Episode 05 Show Notes

0:00 - Intro

• Thanks for listening!  We’ve enjoyed your feedback and would welcome more!

1:18 - Introducing a New Format

• Our typical format is to:
• •  Define a musical term
  • Make listening recommendations based on that term
  • Answer a question from a listener
• Every 5th episode, we’ll take a slightly deeper dive into just one piece of music
• • This could be an album, a musical, the score of a film, etc.
  • Today’s piece is a symphony
  • Our goal is to give you a few things to listen for in each movement of this symphony focusing on principles from our first four episodes:
  • • Melody
    • Harmony
    • Rhythm & Meter
    • Timbre

2:37 - Introducing Dvorak’s 9th Symphony: From the New World

• Written by Antonin Dvorak (1841-1904), a Bohemian (Czech) orchestral composer
• Premiered by the New York Philharmonic in 1893
• • Dvorak traveled to America to be the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York
  • • Wrote some of his most famous works while in the states (American String Quartet, his cello concerto, and this symphony)
    • Dvorak opened the conservatory to African American students
  • Dvorak believed that composers interested in capturing the American sound should study the music of Native Americans and African Americans
  • • Not very many people agreed with him at the time
• Dvorak wrote original themes inspired by Native American and African American traditions, not exact replications of themes from these cultures
• • With the exception of Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
  • Garrett compares Dvorak’s goal to the Foo Fighters’ concept behind their album/documentary “Sonic Highways”

7:31 - What is a symphony?

• A multi-movement work for the symphony orchestra
• • Movements are sort of like small pieces of music that make up a bigger piece of music
  • • Garrett asks if movements are like chewing bites of a cake instead of shoving an entire cake into your mouth
    • Amanda responds that it’s more like four cupcakes decorated slightly differently but all part of the same batch or set
    • Garrett compares movements to chapters in a book
    • Amanda compares them to books in a series of books because movements are usually pretty complete unto themselves
• Symphonies typically have 3 movements (early classical) or 4 movements (standard in the Romantic period), and they have a typical order:
• • Fast
  • Slow
  • Dance
  • Fast
• A note about when to applaud:
• • If the work has multiple movements, try to follow along with the order of them and wait until the end of the last movement to clap
  • If nothing else, wait until the conductor puts his arms all the way down and keeps them down… that’s usually the big ending!
  • People used to clap whenever they wanted, but now we’re snobs about it

12:08 - Movement I. “Adagio - Allegro molto"

• Melody: Three important themes:
• • A bold, fanfare-like theme (with a statement and a response) that is often played in the brass
  • A minor melody with a simple accompaniment that is first played in the flute
  • • We’re not sure why, but Dvorak pointed to this theme as being influenced by indigenous music traditions.
    • He may have thought the minor mode made it sound indigenous
  • A theme that seems to be a pretty direct quotation and development of “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” (an important African American spiritual)
• Rhythm: the 1st and 3rd theme have very similar rhythms… almost identical!
• Sidenote: Dvorak will introduce great themes during each movement of the piece, but he’ll also bring back previous movements’ themes (especially the opening theme and the Swing Low theme)
• • Perhaps a drinking game could be played???  (Please drink responsibly.)
• One word description of Movement I:
• • Amanda: Exploration
  • Garrett: Outset

17:49 - Movement II. “Largo”

• The most famous movement from this piece
• • Melody: Several years after it was written and premiered, a student of Dvorak, William Arms Fisher, added lyrics to the theme from this movement (“Goin’ Home”)
  • Timbre: The Goin’ Home theme was originally written for clarinet!
  • • Dvorak changed it to English Horn because he thought it better matched the vocal timbre of Harry T. Burleigh, the student who exposed Dvorak to many African spirituals
    • Amanda also points out that the timpani notes in this movement are another great timbre
  • Harmony: A passage of big, open chords played by the brass section multiple times throughout this movement
  • • Michael Beckerman called this the “Once Upon a Time” figure
  • One word description:
  • • Garrett: Nostalgia
    • • Dvorak was very homesick while in America
    • Amanda: Yearning

24:32 - Movement III. "Scherzo. Molto Vivace"

• Rhythm & Meter: The meter is very obvious in this movement, and this is the only movement in triple meter (3 beats per measure)
• Melody: 3 more great melodies introduced in this movement
• Sidenote: The opening of this scherzo matches the opening of Beethoven’s 9th symphony’s scherzo!  They sound musically very similar.
• • Dvorak did likely did this on purpose as a nod to Beethoven
  • Even Sider Note: Amanda got the movement number wrong in the episode (womp, womp).  Beethoven mixes things up, so his scherzo is Movement II, not Movement III.  Idea still applies though!
• One word description:
• • Garrett: Chase
  • Amanda: Tension

28:26 - Movement IV. "Allegro con fuoco”

• Melody: One last big, bold theme
• • Dominates the movement and later signals the end of the piece
• Melody: Garrett feels that this movement is a battle of all the themes!  See his list of theme battles below!
• Harmony/Timbre: The last chord of the piece
• • Unique because the entire orchestra hits a chord together, but suddenly everyone cuts out and only the very soft woodwind section sustains
• Sidenote: The opening of this movement is… Jaws!
• • John Williams borrowed this figure for his shark movie soundtrack
  • On a case by case basis, as long as you properly attribute the material you’ve borrowed, most people in classical music don’t care about this type of borrowing...
  • • Just don’t try to pass anything off as your own work if it’s isn’t actually your own work!
    • If Dvorak were alive at the time of Jaws, maybe he’d have wanted a writer’s credit?
    • “You’re only as good as who you steal from.” - A tongue in cheek quote from a professor Garrett and Amanda both know
  • One word descriptions:
  • • Garrett: Argument
    • Amanda: Territorial
• Bonus: Garrett makes a claim for “Three Blind Mice” as another quotation
• • Amanda believes this is purely coincidence

