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Sooner Than we may have expected, we seem to have arrived at the Trio section.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A new kind of tone quality sheds a subtly different light on the theme.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The flutes and oboes now chime in with an answering variant of the opening...
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": ...And the cellos and bassoons take up the original version of the theme.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A false alarm: It was not the traditional Trio section at all, but rather part 2 of Scherzo proper
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Soon, after a very rapid build, the Scherzo proper does reach its final phase.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The orchestral texture thins dramatically, and we approach what This time really Is the Trio section.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The Trio section Is reminiscent more of the 'Old World' Than the 'New'.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": In the second half of the Trio, a new tune emerges, a kind of Slavonic waltz.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme of the Trio returns against a much fuller orchestral background.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Then It Is all a matter of repeats, until we reach the coda, which ends with an explosive bang.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Third movement (complete)
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Like the first movement, the fourth begins not with its main theme but with an introduction.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme: An imposing march, introduced by trumpets and trombones, with timpani
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme, part two. A codetta-like passage closes off the march
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The 'transitional' theme, while outwardly contrasting, Is actually a hidden variant of the march.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A point of future obsession
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The second half of This 'transitional' theme Is given to the winds the strings have finished.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The 'obsession' takes root, with a ten-fold repetition, before the arrival of the second subject.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The hidden traps in sonata-form terminology: 'second main theme' vx. 'second subject'
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The unexpected entry and subsequent ubiquity of 'Three Blind Mice'
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": We meet the mice again, now in the cellos and double-basses, where they persistently refuse to run.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": More 'Three Blind Mice' material
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The mice return to the basement, where the bassoons have joined the cellos and double-basses.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Next, they Are back with the clarinets who pass them back to the cellos
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Now they return to the high winds, delicately trilling.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Relief, at last: The mice back off, making way for a remainder of the main theme from the trumpets.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The mice yield to woodpeckers; the main theme Is now doubled in speed
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The triplets of the 'transitional' theme Are now handed down through strings
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Reminders of past movements begin to fly by, thick and fast, sometimes very fast.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": In fact there Are three bits of quotation going on here simultaneously.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The violas react every time the 'Goin' Home' theme Is quoted by the winds.
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The rhythm of the opening of the 'Goin' Home' theme dominates, transformed by trumpets
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    An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The march theme reappears as a Mendelssohnian fairy; the main theme from the 1st mov. Now returns.
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": We reach an interesting point: Have we heard the beginning of the recapitulation, or not?
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Perhaps This Is It? Back for a reminder of the theme proper, as we first heard It
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Tovey places the start of the recapitulation here.
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme recast in pathetic rather Than heroic terms - And with magical scoring
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": This unexpected crisis in confidence plays A Major role in the overall dramatic impact of the mov.
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The main theme returns - Not complete, but chopped up into shorter and shorter fragments.
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": A glorious thematic stew; high drama, a powerful build-up... But then?
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The dramatic highpoint of the mov., an astonishing transformation, but first, back to the original
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": The same chords again, This time blasted out by the entire wind and brass sections
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Now we Are into the finishing stretch, but the surprises continue to the very end of the very end.
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Summary, context, and cue into the whole movement
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     An Introduction to … DVORAK Symphony No. 9, "from the New World": Fourth movement (complete)
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