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28-692: The Symphony No. 9 in E minor , "From the New World", Op. 95, B.  178 (Czech: Symfonie č. 9 e moll "Z nového světa" ), also known as the New World Symphony , was composed by Antonín Dvořák in 1893 while he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America from 1892 to 1895. It premiered in New York City on 16 December 1893. It is one of the most popular of all symphonies. In older literature and recordings, this symphony

56-699: A final time while the Picardy third is expanded after the orchestra triumphantly plays a "modally altered" plagal cadence. The main theme, especially its occurrence in bar 321, bears a close resemblance to the opening theme of the Hans Heiling Overture by Heinrich Marschner . Dvořák was interested in Native American music and the African-American spirituals he heard in North America. While director of

84-510: A piece). He also wrote that the third movement scherzo was "suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance". In 1893, a newspaper interview quoted Dvořák as saying "I found that the music of the negroes and of the Indians was practically identical", and that "the music of the two races bore a remarkable similarity to the music of Scotland ". Most historians agree that Dvořák

112-405: A quasi-scherzo that incorporates this movement's theme as well as the first movement's main and closing themes. The Largo is concluded with the soft return of the main theme and introductory chords. [REDACTED] The movement is a scherzo written in ternary form, with influences from Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha . The stirring rhythm of the first part is interrupted by

140-408: A semitone. The movement is concluded with a coda , with the main theme stated by the brass above an orchestral tutti. [REDACTED] The second movement, written in ternary form, is introduced by a harmonic progression of chords in the wind instruments. Beckerman interprets these chords as a musical rendition of the narrative formula "Once upon a time". Then a solo cor anglais (English horn) plays

168-606: A stage composer and conductor at the municipal theatres in Dresden (from 1821), Leipzig (from 1827), and the Court Theatre at Hanover (from 1830), where the opera Hans Heiling (1833) established his name among the leading German opera composers of the time. He died in Hanover . Marschner was widely regarded as one of the most important composers in Europe from about 1830 until the end of

196-407: A trio middle section. The first part is then repeated, followed by an echo in the coda of the first movement's main theme. [REDACTED] The final movement is also written in sonata form. After a brief introduction, the horns and trumpets declare the movement's main theme against sharp chords played by the rest of the orchestra. The second theme is then presented by the clarinet above tremolos in

224-486: Is especially evident in the first two operas as well as in some of his ballads, such as " Die Monduhr " (c. 1839). Next to his operas, Marschner's most significant musical contribution is to the Lied . The best of his works in this form are comparable with those by Carl Loewe . He also wrote a considerable amount of chamber music, including seven piano trios, as well as unaccompanied male choruses that were very popular in

252-410: Is in G minor and undergoes a transformation such that it resembles a Czech polka. The exposition's closing theme in G major is known for being similar to the African-American spiritual " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot ". The development primarily focuses on the main and closing themes, and the recapitulation consists of a repetition of the main theme as well as a transposition of the second and closing themes up

280-463: Is in four movements : [REDACTED] The movement is written in sonata form and begins with an introductory melody in Adagio. This melodic outline also appears in the third movement of Dvořák's String Quintet No. 3 in E ♭ major and his Humoresque No. 1 . The exposition is based on three thematic subjects. The first in E minor is notable for its announcing and responsive phrases. The second

308-409: Is needed for a great and noble school of music." Dvořák did, it seems, borrow rhythms from the music of his native Bohemia, as notably in his Slavonic Dances , and the pentatonic scale in some of his music written in North America from African-American and/or Native American sources. Statements that he borrowed melodies are often made but seldom supported by specifics. One verified example is the song of

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336-543: Is referring to the pentatonic scale , which is typical of each of these musical traditions. In a 2008 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education , prominent musicologist Joseph Horowitz states that African-American spirituals were a major influence on Dvořák's music written in North America, quoting him from an 1893 interview in the New York Herald as saying, "In the negro melodies of America I discover all that

364-676: The New World Symphony ' s Scherzo movement evoke the Scherzo of Beethoven's Choral Symphony (Symphony No. 9). The use of quotations of prior movements in the symphony's final movement is reminiscent of Beethoven quoting prior movements in the opening Presto of the Choral Symphony's final movement. At the premiere in Carnegie Hall, the end of every movement was met with thunderous clapping and Dvořák felt obliged to stand up and bow. This

392-478: The classical guitar repertoire is in E minor, as this is a very natural key for the instrument. In standard tuning (E A D G B E), four of the instrument's six open (un fretted ) strings are part of the tonic chord. The key of E minor is also popular in heavy metal music , as its tonic is the lowest note on a standard-tuned guitar. The scale degree chords of E minor are: Heinrich Marschner Heinrich August Marschner (16 August 1795 – 14 December 1861)

