Dvořák the Cosmopolitan – concert on 2 May 2004

As European nations are looking for ways of living together - some afraid that the brotherhood of all may destroy the values of home and the national character, Dvořák´s work offers a unique inspiration. He became international because he was able to listen to the world and he also became international because he did not abandon his Czech roots. The Symphony “From the New World” is an amalgam of American and Czech inspirations. Dvořák himself wrote about it: “This music is and will remain Czech.” To connect home and the world and not to create a mere compilation, to have a perspective and at the same time remain true to oneself, that is the challenge for the future. Dvořák was able to connect the seemingly opposite principles, and that is why he became an artist of international acclaim. It is worth noting, though, that on the last page of the score, next to his usual “Deo Gratias”, he wrote “The children have arrived in Southampton.” Impatiently he was waiting for his three daughters and his son to meet him in New York. The unity of the world and the family is the source of the strongest inspiration.

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) is the best known personality of Bohemia, better than any writer, artist or politician. For over one and a quarter century his music has been heard in all continents. The compositions of today´s concert are performed every year by the finest orchestras, conductors and soloists several tens of times. It is impossible to count all the recordings of the “New World Symphony” - there are hundreds of them. Equally popular is his Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, which is considered the best piece of its kind for the instrument. The title of today´s concert, Dvořák the Cosmopolitan, is totally justified with no trace of overstatement.

Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95 “From the New World” was composed in the spring of 1893. In September of the previous year Dvořák and his wife and their two children arrived in New York to take the position of director of the local conservatory. He was fifty-one and at the peak of his career, having been decorated with many an honorary title, having enjoyed great acclaim in England (where he had performed nine times), and having been awarded honorary doctorates of the Charles University in Prague and the University of Cambridge . The New World Symphony depicts the composer´s encounter with the new continent. It is a synthesis of influences he met with. The African-American students at the Conservatory introduced him to spirituals, the city and the harbour which he frequented influenced him as well, he was touched by the American landscape, and he read Longfellow´s Song of Hiawatha with great interest. Presumably the chapter about the burial in the forest influenced the second movement of the Symphony, the third movement is sometimes thought of as showing a close affinity with the scene in the forest where Indians dance.

The first movement, after its slow introduction, sounds very vigorous, we can feel the noise and the rhythm of the city. The famous melody of the Largo from the second movement, which has been arranged so many times for various occasions, is sad and nostalgic but not sentimental. It gives way to the composer´s feelings of homesickness but it also expresses the beauty of nature, as well as masculine gentleness. The Scherzo suggests a dance, its Indian inspiration being of course only mild. The middle part resounds with Czech melodiousness and even the singing of birds. The finale is dynamic and we can distinguish in it repetitions of the preceding movements.

The première took place on 16th December 1893, performed by the Orchestra of the Philharmonic Society of New York conducted by Anton Seidl. Dvořák had to take a bow after each movement, and at the end he was called many times. It was a tremendous success. The European première took place on 20th July 1894 in Karlovy Vary , conducted by August Labický. Dvořák himself said about the work: “It gives me great joy and it will differ considerably from my previous compositions. Everyone who has a nose must feel the influence of America . It is though, and will be, Czech music.”

The Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 104 was written in 1894-5 during Dvořák´s stay in America. It is said that Dvořák valued the cello only as a chamber instrument, he is even supposed to have said that it “snuffles at the top and grumps at the bottom”. But in the end he decided to compose a concerto for it and the result was excellent. The first movement is entrancing. The first theme is vigorous and the second lyrical, being one of Dvořák´s most beautiful melodies. He was supposedly inspired by the view of the Niagara Falls , on the other hand the lyricism reveals his homesickness. The second movement echoes a pastoral idyll. In it Dvořák quotes his song Lasst mich allein , which appears again at the end of the third movement. The Finale sings with joy at the thought of the approaching return home, to Bohemia . The middle part is lyrical but smiling. Upon his return to Bohemia Dvořák rewrote the end of the Concerto having learnt of the death of Josefina Kaunitz, his wife´s sister, whom he had admired all his life. He stressed the melody of the song Lasst mich allein (which Josefina Kaunitz liked to sing) and created a magnificent coda. It was finished on 11th June 1895 in Písek.

The Concerto is sometimes described as Dvořák´s tenth symphony, perhaps because the orchestra and the soloist play equal roles. Hanuš Wihan, the cellist of the Czech Quartet, gave Dvořák several observations on passages in the solo part but Dvořák ignored many of them. That may be the reason why the première was not performed by Wihan but by the English cellist Leo Stern in London on 19th March 1896 . Stern also substituted Wihan on 11th April 1896 after Wihan had rejected to perform the Czech première, although he performed the Concerto abroad several times after that.

Where does the secret of Dvořák´s international acclaim lie? Perhaps in the fact that he could listen to the world, accept its influences and use them in his own way. He never lost his attachment to his homeland and he always carried new ideas from the traditional resources of his own country into the world at large. On top of that, he had an outstanding talent, he believed it was a god-given gift. He was an ideal citizen of Europe , he could unite his home and the world. His example is relevant to this day.

