Program Notes: Dvořák Symphony No. 6

CARL MARIA VON WEBER  
Overture to Oberon 
BORN: November 19, 1786, in Eutin, Germany 
DIED: June 5, 1826, in London 
WORK COMPOSED: 1826 
WORLD PREMIERE: April 12, 1826, in London 

What to Listen For:  

• The supernatural, magical elements of the opera’s story come to life with the opening horn call, fairy laughter in the woodwinds and whiplash energy in the strings.  

The supernatural, magical elements of the opera’s story come to life with the opening horn call, fairy laughter in the woodwinds and whiplash energy in the strings.  

Carl Maria von Weber was a composer, conductor, pianist and critic largely known for popularizing German opera at a time when Italian opera was all the rage in Europe. He became an international celebrity after the premiere of his work Der Freischütz in 1821, and his expanded orchestra and supernatural themes paved the way for the high drama and romanticism of Richard Wagner’s Ring cycle.  

In 1824, the 38-year-old Weber, who had contracted tuberculosis, accepted an invitation from England’s Covent Garden to compose and conduct a new work based on a German poem by Christoph Martin Wieland called Oberon. This in turn had roots in a Medieval epic poem as well as William Shakespeare’s fairyland comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Realizing his illness was fatal, Weber took the sizable commission in order to provide for his family upon his passing. The premiere was an astounding success and Weber conducted all 12 sold-out performances. He died in London two months later, too weak to travel home to his family in Germany.  

The Overture to Oberon was composed in just three days and incorporates many of the musical themes found in the opera. The story centers around Oberon and Titania, rulers of a magical kingdom arguing about who is less faithful, men or women. To end the disagreement, the mischievous Puck must find a human couple whose love will be tested. The fairies give their human hero a magic horn, which helps him rescue a princess and fend off her captors. After many twists and turns and supernatural interferences, the couple remains steadfast and are ultimately saved by Oberon.   

Weber begins the overture with the hero’s magic horn call and snippets of the fairy’s laughter in the flutes and clarinets. A dramatic pause is followed by a rollicking violin melody that takes off with haste. The love melody is introduced by the clarinet before the music returns to the earlier frenetic pace. From here, the orchestra gathers in strength and speed as it rushes to a virtuosic finish.  

WITOLD LUTOSŁAWSKI  
Concerto for Cello and Orchestra 
BORN: January 25, 1913, in Warsaw, Poland 
DIED: February 7, 1994, in Warsaw, Poland 
WORK COMPOSED: 1969–1970 
WORLD PREMIERE: October 14, 1970, in London, featuring cellist Mstislav Rostropovich with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Edward Downes. 
SEATTLE SYMPHONY PREMIERE: April 18, 2024, featuring cellist Alisa Weilerstein with the Seattle Symphony, conducted by Shiyeon Sung.  

What to Listen For:  

• The transformative journey, from the indifference of the soloist’s opening notes to the fierce determination of their final notes.  

The transformative journey, from the indifference of the soloist’s opening notes to the fierce determination of their final notes.  

One of the leading figures in 20th-century Polish music, Witold Lutosławski led a life shaped by the political upheaval of war. He was born into a distinguished landowning family who were forced to flee their home during the First World War. His father, who was active in the Polish National Democratic Party, was arrested by the Bolsheviks in 1917 and later executed by a firing squad. In the late 1930s, Lutosławski dreamed of studying composition in Paris but was instead enlisted in the army and served in a radio unit. He was captured by the Germans and escaped while en route to a prison camp, eventually finding his way back to Warsaw, where he worked as a pianist in cafés.  

Shortly after the Second World War, Lutosławski came under scrutiny during Stalin’s regime, when his First Symphony was deemed ‘non-conformist’ by the Soviet authorities. Restrictions lessened after Stalin’s death and Lutosławski began to experiment with aleatoric techniques — music that included elements of chance — after hearing John Cage’s music on the radio.     

The Cello Concerto, composed between 1969–1970, came about during another tumultuous time in Poland, when protests against censorship and artistic freedoms were rampant. It is dedicated to the influential Russian cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, who publicly voiced his opposition to the Soviet Regime and defected to America in 1975. The work consists of four movements played without a break: an introductory monologue for solo cello; a series of four episodes; a cantilena, or passage of sustained lyricism; and a finale. To begin, the cellist intones a single D-note over and over with barely any expression. Lutosławski described this moment as one of “complete relaxation, or even absentmindedness.” As the soloist grows more animated in the explorations away from the indifferent D-note, the brass cause a scene with their loud interruptions. This leads the way into the first episode, full of whispering strings and a melodic solo line. Each episode builds in density and color while the brass continually interject, forcing the orchestra to halt and start anew.  