420-585: The 19th century. He was a rival of Weber and friend of Beethoven and Mendelssohn . His operas often contain thematic material based on folksong , and this folk-influenced genre had begun with Weber's Der Freischütz (1821). The last of his operas, Austin , was first staged in 1852. It was not very well received, and later the increasingly renowned Wagner overshadowed him. Robert Schumann praised Marschner's piano trios lavishly. Marschner did not just toss off these works as an afterthought, but clearly devoted considerable time and effort to writing them. He gave

448-527: The National Conservatory he encountered an African-American student, Harry T. Burleigh , who sang traditional spirituals to him. Burleigh, later a composer himself, said that Dvořák had absorbed their "spirit" before writing his own melodies. Dvořák stated: I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies . These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in

476-652: The Scarlet Tanager in the Quartet. Michael Steinberg writes that a flute solo theme in the first movement of the symphony resembles the spiritual " Swing Low, Sweet Chariot ". Leonard Bernstein averred that the symphony was truly multinational in its foundations. Dvořák was influenced not only by music he had heard but also by what he had seen in America. He wrote that he would not have composed his American pieces as he had if he had not seen America. It has been said that Dvořák

504-671: The United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them. The symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic , and premiered on 16 December 1893, at Carnegie Hall conducted by Anton Seidl . A day earlier, in an article published in the New York Herald on 15 December 1893, Dvořák further explained how Native American music influenced his symphony: I have not actually used any of

532-551: The [Native American] melodies. I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music, and, using these themes as subjects, have developed them with all the resources of modern rhythms, counterpoint , and orchestral colour. In the same article, Dvořák stated that he regarded the symphony's second movement as a "sketch or study for a later work, either a cantata or opera ... which will be based upon Longfellow 's Hiawatha " (Dvořák never actually wrote such

560-451: The famous main theme in D-flat major accompanied by muted strings. Dvořák was said to have changed the theme from clarinet to cor anglais as it reminded him of the voice of Harry Burleigh . The movement's middle section contains a passage in C ♯ minor evoking a nostalgic and desolate mood which eventually leads into a funeral march above pizzicato steps in the basses. It is followed by

588-665: The rest of the musical world and has become a "universal favorite". As of 1978, it had been performed more often "than any other symphony at the Royal Festival Hall, London" and is in "tremendous demand in Japan". In the UK, the largo became familiar to the general public after its use in a 1973 television advert directed by Ridley Scott for the Hovis bakery. The theme from the Largo was adapted into

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616-405: The spiritual-like song "Goin' Home" (often mistakenly considered a folk song or traditional spiritual) by Dvořák's pupil William Arms Fisher , who wrote the lyrics in 1922. E minor The E natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with accidentals as necessary. The E harmonic minor and melodic minor scales are: Much of

644-402: The strings. The development not only works with these two themes but also recalls the main themes of the first and second movements and a fragment of the Scherzo. Following the recapitulation which begins in the unexpected key of G minor but later corrects itself back to the original key, the movement reaches its climax in the coda, in which materials from the first three movements are reviewed for

672-556: The title "Grand Trio" to each of his works for piano, violin and cello, indicative of the importance he attached to them. In these pieces, one finds all of the emotions prevalent in the Romantic movement during the mid-19th century. To the extent that Marschner is still remembered, it is largely for his operas Hans Heiling (1833), Der Vampyr (1828) and Der Templer und die Jüdin (1829), extremely popular in his lifetime. Marschner's ability to depict supernatural horror by musical means

700-517: Was a German composer best known for his operas. He is considered to be the most important composer of German opera between Weber and Wagner . Marschner was born in Zittau , in southeastern Saxony , and was originally intended for a legal career. After a meeting with Beethoven around 1815–16, he decided to devote himself to music and became a private music teacher in Bratislava . From 1821 he worked as

728-474: Was inspired by the "wide open spaces" of America, such as prairies he may have seen on his trip to Iowa in the summer of 1893. Notices about several performances of the symphony include the phrase "wide open spaces" about what inspired the symphony and/or about the feelings it conveys to listeners. Dvořák was also influenced by the style and techniques used by earlier classical composers including Beethoven and Schubert . The falling fourths and timpani strokes in

756-512: Was one of the greatest public triumphs of Dvořák's career. When the symphony was published, several European orchestras soon performed it. Alexander Mackenzie conducted the London Philharmonic Society in the first London performance on 21 June 1894. Clapham says the symphony became "one of the most popular of all time" and at a time when the composer's main works were being welcomed in no more than ten countries, this symphony reached

784-600: Was – as for its first publication – numbered as Symphony No. 5. Astronaut Neil Armstrong took a tape recording of the New World Symphony along during the Apollo 11 mission, the first Moon landing, in 1969. The symphony was completed in the building that now houses the Bily Clocks Museum in Spillville, Iowa . This symphony is scored for the following orchestra: A typical performance usually lasts around 40 minutes. The work

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