A6 Dvořák

The program of the sixth subscription concert features only Dvořák, fully honoring the Year of Czech Music. Years ending with the number four are extremely significant for Czech music. This number marks the birth dates of Smetana, Janáček, and Suk, as well as the year of Dvořák’s death.

In this program, we will look at Dvořák’s music from different angles: each composition falls into a different genre and a different stage of Dvořák’s career. The opera Vanda, inspired by French grand opera, was composed relatively early in his career; the Violin Concerto of the early 1880s is one of the highlights of Dvořák’s Slavic period.

This time, it will be performed on a very special instrument, the 1734 “ex-Hubermann” Guarneri, by Midori, an exceptional artist and recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors.

In Symphony No. 8 from 1889, Dvořák develops the melodic and lyrical style influenced by Czech and Slavic traditions. This composition, imbued with brightness and joy, is one of Dvořák’s most frequently performed works, and we are deliberately including it in our anniversary season. Symphony No. 8 was part of our 2017 American tour, one of the first major engagements with our then-new Chief Conductor Emmanuel Villaume, and it was a huge success on the tour, laying down the foundation of an extraordinary relationship between the Chief Conductor and his orchestra.