This past Saturday evening, May 5 2012 I attended the New York Philharmonic’s performance at Avery Fisher Hall. I was lucky to have a seat right in the orchestra section only seven rows from the front. The New York Philharmonic was founded in 1842 and is considered the oldest symphony orchestra in the United States and one of the oldest worldwide. Alan Gilbert is the Musical Director and began his tenure in September 2009. One of the most amazing things about the orchestra is how from its beginnings it has propelled the music of its time into the spotlight.
In this particular performance, Gilbert led the orchestra with works from Lindberg, Tchaikovsky, and Dvorak. The opening piece I will focus on is Antonin Dvorak’s Carnival, Op. 92 that was composed in 1891 and dedicated to the Czech University of Prague and first premiered on April 28, 1892 in Prague. The New York Philharmonic first debuted the piece on October 21, 1892 and Dvorak led the orchestra in his first appearance in the United States.
Carnival is about ten minutes in duration and was the perfect opening to the concert. This was a part of three concert overtures and was to portray impressions of what the human soul experiences and highlighting that in both negative and positive ways. Dvorak originally wanted to title them Nature, Life, and Love but he soon realized that he wanted them to have three distinct identities. The title Carnival really embodies the true feeling you get when you are in the audience listening because of the spirited and boisterous sound. There are intense moments when you feel that this could be the background to the fun and boisterous crowds at a carnival.
The instrumentation is as follows: two flutes and piccolo, two oboes and English horn, two bassoons, two clarinets, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, tuba, timpani, cymbals, tambourine, triangle, harp, and strings. There are points when listening to the piece that all the instruments work together with such intensity that it resonates within you as part of the audience.
All three overtures share a theme that creates a flowing cycle, not taking from their individuality yet bringing them together. Scholar Otakar Sourek studies the works by Dvorak and has labeled this “Theme of Nature” which visits each of the three works. There is a section in the middle of the piece where the sound has more of a mellow sound and this is where you here the theme first brought back by the clarinet and then the English horn.
The excitement of this piece really shows how the orchestra does a good job of portraying what Dvorak wanted. The instruments are equal to the shouts of joy and hilarity of people venting their feelings in song and dance. The English horn has many roles in this work and when partnered with the flute there is a moment where they represent a “pair of straying lovers,” finding companionship. I also enjoyed the dance rhythms and folk music influence that you hear in the piece which comes from where Dvorak is from, the Czech Republic.
As someone who is not a regular listener of music before the 20th century, this was truly an amazing experience and has made me a fan of Dvorak’s work. The intensity of music in Carnival as an audience member was uplifting and opened my eyes to the benefits live music can offer.