Dvořák: A Hero’s Song∙Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra∙Frantisek Macek

Antonín Dvořák: A Hero’s Song, Op.111

Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra
František Macek, conductor

Prague Spring Festival
Smetana Hall in Municipal House, Prague
26 May 2021

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) composed A Hero’s Song, Op. 111 after returning from America. This composition capped off his creative period dedicated to programmatic music. After the symphonic poems The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, and The Wild Dove, which were composed in 1896 based on ballads from the collection A Bouquet by Karel Jaromír Erben, Dvořák went on to write A Hero’s Song between August and October 1897. The premiere of the symphonic poem took place a year later in Vienna with the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Gustav Mahler. At Mahler’s invitation, Dvořák was able to be present at not only the premiere of the work but also the rehearsals. According to a period report by the critic Eduard Hanslick, the public was enthusiastic about Dvořák’s composition: “A Hero’s Song, inspired by the true talent and created with superb technique, will certainly triumph everywhere”, wrote Hanslick. “The success in Vienna is promising for such expectations. This very difficult work, played in a stirring manner under Mahler’s direction, created a powerful impression. The composer was in attendance, and the tempestuous applause compelled him to go on stage repeatedly to take a bow in acknowledgment of his success.” There was another performance of A Hero’s Song in November 1899 in Berlin, and that December Dvořák himself conducted it in Budapest. A Hero’s Song is Dvořák’s last symphonic poem and his last orchestral composition. Thanks to its title and content dealing with a hero as subject matter, comparisons with the Symphonie fantastique by Hector Berlioz or the symphonic poem Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss suggest themselves. Dvořák described the program as follows: “What naturally came to mind was more like a spiritual hero, an artist, so I think the hero is suggested by the very first theme. It expresses energy, resolve, and strength (Molto vivace). The second theme (Adagio, quasi marcia) in B flat minor introduces pain, lamentation, etc.; D flat major indicates hope, solace, etc. Then comes the first struggle. The E major passage in 2/4 time brings new joy and hope in a happier future; at the end come the storm and the final victory of the idea.”. It has only been heard once at the Prague Spring Festival, at the historic inaugural event in 1946.