Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 | Music Documentary with Alondra de la Parra & the Münchner Symphoniker

Antonín Dvořák’s 9th Symphony “From the New World” is his most famous. But why? Mexican conductor Alondra de la Parra performs it with the Münchner Symphoniker (Munich Symphony Orchestra) at the 2022 Tutzing Brahmstage festival. During rehearsals, she discusses the famous work with musicians and experts.

DW Classical Music presents the eight-part series: Alondra de la Parra at the Brahmstage in Tutzing. The music documentaries will feature the 4 symphonies by Johannes Brahms and 4 symphonies by Antonín Dvořák.

Episode 1 / Brahms, Symphony No. 1:    • Brahms: Symphony No. 1 | Music Docume...  
Episode 2 / Dvořák, Symphony No. 8:    • Dvořák: Symphony No. 8 | Music Docume...  
Episode 3 / Brahms, Symphony No. 2:    • Brahms: Symphony No. 2 | Music Docume...  
Episode 5 / Brahms, Symphony No. 3:    • Brahms: Symphony No. 3 | Music Docume...  
Episode 6 / Dvořák, Symphony No. 7:    • Dvořák: Symphony No. 7 | Music Docume...  
Episode 7 / Brahms, Symphony No. 4:    • Brahms: Symphony No. 4 | Music Docume...  
Episode 8 / Dvořák, Symphony No. 6:    • Dvořák: Symphony No. 6 | Music Docume...  

Episode 4 at a glance:
00:00 Opening: Dvořák’s 9th in a nutshell
01:06 Introduction
02:40 The piccolo flute in the 1st movement
03:37 The history of the creation of Dvořák’s 9th
04:17 Analysis of the 2nd movement
07:52 Analysis of the 3rd movement, part 1
08:15 The triangle in the 3rd movement
09:37 Analysis of the 3rd movement, part 2
12:00 Analysis of the 4th movement
12:58 The revolutionary in Dvořák's 9th

This is what Dvořák wrote to his friend Emil Kozánek from New York in December 1893: “I am just finishing the new Symphony in E minor. It gives me great pleasure and will be fundamentally different from my earlier ones. Anyone with any ear for such things must recognize the influence of America.” In 1892, Dvořák had followed the call of the New York Conservatory and, as a composition teacher, was to help establish an American version of classical music based on the European model.

The American influences in Dvořák’s 9th Symphony were hotly debated even during his lifetime, so much so that the composer felt compelled to make the following clarification: “But leave out the nonsense that I used Indian and American motifs, because that is a lie. I have written only in the spirit of these American folk songs.” Striking features of the themes in this symphony, such as pentatonic and modal turns and syncopated rhythms, are attributed to the “spirit of American folk music.” What is fundamentally different about this symphony “From the New World” compared to the previous symphonies, however, is the thematic interlocking of the movements. The memorable main theme of the first movement in particular proves to be the leitmotif in all movements.

The specific source of inspiration for the entire symphony was identified as the verse epic “The Song of Hiawatha” by Henry W. Longfellow. Dvořák knew this poem and was fascinated by “the dignity of the Indian legends and the descriptions of the American landscape,” as Dvořák biographer Otakar Šourek writes.

The Tutzing Brahmstage is a small but elegant classical music festival. In 2022, it celebrated a double anniversary. The concert series was held for the 25th time and at the same time, it was the 125th anniversary of the death of the famous German composer. The Brahmstage festival takes place every year in Tutzing on Lake Starnberg in Upper Bavaria - the place where Brahms spent a summer composing important works in 1873. On four Sundays in October 2022, Brahms' four great symphonies were performed together with one symphony each by Antonin Dvořák - the 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th - in the Church of St. Joseph.

As one of Munich's great symphony orchestras, the Münchner Symphoniker (Munich Symphony Orchestra) has been an integral part of the German musical landscape for over 75 years. They perform around 100 concerts a year in concert series in Bavaria, with guest appearances and tours in Germany and abroad. The orchestra with musicians from 17 different nations presents varied programs on large concert and open-air stages as well as in its own rehearsal hall at the Bavaria Studios.

Alondra de la Parra’s interview partners are Desirée Wolff, co-principal flutist, Alexander Penthin, percussionist, Stefano Brusini, horn player, and musicologist Stephan Beck.

Report & Direction:
Dorothee Binding

Camera:
Matthias Boch
Amadeus Hiller
Simon Hermann
Christian Berges
Daniel Stupat
Jan Klein

Sound:
Sara Misztela

Make-up:
Nilgün Konya

Editing:
Jan von Stebut

Production:
Benedict Mirow - Nightfrog GmbH

Commissioning Editors:
Reiner Schild
Rita Kass

© Deutsche Welle 2023

Watch more videos with Musica Maestra Alondra de la Parra:
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