Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 "From the New World" & 2 Slavonic Dances

Featuring

Andrés Orozco-Estrada
Houston Symphony
Antonín Dvořák

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Compositional Technique

The Symphony No. 9 features compelling themes that reappear throughout the work, enhancing its cumulative impact, such as the French horn motif from the first movement which recurs in the slow movement, Scherzo, and finale.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Upon arriving in New York to direct the National Conservatory of Music of America, Antonín Dvořák expressed his vision to help young Americans express themselves and establish a new American school of music rooted in its own soil.

Composer Biography

Early in his career, Antonín Dvořák applied for a stipend for needy artists from Austria's culture ministry, which he won, and his works impressed Johannes Brahms, a prestigious member of the judging panel.

Composition History

Dvořák's Symphony No. 9, 'From the New World,' incorporated sketches from an abandoned vocal work based on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's 'The Song of Hiawatha,' which had captured his imagination in his youth.

Composition History

Johannes Brahms promoted Dvořák's works and recommended him to publisher Fritz Simrock, who then commissioned Dvořák to compose folk-style dances similar to Brahms's successful Hungarian Dances.

Compositional Technique

Instead of borrowing existing folk tunes, Dvořák created original works for his Slavonic Dances based on Czech dance forms.

Performer Biography

Andrés Orozco-Estrada, the conductor, began his musical studies on the violin and started conducting at age 15, later studying at the Vienna Music Academy.