If you have read my other blog, you would know that I KNOW that Dvorák is the best composer ever, and his best known work is his 9th Symphony or otherwise known as the New World Symphony.
The first movement is probably my least favourite, but is still brilliant. The second movement would be my third favourite, and the fourth movement my second favourite, with the Scherzo being my favourite movement.
The whole symphony under its simple surface is actually very clever. Dvorak modulated to widely spaced harmonic keys without sounding disjointed or ugly. The chord progressions are subtle yet amazing, and he has actually used repetition very well.
Another interesting fact about it is that it was believed that he stole the cor anglais theme from a spiritual. This was rumour was created by one of his students who arranged the theme into a song, and this song became rather well known, and people thought that he stole that theme, but he wrote it! I would hate that to happen to me!
The whole thing is much better than Rachmaninov's Paganini Variation's (which will be the subject of an upcoming review), which we are playing in orchestra.
Dvorak's music isn't overly complex, but not incredibly simple, and this makes it a better piece on the whole I think.
Today's music is either super simple or overly complex, so it provides a nice relief from most of the CRAP today. Oooh! I just called modern popular music crap! I just did it again! How true though!
And now for a lighter note, each of my blog entries shall have a silly meaning for a musical term. Today's is rubato, with the definition by my conductor in school orchestra.
Rubato-Play out of time.
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