Symphonic Odyssey

Dvorak, Carnival Overture

Antonín Dvořák wished to illustrate being “seized into the joyous vortex of life,” said his colleagues, when he wrote Carnival Overture. This overture is one of three that encompass themes of nature, life, and love. Depicting a lively scene at a traditional Czech carnival, Carnival Overture is Antonín Dvořák’s sonic illustration of what it means to be alive in his native land. The other overtures in the triptych—In Nature’s Realm and Othello—illustrate nature and love, respectively, while Carnival is Dvořák’s embodiment of life itself. 

Written in 1891, Carnival was composed just two years before Dvořák would set sail for America. The overtures were composed sequentially, and Dvořák conducted the premiere of all three works on April 28, 1892. This was the evening before the composer left for his journey abroad, embarking on a journey that would lead to the composition of his New World Symphony, Dvořák’s iconic Ninth. 

The composer intended for all three overtures to exist as numbers 1, 2, and 3 within his opus 92. But because he swiftly left the concert stage (so as not to miss his travel arrangements), post-premiere corrections and changes were left to none other than Johannes Brahms, a mentor to and champion of Antonín Dvořák’s work. Under Brahms’ control, each overture was given its own opus number as the works’ orchestrations, key centers, and themes are entirely individual. 

All of the Carnival Overture shimmers with delight, imbued with life from the first note to the last. It opens energetically, flamboyant with percussion punctuating the first theme. Woodwinds gracefully transition into a minor B-theme underscored by an anxious low-string ostinato. A dotted figure in the strings briefly leads to tumult, though is quickly picked up by an optimistic clarinet solo that leads us to an invigorating finale

Spinei, …throes of increasing wonder

Cristina Spinei is an up and coming composer out of Nashville, Tennessee. She studied composition at The Juilliard School with composer Christopher Rouse. In 2020 the composer put out an album of solo piano works, Ex Voto, though Spinei writes for orchestral forces as well. Her recent work is deeply rooted in dance, owing to her love of the art form. Because of her understanding and appreciation of dance, Spinei has been commissioned by multiple ballet companies, including the Nashville Ballet. …throes of increasing wonder was commissioned by The Pacific Northwest Ballet in celebration of their 50th anniversary season. Spinei describes herself as “minimal-ish,” with her thematic elements inspired by loops and cycles. 

…throes is both exciting and contemplative. The twenty-five minute work is scored for a full symphony orchestra with piano and is written in five sections, played without pause. Repetitive in nature, the cyclic themes transform and evolve over time, allowing each movement to blossom from its original thematic material. The rhythmic nature of Spinei’s work is a perfect setting for dance. The fourth section of …throes  is particularly evocative of expansive arabesques, as the graceful orchestral backdrop sways into the final section.

Mahler, “Adagietto” from Symphony No. 5 

Gustav Mahler’s Adagietto from Symphony No. 5 is poetic and meditative. Its curious harmonies are introspective and signify the complexity of love and life, though this work is also associated with death. The Adagietto is the fourth movement of Mahler’s fifth symphony, and is often performed as a standalone work. The Adagietto may serve as a moment of audience reprieve within its larger orchestral home, but its origin is born out of the composer’s love for his wife, Alma Schindler. Alma was a composer and musician in her own right, but upon falling in love with Gustav Mahler in 1901, she relinquished her musical career in service of his. 

Alma Mahler (neé Schindler) was the socialite of her day—the “It Girl”of Austrian cultural life—and married the composer in 1902. She was widowed by Gustav in 1911 and after his death was considered to be the definitive interpreter of his music. Alma’s opinions and thoughts on Gustav Mahler’s orchestral works were often sought out, though her published memoirs have been determined to be exaggerated, less truthful than scholars would like to believe. She went on to lead a musically elite life, marrying multiple times to various artists and thinkers, remaining staunchly in the center of European cultural life. 

Mahler’s Fifth encompasses a whopping 250 page score, though the Adagietto only takes up a handful of pages. The Adagietto is slow without being pedantic; it flows slowly with complete loving adoration, enjoying the passing of time. The strings blend effortlessly as the work swells and deflates, always supported harmonically by the harp. There are moments of suspended time that hang throughout the Adagietto, with new harmonies twinkling ever so slightly under the surface. 

Later in the work, a passionate crescendo culminates in a fraught, bittersweet yearning. This emotive range inspired Maestro Leonard Bernstein to conduct the movement at the funeral for Boston Symphony Music Director Serge Koussevitzky as well as former US President John F. Kennedy. Culturally, the Adiagietto has become associated with departed love as much as it has come to represent undying love.

Mendelssohn, Symphony No. 5 “Reformation”

It is interesting that when we think of Felix Mendelssohn, we instinctively call upon his definitive style: his characteristic lightness, articulation, and quick turns of phrases. These traits are all displayed fully in his Symphony No. 5, The Reformation, which we assume is one of his latest works. While Symphony No. 5 is the last in his published chronology, it is actually the second symphony that Mendelssohn wrote. Felix Mendelssohn’s musical reputation stems from his early years writing music while his later symphonic works, less commonly performed, harken significantly more to Beethoven and take on a much more robust, dramatic sensibility. 

Mendelssohn wrote multiple string symphonies in the early 1820s and graduated to writing for a full symphony orchestra—strings in addition to woodwinds, brass, and percussion—in 1824. The influence of Beethoven’s momentous Ninth Symphony (premiered that same year) left a lasting impression on young Mendelssohn, the same way it had for many other composers. Now, the finale of a symphony was not simply required to be a happy ending, restating each theme and modulating back to the tonic. Thanks to the great maestro Beethoven, a symphonic finale could be foundational, a culmination of the work’s weight and meaning. Mendelssohn attempted this in his symphonies, but his characteristic lightness prevails throughout all of his early works. In the twenty years after Beethoven’s death, Mendelssohn’s later works edge closer and closer to the weight left by Beethoven’s Ninth. 

Felix Mendelssohn was eager to write a work for a celebration in Germany, 1830. This celebration marked the 300th anniversary of the Imperial Diet, religious meetings that organized public life, defense against the Ottomans, and issues surrounding Christianity. In 1530, the Augsburg Confession formally recognized the Lutheran Church as its own sect, and the Confession became one of the most important documents of the Reformation. Martin Luther wrote “Ein feste Burg” at this time—a hymn that became a battle cry for the religious changes, which Mendelssohn quotes in the Finale of his symphony.

However, the Reformation Symphony would not be performed for the 300th anniversary of the Augsburg Confession. Mendelssohn had not completed the work as quickly as he intended, and his symphony wouldn’t see the light of day for another year. In 1831, the symphony was scheduled to be performed at the Paris Conservatoire during Mendelssohn’s tour of France. Mendelssohn found this odd—his Germanic tendencies seemed disjunct for a French audience—but the young composer was nevertheless excited for his work to be performed, finally. 

His summation proved correct, though, and the performance was cancelled after one rehearsal. 

Completely humiliated, Mendelssohn wouldn’t touch the symphony for months. While Mendelssohn did lead a performance of Symphony No.5 in Berlin, it fell flat and was received poorly. Mendelssohn would never perform it again and held the score back from publication during his lifetime. The Reformation Symphony would be found and published decades after Mendelssohn’s death, and has posthumously earned a lasting space in the orchestral cannon.