Saturday 20 September 2014

MUSIC SATURDAY - DVOŘÁK’S SERENADE FOR STRINGS


“There is geometry in the humming of the strings, there is music in the spacing of the spheres.” - Pythagoras

For Music Saturday, a wonderful offering from Antonín Dvořák. The Serenade For Strings in E major, Op.22, played by the RNCM String Ensemble. This was composed in just two weeks in May 1875. It remains one of the composer’s more popular orchestral works to this day.

1875 was a fruitful year for Dvořák, during which he wrote his Symphony No. 5, String Quintet No. 2, Piano Trio No. 1, the opera “Vanda”, and the Moravian Duets. These were happy times in his life. His marriage was young, and his first son had been born. For the first time in his life, he was being recognized as a composer and without fear of poverty. He received a generous stipend from a commission in Vienna, which allowed him to compose his Fifth Symphony and several chamber works as well as the Serenade.

The piece was premiered in Prague on 10 December 1876 by Adolf Čech and the combined orchestras of the Czech and German theatres. It was published in 1877 in the composer’s piano duet arrangement by Emanuel Starý in Prague. The score was printed two years later by Bote and Bock, Berlin.

Dvořák’s Serenade for Strings consists of five movements:
Moderato
Tempo di Valse
Scherzo: Vivace
Larghetto
Finale: Allegro vivace

With the exception of the Finale, which is in modified sonata form, each movement follows a rough A-B-A form. It is believed that Dvořák took up this small orchestral genre because it was less demanding than the symphony, but allowed for the provision of pleasure and entertainment. The piece combines cantabile style (first movement), a slow waltz (second movement), humorous high spirits (third movement), lyrical beauty (fourth movement) and exuberance (fifth movement).

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