After a flurry of commotion and a return to the repetitive D, the intense and lyrical cantilena begins. Behind the heartfelt melody, the orchestra shimmers with an uneasy dissonance. In a striking moment, all the strings join the cello in unison to play the lament unharmonized. A harsh chord ends the dramatic reverie. This spot in particular affected Rostropovich, who likened the brass’s brutal interruption of the soulful strings to “the Central Committee at full strength.” The final section pits the orchestra against the soloist, yet the cello remains strong as it reaches to new heights. The cello ends on a series of high A’s, recalling the repeated notes at the work’s opening, only this time the indifference is replaced with utter determination.  

ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60, B.112 
BORN: September 8, 1841, in Nelahozeves, Czechia 
DIED: May 1, 1904, in Prague, Czechia 
WORK COMPOSED: 1880 
WORLD PREMIERE: March 25, 1881, by the Prague Philharmonic.  

What to Listen For:  

• The Sixth Symphony marks Dvořák’s maturity as a composer. The sunny and uplifting work is exceptionally well crafted and tuneful. “I cannot describe it; it must be heard,” remarked a young Edward Elgar after the Sixth’s English premiere.  

The Sixth Symphony marks Dvořák’s maturity as a composer. The sunny and uplifting work is exceptionally well crafted and tuneful. “I cannot describe it; it must be heard,” remarked a young Edward Elgar after the Sixth’s English premiere.  

By the end of Antonín Dvořák’s life, he was an internationally renowned composer who greatly influenced the development of American classical music during his tenure teaching in this country. Yet for most of his early years, Dvořák lived a sheltered life in rural Bohemia, a land ruled by the Austrian Empire, his music rarely making it across the border. At the age of 33, he submitted his compositions for an Austrian State Stipend and caught the eye of Johannes Brahms, who was serving on the jury. Brahms connected Dvořák with his publisher and within four years, Dvořák’s music was widely accessible, allowing orchestras across Europe and America to perform his works. Enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews helped to establish an international career for the once isolated composer.  

During this time, the conductor Hans Richter hosted Dvořák in Vienna, making him promise to write a symphony for him and the Vienna Philharmonic the following season. Dvořák excitedly went to work and produced his Sixth Symphony one year later. Though Richter was thrilled with the music and planned to premiere the work in December of 1880, it ended up being delayed multiple times. Richter kept citing overwork or sickness for the delays, but eventually Dvořák realized that a number of musicians in the Philharmonic held anti-Czech sentiments and were pushing against Richter’s programming choices. The premiere of the Sixth finally happened in Prague, with Dvořák’s friend Adolf Cech conducting. Richter never did conduct the piece in Vienna, but his performance of it in London in 1882 was so well received that the Royal Philharmonic Society commissioned Dvořák’s Seventh Symphony.  

The opening of the first movement is beautifully serene. Over gently pulsating horns and violas, a two-note rising figure passes between woodwinds and low strings. A third note is added, then a fourth, and finally the melody unfurls in a sweeping arc. The instrumentation builds in number until the entire orchestra arrives triumphantly at the opening theme. The rising motif develops into a dramatic climax, after which the first theme returns quietly, a reminder of the tranquil and sunny disposition that dominates the movement.  

The lyrical second movement introduces a melody in the violins that is used to explore the wide range of colors and tonal combinations within the orchestra. Through variations in the melodic material, the music wanders into different keys, giving the impression of a lost traveler distracted by the surrounding beauty.  

The calm is broken with the onset of the raucous Scherzo. Dvořák gave this movement the additional title, Furiant, which is the name of a Bohemian folk dance known for its quickly shifting accents between duple and triple meters. A slower trio section features the piccolo, the instrument’s sole appearance in the symphony, in an improvisatory call and response with the flute.  

Beginning quietly, the fourth movement quickly grows to an energetic peak full of playful rhythms. After a substantial development full of momentum, a final presto begins with a scurrying cello line that is passed up to the violas, then to the violins as the woodwinds reiterate the melodic theme. A massive orchestral chorale concludes this glorious, joyful work.  

All notes by Catherine Case © 2024