September 8 - Antonín Dvořák (The Musical Birthday Series, 5th Annual Cycle)

Previous posts for September 8th are here: Willem Pijper (2019), Antonín Dvořák (2020), Peter Maxwell Davies (2021), and Howard Dietz (2022)

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Antonín Dvořák (8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over Here

From 1892 to 1895, Dvořák was the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City. He began at a then-staggering $15,000 annual salary. -- Wikipedia

As the smoke from the steamer unfurled

And the briny Atlantic was swirled,

He was leaving Bohemia

To pursue academia

In the bountifully lavish New World.

 

 

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The New World Symphony: A Program Note

The first of these to be published, though, was the sixth and for that reason the sixth was published as number 1. The seventh was published next and called number 2. Then, most confusingly, the fifth was published and called number 3. The eighth and ninth (the “New World”) followed, and were called numbers 4 and 5 respectively. Only these five were published during Dvořák's lifetime  -- grahamsmusic.net

Recordings and some scores survive

Where it is numbered number 5.

But now the number of the score

Reflects that there were four before

The five Dvořák sent to press,

And thus it all becomes a mess,

Since six was one, and seven two,

And five was three, (and I’m not through),

For nine and eight were five and four...

(And luckily there were no more).

Envoi

And now you know the facts encumbering

Dvořák’s symphonies and their numbering.

 

 

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