Antonín Dvoÿrák (1841-1904):

Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", op. 95

Dvoÿrák was born in 1841 in rural Bohemia (the western half of what is now the Czech Republic), about twenty miles from Prague. In fact, although separated by a generation and about 400 miles, his background was remarkably similar to that of Verdi, the composer of SPM's most recent opera, La Traviata. Indeed, among well-known 19th century composers, these two are the only ones with peasant origins, although each of their fathers had managed to become innkeepers. Like Verdi, Dvoÿrák was sent off to a larger town to broaden his horizons. In Dvoÿrák's case, this was primarily for him to learn German since, even more than Verdi's Lombardy, Bohemia was controlled by Austria, so that the ability to speak German was very important. He proved to be a passable linguist but his teacher discovered his true talent: music. As with Verdi, the next major step in his career took him to the capital city, in his case Prague.

Dvoÿrák's music was always rooted in the countryside and, although he became a world traveler, he, like Verdi, enjoyed a more rustic life-style.

In the late 19th century, great American musicians were considered hard to find and when a vacancy arose at the National Conservatory in New York, the managers decided to look to Europe. His great reputation made Dvoÿrák their prime candidate and, after some initial reluctance, he accepted the post commencing in 1892. Accompanied by his wife, their fourteen-year-old daughter and nine-year-old son, he set out on the 12-day journey from Prague in September. Given the domination by Europeans of the performing arts at the time, the goal of the Conservatory was to promote music and particularly composition among Americans.

Dvoÿrák enjoyed New York, even finding time to indulge his passions for pigeons and railways. The following year, he wrote perhaps his most popular work: the Symphony "From the New World" in E minor. While in America, he did nothing to dispel the rumor that the melodies were based on local, ie. Native American or Black, music but he later maintained that the melodies were totally original (the more likely theory). Either way, the melodic content of the piece is perhaps mainly responsible for its tremendous popularity among both serious and casual listeners. Many of the tunes are based on the pentatonic scale (for example the scale formed by the black notes of a piano), a common ingredient in "ethnic" music, especially that of China, Scotland, and his own Bohemia.

The first movement (Adagio - Allegro molto) is quite classical in structure and is brilliant in every sense. It recalls the symphonies of Haydn and others by opening with a slow introduction (it is the only one of his nine symphonies to use this device). The main theme, introduced to us by the horns at the start of the fast section, recurs in various forms in each of the other movements.

The pastoral second movement (Largo) is the best-known of the four, largely on account of the beautiful solo for English horn (neither a horn exactly, nor especially English but a richer and deeper cousin of the oboe).

The scherzo (Molto vivace) is pure fun and although the music may have a New World flavor, its construction is very typical of his other symphonic scherzi.

The final movement (Allegro con fuoco - lively with fire) provides a rousing end to the symphony, complete with musical references to the earlier movements.

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974):

"A Frenchman in New York", op. 399

You can see from the opus number of Un Français à New York, which he wrote in 1962, that Milhaud was a prolific composer. Indeed, he went on to compose another 42 works before his death in 1974. And his works were not all minor pieces, either: he wrote 15 operas, 17 ballets and 27 film scores!

He was born in Aix-en-Provence (in the South of France) in 1892 and started the violin at age 7. Later, he entered the Paris Conservatory where he learned composition from Dukas, Widor and others. He became associated Les Six, a loosely allied and short-lived group of Cocteau disciples which included Poulenc and Honegger. During this time of mild rebellion his works included Machines Agricoles (Farm Machinery) and Catalogue de Fleurs (Flower catalog).

He had taken several foreign trips before first coming to America in 1992, including two years in Brazil and several visits to London, where he developed his liking for the Jazz style. His own compositional style is hard to define and is perhaps best described as polymorphous (taking many forms). Being Jewish, he naturally felt unsafe when the Nazis occupied France and, in 1940, set sail for the USA, where he lived on and off until retiring to Switzerland in 1971 on account of his failing health. Most of this time was spent at Mills College in Oakland. When in 1962, RCA asked him to write a piece to be paired with Gershwin's An American in Paris (written in 1928), he gladly accepted and the result is the piece we play tonight.

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899):

"Greeting to America"

"Farewell to America"

The Waltz King, as Strauss was popularly (and justifiably) known, spent most of his life in his native Vienna. It is perhaps surprising to find that he ventured as far afield as Boston and New York (in 1872). He was probably the first well-known European composer to have travelled to America.

The occasion for the visit was the International Peace Jubilee in Boston, a bean-feast of enormous magnitude to celebrate the end of the Franc-Prussian war. Strauss was required to conduct, assisted by 100 sub-conductors, a performance by 20,000 singers, 10,000 musicians. Even though the program included some of his own music, Strauss reportedly did not feel that quantity was a good substitute for quality and went on to New York unimpressed.

These two pieces are not mentioned in the catalog of his works, so it is hard to know if he wrote them in the USA, or later, as he did with his Centennial Waltzes to celebrate the 100th birthday of the nation. The two pieces which contain many familiar melodies are arranged by ?????.