35:40 - How to Enjoy a Symphony

• (35:53) If you sit down at a concert and see a symphony on the program that comes from 1815 on, get ready for a long ride
• • During the romantic period, symphonies were expanded and got longer and longer
  • • Dvorak's 9th symphony is around 42 minutes long!
    • Amanda says that if people will go to a movie theater to watch three hours of Avengers, then they definitely have the capacity to enjoy 40 minutes of great music
    • Garrett says it’s one crime show episode
    • Amanda says it’s three Spongebobs

• (37:42) Expect thematic development!
• • When you hear a melody, try to hold onto it because it will likely come back again
  • Expect the composer to transform and expand on the themes you hear

• (38:29) Don’t expect to stay completely engaged and focused for 40 minutes straight
• • Amanda points out that not even the members of the orchestra are fully, completely focused for the entire length of the piece
  • • Tuba player is a great example because that person only plays the 2nd movement (and plays less than 20 notes)
  • Dvorak wrote highs and lows, so it’s okay to let your attention ebb and flow a little bit
  • • Garrett compares some parts to background info/setting in a novel
    • Amanda compares it to description in a novel
    • It’s all important, but it doesn’t all require the same level of engagement
    • If someone falls asleep, only wake them up if they start snoring
  • Even trained pros want to be whisked away by the music
  • • This is musical storytelling!  Let it take you where it wants to go

• (41:20) Expect repetition
• • Composers have to walk a fine line between variety and repetition
  • • Repetition can ground you, but too much can bore you
    • Variety is the spice of life, but too much spice ruins dinner
  • There are two types of repetition: exact and non exact
  • • Exact repetition: 
    • • “This piece of music worked once… it’ll work again!”
      • Tension and release (repetition can add to either)
      • The composer is saying, “I want you to remember this.”
    • Non-exact repetition:
    • • A timbral change: maybe the same melodies and harmonies but played by different instruments or different groups of instrument
      • Accompaniment changes: Rhythms used might change, additional parts might come in
      • • If you hear the same melody, something might have changed elsewhere in the orchestra
        • Ask yourself if it's different and try to figure out what changed

• (44:10) Nothing beats seeing a symphony live
• • Amanda: the best sound system in the world can’t compete with the weakest concert hall
  • • Amanda: I can’t appreciate the difference between 20 vs 50 vs 100 in an orchestra on youtube
  • If the music isn’t thrilling you too much at home, it may be that you need to go see it live
  • • Think of it as not just the music but the entire experience
    • Experience it in the right context
  • A comparison to movies
  • • You wouldn’t judge a movie based off the one time you saw it using a portable DVD player and broken earbuds during a car ride
    • If you’ve heard someone say, “Oh, that’s a movie you have to see in theaters,” that’s how Amanda feels about symphonies
    • • Garrett points out that Twister goes from epic to cheesy real fast when you watch it at home instead of in theaters
  • There’s music that’s meant to be in the studio and is hard to replicate live, but the symphony is the opposite.
  • • Witness the team effort!
    • If it’s an educational group, remember that they’re still acquiring the skills they need in order to become the pros
  • If you’re under 80, people will be so excited to see you at a symphony concert!

• (47:33) You can enjoy this!
• • The music still has value
  • • It’s up to the musicians and people involved to show you the value
  • Once you see it, there’s nothing stopping you from enjoying this music
  • • Don’t worry that other people are understanding the music more than you are
    • You know a lot about the music you love, and you can appreciate cool experiences!  Seek them out!
    • • Garrett advises you to ask us about concert etiquette and to seek out casual concerts
      • • More and more pro orchestras are putting on less formal concerts

49:04 - Sign Off

• A reminder that we’ll keep this format reserved for every 5th episode
• Feel free to recommend a piece you’d like us to dive into
• Leave us a review if you’d like!
• Shoot any questions towards our social media or gmail
• Share the podcast with a friend!  We bet you know someone who loves music and would like to know a little more about it.
• Help make Garrett famous.

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Special thanks to OpenMusicRevolution.com for our intro and outro music and to the guys at Better Podcasting for being such great guides to us.  Special thanks to you, our listeners, too!

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Additional Resources:

James, Jonathan.  “Dvorak Symphony No 9 - From The New World: Inside the Music”. YouTube video, 3:35. Posted October 2016. https://youtu.be/rjeskgwj78s.

Roitstein, Andrew, and Nichole Veach. “Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony: In Search of an American Voice.” Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony: In Search of an American Voice. New York, NY: New York Philharmonic, 2017. https://nyphil.org/~/media/pdfs/education/1617/curriculum-guide-mshs-final.pdf?la=en

Supka, Ondrej. “Symphony No. 9 ‘from the New World.’” Antonin Dvorak. Accessed November 1, 2019. http://www.antonin-dvorak.cz/en/symphony9.

Weilerstein, Joshua. “Sticky Notes: The Classical Music Podcast.” Season 4 Premiere - Dvorak Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", Joshua Weilerstein, 30 Aug. 2018, http://stickynotespodcast.libsyn.com/podcast/season-4-premiere-dvorak-symphony-no-9-from-the-new-world