- Composed in 1877, Dvořák’s orchestral work, Symphonic Variations, consists of 27 variations and a finale based on the composer’s own melody from a song for male chorus called “The Fiddler.”
- The melody is distinctive in using a Lydian (raised) 4th.
- Symphonic Variations premiered in December 1877 in Prague, conducted by Ludevit Prochazka.
- Prochazka initiated the work by requesting a piece from Dvořák for a benefit concert to help raise funds for constructing a new church.
- Despite its favorable reception at its premiere, Symphonic Variations would not be performed again for nearly a decade. At this point, in 1887, Dvořák sent the piece to conductor Hans Richter hoping that he would include the work in his program for an upcoming tour in England. Richter agreed, and afterward wrote Dvořák the following:
“My dear friend! I am delighted at the huge success of your Symphonic Variations. If I consider all the hundreds of concerts I have conducted, I realise I have never known a new work to spark such undeniable enthusiasm, from all quarters. Everyone wanted to know when the work was written, and why had Dvorak waited so long to bring it to public attention? I’ll leave the parts here, since I’ll probably be performing it once more. I say ‘probably’, even though now it’s almost certain. At any rate, I must present these variations in Vienna next winter.”1
Sources
- “Symphonic Variations,” Antonin Dvorak (2020), accessed November 7, 2022, http://www.antonin-dvorak.cz/en/symphonic-variations.
Cut IDs
49151