The Czech Philharmonic Orchestra first performed at the Rudolfinum on January 4, 1896, conducted by Antonín Dvořák. After difficult beginnings the orchestra gradually found its footing, becoming an integral part of the Czech cultural scene. During the first decades of the 20th century, eminent artists such as Gustav Mahler, Sergei Rachmaninov, Edvard Grieg, Eugène Ysaÿe and Pablo de Sarasate conducted the orchestra. The arrival of Václav Talich as Chief Conductor shortly after the end of World War I, was the start of a new epoch in the orchestra’s history. Under his guidance the standard of the Czech Philharmonic rose to such an extent that it was soon recognised as one of the best orchestras in Europe. Other fine conductors subsequently continued Talich’s work: Rafael Kubelík (1942-1948), Karel Ančerl (1950-1968) and Václav Neumann (1968-1990). During the 1990s the orchestra appointed Jiří Bělohlávek as Chief Conductor (1990-1992) and then Gerd Albrecht (1993-1996). Afterwards, the Czech Philharmonic did not have a permanent Chief Conductor but worked with permanent guest conductors: Vladimír Válek, Sir Charles Mackerras and Ken-ichiro Kobayashi. From 1st January 1998 until the end of 2003 the orchestra was headed by Vladimir Ashkenazy, who introduced several unusual projects into the Philharmonic’s subscription programme. Zdeněk Mácal has been appointed Chief Conductor for the 2003-2004 season.

Jiří Bělohlávek , a leading conductor in international circles today, has been a household name in Prague since the 1970s. He worked as Chief Conductor of the Prague Symphony Orchestra (1977-89) and has worked with the Czech Philharmonic since 1973 first as a guest, from 1981 as a permanent conductor and in 1990-1992 as Chief Conductor. In 1994 he established the Prague Philharmonia and has been its musical director since. In 2003 he accepted the same post in the Slovak Philharmonic. He has been Chief Guest Conductor of the National Theatre in Prague since 1998.

Jiří Bělohlávek is highly sought-after by the most prestigious orchestras in the world. During the period 1995-2000 he was Chief Guest Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra in London. He has made successful guest appearances with the New York, Munich, Berlin, Japan and Stockholm Philharmonics, the NHK Symphony Tokyo, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and he has conducted the Boston, Vienna, London and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras.

Bělohlávek made his opera debut in 1979 at the Comic Opera in Berlin (Smetana´s The Secret and Stravinsky´s The Rake´s Progress). At the National Theatre in Prague he performed Martinů’s The Greek Passion (1984), Janáček’s Jenůfa (1997), Mozart’s Così fan tutte (1998), Dvořák’s Rusalka (1998), Bizet’s Carmen (1999) Smetana’s The Devil’s Wall (2001) and Janáček’s Osud (2002). He is regularly invited to appear at prominent opera houses. Bělohlávek’s performance of Jenůfa with director Nikolaus Lehnhoff, staged in June 2000 at the Glyndebourne Festival, won the Barclay Theatre Award.

Jiří Bělohlávek’s extensive and varied recording catalogue includes, for example, the Supraphon recording of Brahms’ entire orchestral oeuvre, or a complete set of sixteen CDs featuring primarily Czech music for the English company Chandos, of which two have been awarded the prestigious Diapason d’Or in Paris. His recording of Smetana’s My Country with the Czech PO won the 1995Supraphon Gold Disc. Jiří Bělohlávek won the same award in 1999 for his extensive recordings and consistent promotion of the works of Bohuslav Martinů. At present Bělohlávek is recording a complete set of all Martinů Symphonies with the Czech Philharmonic, using revised scores based on Martinů’s manuscripts, currently being processed as part of a critical edition of Martin ů’s works by the Bohuslav Martinů Institute in Prague.

Jiří Bárta started his career at the turn of the ´90s and he soon ranked among top international cellists. He studied in Prague with Josef Chuchro and Mirek Škampa and in Cologne with Boris Pergamenshchikov. In 1991 he won the Europäische Förderpreis für Musik in Dresden, as well as the Rostropovich-Hammer Award in Los Angeles. He has worked with leading Czech and international orchestras, conductors and chamber ensembles, he has been regularly invited to perform at prestigious festivals and concert halls (Edinburgh, Berlin, Bratislava, Prague Spring, Salzburg – Schubert Festival 1997, Teatro Colon, Suntory Hall, Wigmore Hall). His recording Reflexion was named the best Czech CD recording of 2000 and received the “Klassik Heute Empfehlung” award of the Klassik Heute magazine. His recording of Sonatas by Rachmaninov, Schnittke and Pärt with pianist Marian Lapšanský received the 1995 “Golden Harmony” prize of the Harmonie magazine. Bárta´s recording of Bach´s Cello Suites and his live recordings of Shostakovich´s Concertos with the conductor Maxim Shostakovich and the Prague Symphony Orchestra was highly praised by the critics. His latest recording (2002) of Dvořák´s work has also got a very positive response. The DVD “Jiří Bárta plays Dvořák” featuring the Cello Concerto with the Prague Symphony under Gaetano Delogu was released in 1999. Bárta has recently been touring all over the world with the Czech Philharmonic, the Prague Symphony Orchestra as well as the Berlin Philharmonic (“The Millennium Concert”). In May 2001 he performed at the Wigmore Hall in London with the pianist Piers Lane. He was also invited to teach a master class at the Royal Academy of Music in London. Jiří Bárta is an ardent promoter of contemporary music and has closely cooperated with composers such as Marek Kopelent, Pavel Zemek and Petr Eben.

Jiří Bárta plays a Gagliano cello dating from 1785.