Program Notes: Dvořák & Rachmaninov

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK  
Cello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191 
BORN: September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czechia 
DIED: May 1, 1904, in Prague, Czechia 
WORK COMPOSED: 1894–1895 
WORLD PREMIERE: March 19, 1896, in London, with the composer conducting the Philharmonic Society and soloist Leo Stern. 

What to Listen For:  

• The first movement’s themes are two of Dvořák’s most enduring melodies: the doleful clarinet solo that opens the work followed by the warmer, more hopeful horn solo.  

The first movement’s themes are two of Dvořák’s most enduring melodies: the doleful clarinet solo that opens the work followed by the warmer, more hopeful horn solo.  

Antonín Dvořák grew up in a rural village near Prague. His father was an innkeeper and butcher and his mother bore 14 children, eight of whom survived past infancy. It was expected that Dvořák would take over the family business, but his talent for music could not be ignored and he left home at the age of 16 to study in Prague. He spent much of his early professional life playing viola in a dance band followed by a decade performing in the orchestra of the Provisional Theater. At the age of 30, Dvořák applied for and was awarded an Austrian State Stipendium, which gave him the financial support to pursue composing fulltime. Johannes Brahms, then at the height of his fame, had served on the award’s jury and boosted the young composer’s career with his fervent endorsement. Brahms also ensured the publication of Dvořák’s music, giving an international audience access to his works and cementing his reputation as the leading voice in Czech music.  

By 1891, Dvořák had composed eight symphonies and was a professor at the Prague Conservatory when he was invited by Jeannette Thurber, an American philanthropist, to become the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. She had founded the school with the hopes of establishing a distinctly American style of classical music on par with the European traditions. Since Dvořák was known for defining his own country’s musical identity, Thurber believed he was the perfect person to help develop a new generation of American composers.  

Dvořák and his family arrived in New York City in 1892 and stayed for three years. During that time, he composed some of his most beloved works, including the “American” String Quartet, the “New World” Symphony, and in his final year, the Cello Concerto. At first, Dvořák was hesitant to write a concerto for the cello since it wasn’t commonly used as a solo instrument. But the eminent Czech cellist Hanus Wihan had long urged Dvořák to write a concerto for him and so he did. Moving away from the tradition of soloist against orchestra, Dvořák decided to treat the cello as a partner to the ensemble and focus on the emotional depths of the cello’s music rather than showcasing the soloist’s technical virtuosity.   

The first movement contains two of Dvořák’s most memorable melodies: the first, in B-minor, opens the work with the somber clarinets and the second, in D-major, is first heard in the lyrical solo horn. Both themes are developed throughout the movement, with the orchestra providing a rapturous introduction and then gently receding to support the cello’s entrance. The melodies have echoes of both Czech folk songs and African American spirituals, which Dvořák studied at great length during his time in the U.S.  

A tranquil woodwind chorale opens the second movement. The cello soon joins in and expounds on the theme. After an orchestral outburst, the cello plays a melody derived from a song written by Dvořák called “Kez duch muj san” (Leave me alone). The song was a favorite of his sister-in-law, Josefina, who the family learned was dying during their last months in New York and whom Dvořák had loved 30 years ago, before marrying her sister. The movement ends with a sorrowful meditation in the cello accompanied by beautiful filagree in the flute. 

Josefina died just one month after the family returned home from America in 1895, leading Dvořák to add a coda to the march-like third movement. Wihan had wanted a virtuosic cadenza to end the concerto but instead, a tender moment between cello and solo violin reiterates Josefina’s favorite melody. Dvořák wrote about the ending, saying: “The Finale closes gradually diminuendo, like a sigh, with reminiscences of the first and second movements — the solo dies down ... then swells again, and the last bars are taken up by the orchestra and the whole concludes in a stormy mood. That is my idea and I cannot depart from it.” 

SERGEY RACHMANINOV 
Symphony No. 2 in E minor, Op. 27 
BORN: April 1, 1873, in Semyonovo, Russia 
DIED: March 28, 1943, in Beverly Hills, California 
WORK COMPOSED: 1906–1907 
WORLD PREMIERE: January 26, 1908, in Saint Petersburg with the composer conducting. 

