Classical Composer: | Dvořák, Antonín |
---|---|
Work: | Symfonické variace (Symphonic Variations), Op. 78, B. 70 |
Year Composed: | 1877 |
Instrumentation: | 2 2 2 2 - 4 2 3 0, timp, perc, str |
Publishers: |
Boosey & Hawkes Edwin F. Kalmus Simrock Artia |
Duration: | 00:22:00 |
Period: | Romantic |
Work Category: | Orchestral |
Work Information
Available Recording(s)
Dvořák's Symphonic Variations, Op. 78, were written in the late summer of 1877 and show the composer's particular ability in the form. It is said that the work was written in answer to a challenge from a friend to write variations on a theme that seemed impossible for the purpose, the male part-song Já jsem huslar (I am a fiddler). The work had some local success when it was first performed, but it was not until ten years later, in 1887, that it won wider acclaim, when it was performed in London and then in Vienna under Hans Richter. The theme itself, marked Lento e molto tranquillo, is started by the strings and continued with the support of the woodwind. The 27 variations that follow demonstrate wit, ingenuity and remarkable invention, with a splendid command of the resources of the orchestra. The work ends with a fugue, its subject stated by the clarinet and second violin, to be answered by the bassoon and viola. The fugue is followed by a series of episodes that establish a much less formal mood.
No. | Catalogue No. | Album Title | Label | Featured Artist |
---|