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What’s the connection between Czechoslovakia, Native American Indians and the Moon?

Born in 1841, Czech composer Anton Dvořák achieved worldwide recognition for his music. He was well known for including rhythms and note patterns derived from the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. His reputation spread far and wide across Europe with an honorary degree presented from the University of Cambridge, and the offer of a position as professor of composition and instrumentation at the Prague Conservatory

However, everything was to change in 1892 when Dvořák and his family were to head to the United States where he took up a position as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. Dvořák’s main goal in America was to discover “American Music” and engage in it, much as he had used Czech folk idioms within his music. 

Dvořák and his family

The ethos of the Conservatory was rather unusual in that it took students who were both male and female, and black and white. One such African-American student was Harry T. Burleigh who sang traditional spirituals to Dvořák. 

Harry T. Burleigh

Shortly after his arrival in America Dvořák wrote a series of newspaper articles encouraging people to consider African-American and Native American music as a foundation for the growth of American music. 

‘I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them.’

In 1893, Dvořák was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to write Symphony No.9, ‘From the New World’. At its premiere at the Carnegie Hall in New York, the end of every movement was met with thunderous clapping and was one of the greatest public triumphs of Dvořák’s career.

Title Page Symphony no 9

In an article published in the New York Herald Dvořák explained how Native American music had been an influence on this symphony:

‘I have not actually used any of the [Native American] melodies. I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music, and, using these themes as subjects, have developed them with all the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint, and orchestral colour.’

Dvořák wrote that he would not have composed his American pieces as he had, if he had not seen America being inspired by the “wide open spaces” of the prairies he may have seen on his travels across the country.

Moonwalk one

And as for the Moon, on July 20, 1969 the whole world stopped when a man who grew up on a farm without electricity announced: ‘One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’ It was Astronaut Neil Armstrong – the first man on the moon – who took with him a tape recording of the New World Symphony during the Apollo 11 mission.

The New World Symphony has been described as one of Dvořák’s greatest triumphs. It is by far his most popular symphony, and one of the most popular symphonies of all time. So it is only fitting that it should be included in the exciting programme of music Firebird Flies to the States.

We have a great opportunity to hear masterworks from the United States with Firebird’s all American evening as the concluding concert in the 2017/18 Season. We investigate more about this exciting music from the other side of the pond…

We might often associate the music of the United States with genres such as Blues, Jazz and Bluegrass. But the Classical world is full of of some of the music exciting music ever written with music by Dvorak, Copland, Barber, Bernstein and Gershwin.

Extract – Dvorak

Anton Dvorak wrote his ninth symphony in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. His symphony has become so popular that astronaut Neil Armstrong took a recording of the work to the moon on the 1969 Apollo 11 moon mission.

The second movement has also become famous as the theme tune for the 1973 ‘Hovis’ ad. The nostalgic amongst you can click on this image to watch it again:

Aaron Copland’s dramatic Fanfare, performed by brass and crashing percussion was written in 1942 for the Cincinatti Symphony Orchestra. It was inspired in part by a famous speech made earlier that year by the vice president of the USA, Hanry A Wallace proclaimed ‘the dawning of the Century of the Common Man.’

Since then the music has been adapted and appeared in a diverse range of occasions including HM Queen Elizabeth II’s 2004 procession during the opening of the Scottish Parliament, Emerson Lake & Palmer’s 1977 ‘Montreal’ version and as the main leitmotif in John William’s theme from Superman in 1978:

https://youtu.be/CvFo5BijsHs

Samuel Barber’s soul-searching Adagio for Strings is an arrangement of the second movement of his String Quartet, op11. It was performed for the first time in 1938 as part of a radio broadcast with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. Alexander J. Morin wrote that that it ‘rarely leaves a dry eye.’

Extract – Barber Adagio

It is played today at many important funerals and memorial occasions but was also performed in Vancouver in 2010 for the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics (pictured above).

Leonard Bernstein’s 1956 operetta Candide is based on Voltaire’s 1759 satirical novella telling of the misadventures of Candide, a naive, simple, and pure-hearted young man, and his sweetheart, Cunégonde.

