The ''Romance in F minor'', Op. 11, ( B. 39) is a single-movement work for violin and orchestra by

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

, published in 1879.

History

It was written at the request of Josef Markus, leader of the Provisional Theatre Orchestra in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

; he would play it at the annual concert of the orchestra at Žofín Palace. It was first performed at the concert, conducted by Adolf Čech, on 9 December 1877.Romance for violin and orchestra
antonin-dvorak.cz, accessed 30 March 2015. Dvořák based the work on the slow movement, marked ''Andante con moto quasi allegretto'', of his String Quartet No. 5 in F minor. This quartet was composed in 1873 when the composer was not widely known; it was unperformed and unpublished in his lifetime.Romance for Violin and Orchestra in F minor, Op. 11
NY Philharmonic, accessed 17 Mar 2015. He wrote a version of the ''Romance in F minor'' with piano accompaniment, dedicated to the violinist

František Ondříček František Ondříček (29 April 1857 – 12 April 1922) was a Czech violinist and composer. He gave the first performance of the Violin Concerto by Antonín Dvořák, and his achievements were recognised by the rare award of honorary memb ...

, which was not published in his lifetime. The orchestral version, and an arrangement for violin and piano (B. 38) made by Dvořák's friend , were published in 1879 by

Simrock Simrock may refer to the German sheet music publisher N. Simrock, or one of the following members of the Simrock family engaged in that business: * Nikolaus Simrock, (1751–1832), founder of N. Simrock * Karl Joseph Simrock (1802–1876), son of N ...

.Romance for violin and piano
antonin-dvorak.cz, accessed 30 March 2015.

Structure

The work is scored for two flutes, two oboes, two B clarinets, two bassoons, two horns, strings, and solo violin; its duration is about 12 minutes. The movement, in

F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consisting of the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature consists of four flats. Its relative major is A-flat major and its parallel major is F major. Its enharmonic equivalent, E-sharp mi ...

, is marked ''Andante con moto''. It is in

sonata form Sonata form (also ''sonata-allegro form'' or ''first movement form'') is a musical form, musical structure generally consisting of three main sections: an exposition, a development, and a recapitulation. It has been used widely since the middle ...

: a graceful melody, from the String Quartet No. 5, leads to a theme in a contrasting key, of similar character, followed by a more restless theme and eventually to an episode of strident chords from the orchestra; the original calm mood prevails and the themes return; the work ends in

F major F major (or the key of F) is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat. Its relative minor is D minor and its parallel minor is F minor F minor is a minor scale based on F, consis ...

Discography

* Itzhak Perlman, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa, Sony CD (1994) and Kultur DVD (2007)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Romance in F minor (Dvorak) Compositions by Antonín Dvořák Compositions for violin and orchestra Compositions in F minor 1879 compositions Romance (music) Compositions for violin and piano