What to Listen For:  

• Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony abounds with soaring, romantic melodies within lush orchestrations. Especially remarkable is the lyrical clarinet solo in the third movement. 

Rachmaninov’s Second Symphony abounds with soaring, romantic melodies within lush orchestrations. Especially remarkable is the lyrical clarinet solo in the third movement. 

Sergey Rachmaninov was born into an aristocratic family who owned estates throughout the Russian Empire. As he grew up, the family’s wealth was stripped away by the financial incompetence of his father, who sold one estate after another to pay off debts. In 1882, with most of their land gone, the family moved to a flat in Saint Petersburg where the young Rachmaninov began piano lessons. Hardship continued to follow the family when Rachmaninov’s sister died from diphtheria and his parents separated. Rachmaninov struggled in school and was prone to depression, but his immense talent as a pianist and composer allowed him to graduate early from the Moscow Conservatory with a number of successful works under his belt.  

After some years of establishing himself as a concert pianist and composing his Prelude in C-sharp minor — to this day one of his most famous works — misfortune struck Rachmaninov again after the disastrous premiere of his First Symphony. Critics panned the performance and the conductor, Alexander Glazunov (also a well-known composer) was drunk and in no position to lead the under-rehearsed orchestra. The debacle sent Rachmaninov into a deep depression, and he was unable to compose for the next three years. It wasn’t until he met Nikolay Dahl, a hypnotherapist, that Rachmaninov was able to work through his writer’s block, leading him to compose his massively popular Second Piano Concerto in 1901.  

The following year, Rachmaninov married his cousin, Natalia Satina — a union that was opposed by the Russian Orthodox Church — and they inherited a house on a surviving family estate in Ivanovka. In an effort to escape his relentless conducting schedule and focus more on composing, Rachmaninov and his family moved to Dresden in 1906. They lived there for three years, returning to Ivanovka during the summer months. Rachmaninov began work on his Second Symphony during that first year in Dresden, a full 12 years after the catastrophic premiere of his First Symphony. He brought a rough draft with him to Ivanovka the following summer, adding the final touches and orchestrations to what became a highly successful and well-received work. 

An extensive introduction opens this work with a thematic germ in the low cellos and basses that will figure prominently throughout the entire symphony. The rich texture builds to a poignant climax and subsides into a languorous English horn solo, bringing the Largo to an intimate close. The first theme of the Allegro appears in the hushed violins. Clearly derived from the opening motto, it soon rushes into a flurry of forward momentum. The second theme moves to a sunnier major key, lilting chords in the winds alternating with urgent string phrases. The material is developed into soaring melodies and lush orchestral timbres that are the epitome of Rachmaninov’s Romanticism. After a triumphant storm of sound dies down, unison strings peacefully lead back to the second theme and a powerful coda.  

The energetic second movement starts off with resounding horns hinting at the Dies irae tune from the Gregorian Mass for the Dead, a theme that Rachmaninov liked and returned to in various other works. The glockenspiel adds a sparkle to the emphatic string phrases. The middle section starts with a crash and a fiery fugue that begins in the violins and spreads to the lower strings before dissolving into the atmosphere. The horns return in a gallop to the finish.  

The third movement Adagio contains some of Rachmaninov’s most beautiful and inspired melodic writing. Violins play upward-reaching phrases that sound more like an ending than a beginning. This romantic mood sets the stage for one of the longest clarinet solos in the repertoire, a nostalgic passage full of serenity. Strings take over where the clarinet leaves off and the music continues to unfurl with great yearning.  

The finale is an exuberant expression of musical grandeur. In a moment of reflection, the violins play the opening gesture of the slow movement before the upbeat tempo returns. When another point of stillness is reached, the bassoon enters with a descending scale; the whole orchestra eventually joins in and builds to a momentous clamor of bells. From here the jubilant first theme reappears and the symphony drives to its end in a rush of splendor. 

All notes by Catherine Case © 2023