The Overture has became a very popular curtain-raiser and orchestral piece independantly of the operetta. Brilliantly scored with tremendous vitality with a level of energy similar to John Adam’s Short Ride in a Fast Machine.

Two works by George Gershwin complete the programme with his evergreen favourite Summertime from his 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. The song soon became a popular and much recorded jazz standard, described as ‘without doubt … one of the finest songs the composer ever wrote…’ The song is also recognized as among the most covered songs in the history of recorded music with over 33,000 covers by groups and solo performers.

George Gershwin

The major item in the programme will be Gerswin’s Rhapsody in Blue with Firebird’s Artistic Director Marc Corbett-Weaver at the piano. The piece received its premiere as part of a 1924 New York concert entitled An Experiment in Modern Music performed by Paul Whiteman and his band with Gershwin playing the piano. It has since become one of the most popular of all American concert works.

Firebird Flies to the States

Tuesday 12 June 2018 7.30pm
St Paul’s, Covent Garden
Conductor: Michael Thrift

Copland Fanfare for the Common Man
Barber Adagio for Strings
Bernstein Overture to Candide
Gershwin Summertime
Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue
World Première Winner Firebird Composer of the Year
Dvorak Symphony no.9 ‘From the New World’

We’ll be packing the audience in as usual at the delightful venue of St Paul’s Covent Garden so make sure you book your tickets now to be sure of the best seats.

The highlight of Firebird’s next concert on 8 February will be Vivaldi’s masterwork Le quattro stagioni ‘The Four Seasons’. We discover the journey that led the 25-year-old Red Priest, or il Prete Rosso as he was nicknamed after his ordination in 1703, to write one of the most enduring works in the classical repertoire…

When Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in Venice in 1678 it was the capital of the Most Serene Republic of Venice. The day of his birth was also marked by a severe earthquake that shook the city so that his mother dedicated him to the priesthood. By the age of 24 he had developed prodigious musical skills and had started working at an orphanage called the Ospedale della Pietà as a maestro di violino (master of violin).

Antonio Vivaldi

The German architect Johann Friedrich von Uffenbach described Vivaldi’s playing as:

‘that famous composer and violinist … played a solo accompaniment excellently, and at the conclusion he added a free fantasy [an improvised cadenza] which absolutely astounded me, for it is hardly possible that anyone has ever played, or ever will play, in such a fashion.’

Vivaldi’s real breakthrough as a composer came with his first collection of 12 concerti L’estro armonico. Published in 1711 and dedicated to Grand Prince Ferdinand of Tuscany, they became a resounding success all over Europe and he was soon travelling and performing for the Governor of Mantua, in Milan, and then in Rome before returning to Venice in 1725.

It was during this period of travel that he wrote The Four Seasons, his collection of four violin concertos which were a revolution in musical conception in their day.

Il Cimento dell’armonico

Depicting flowing creeks, singing birds, buzzing mosquitoes, crying shepherds, drunken dancers, frozen landscapes and warming winter fires, these concerti stand as one of the earliest and most detailed examples of what would come to be called programme music.

Vivaldi relates his music to the texts of sonnets. Possibly written by himself, these are written directly into the manuscript giving specific descriptions to the musical narrative.

Since Vivaldi’s day The Four Seasons has been used in arrangements, transcriptions, covers, remixes, samples, and parodies in all manner of genres from film soundtracks to rhythmic gymnastics and synchronised swimming – all broadened the awareness and appeal of this amazing music far beyond the classical spectrum.

In 1970 the Argentina composer Ástor Piazzolla published Estaciones Porteñas – The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Inspired by Vivaldi’s masterpiece this work will also performed in the 8 February Firebird concert. More on that extraordinary work in the next newsletter…

FIREBIRD WELL SEASONED

St George’s, Hanover Square, London
Thursday 8 February | 7.30pm

Antonio Vivaldi
Le Quattro Stagioni (The Four Seasons)

Astor Piazzolla
Estaciones Porteñas (The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires)

Directed from the violin by Thomas Gould

Internationally seasoned violinist Thomas Gould performs Vivaldi’s dazzling ‘Four Seasons’ and Piazzolla’s ‘Four Seasons of Buenos Aires’.