Beethoven 7th symphony analysis series#

In addition, he was aware of the distinction this would bring, given that the commission had come from the famous institution for which Beethoven had written his Ninth. He gladly accepted this opportunity: after considerable success with the oratorio (his Stabat mater was a triumph in London), he would now be able to present to English audiences proof of his capabilities as a symphonic writer as well. In June 1884 Dvorak received a commission to write a new symphony from the Philharmonic Society in London (along with the news that he had also been elected an honorary member). Whatever the underlying causes, the fact remains that some of DvorakвЂ™s opuses from this period are unusually dark and dramatic. However, there is no convincing evidence for any of these theories.

The highlight of the programme was a trip to see a performance at the National Theatre, but the whole event was more political than cultural in nature, and involved widespread politico-nationalistic rallies in all the major towns and cities through which the train passed. below) The note refers to the closely scrutinised visit to Prague by several hundred Hungarians and Hungarian Czechs. This supposition is based on a note the composer wrote into the score beneath the main theme of the first movement: вЂњ This main theme occurred to me upon the arrival at the station of the ceremonial train from Pest in 1884.вЂќ (see fig. According to other interpretations, the character of the symphony may also have been influenced by the troubled socio-political atmosphere of the time. The composer was apparently suddenly faced with having to resolve an inner conflict between his patriotism and cosmopolitanism, between the вЂњservice to his countryвЂќ expected of him, and his ambitions for international success, all of which led to a complete change of tone in his oeuvre. Literature on Dvorak also frequently mentions a personal crisis he is supposed to have suffered in the first half of the 1880s as a result of his growing international prestige. This explanation is somewhat improbable, given the fact that Anna Dvorakova died two years before he began writing the work. The unusually fervent sentiments of this symphony are sometimes attributed to the death of the composerвЂ™s mother. While it cannot compete in popularity with DvorakвЂ™s New World Symphony, in terms of its overall conception, the gravity of its testimony and its masterful formal treatment, this is a supreme example of symphonic writing which ranks alongside some of the most important works in the post-Beethoven development of the symphonic genre a number of experts even place it above the symphonies of Brahms.Д¬omposition history and sources of inspiration In spite of its dramatic impact, this is also a profoundly intimate work where the composer examines the meanderings of his soul and the answers to elementary issues of human existence. It is distinguished for its absence of any Slav-inspired melodies which were characteristic for the composerвЂ™s preceding Slavic period and with which his compositional style is usually associated. It is characteristic for its dramatic expression and sombre atmosphere of grave uncertainty and obstinate defiance. 6 and 8), but also to the large majority of DvorakвЂ™s oeuvre as a whole. Its gloomy atmosphere is in direct contrast not only to its two neighbouring symphonies (Nos.

Beethoven 7th symphony analysis series#

DvorakвЂ™s seventh symphony in succession, written in D minor, enjoys a special status in the composerвЂ™s series of nine symphonies.