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 ...

's ''Symphonic Variations on the Theme “I am a fiddler”'' ( cs, Symfonické variace z písně „Já jsem huslař“) for orchestra, Op. 78, B. 70, were written in 1877.antonin-dvorak.cz
/ref> They are played fairly commonly, much like

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

's ''

Variations on a Theme by Haydn The ''Variations on a Theme by Joseph Haydn'' (german: Variationen über ein Thema von Jos. Haydn), now also called the ''Saint Anthony Variations'', is a work in the form of a theme and variations, composed by Johannes Brahms in the summer of 187 ...

'' and

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's ''

Enigma Variations Edward Elgar composed his ''Variations on an Original Theme'', Op. 36, popularly known as the ''Enigma Variations'', between October 1898 and February 1899. It is an orchestral work comprising fourteen variations on an original theme. Elgar ...

''. They are often recorded in conjunction with his nine symphonies.

Background

Supposedly, the work was a response to a challenge from a friend to write variations on a theme that seemed impossible for that purpose. Dvořák chose the third of his set of three part-songs for unaccompanied male voices (''Sborové písně pro mužské hlasy''), B. 66, titled "''Huslař''", or "''Já jsem huslař''" ("The fiddler", or "I am a fiddler"; text by Adolf Heyduk - the other two songs were from Moravian folk poetry). The three songs were written in mid-January 1877 and first performed on 4 March. The third song is in

ternary form Ternary form, sometimes called song form, is a three-part musical form consisting of an opening section (A), a following section (B) and then a repetition of the first section (A). It is usually schematized as A–B–A. Prominent examples includ ...

(ABA), where the lengths of the phrases are 7, 6, and 7 bars. But far from being impossible as a subject of variations, the theme turned out to be exceptionally well suited for that purpose. The ''Symphonic Variations'' were written between 6 August and 28 September 1877. The work was first performed in the Žofín concert hallARTA Records
/ref> 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 ...

on 2 December 1877, by the Provisional Theatre rozatímní divadloOrchestra, under conductor Ludevít Procházka.IMSLP
/ref> The occasion was a charity concert to raise money for the construction of a church in Prague's

Smíchov Smíchov () is (since 1909) a district of Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, and is part of Prague 5. It is on the west bank of the Vltava river. History Between 1945 and 1989, the district contained a monument dedicated to Soviet tan ...

district, and, although the audience liked the piece, there was no press coverage of it.Oregon Symphony
/ref> Also, Dvořák's publishers were not interested in the work.
/ref> Doubly discouraged, he put it aside for ten years, concentrating on other projects. In March 1887, under pressure to produce more music, Dvořák revived the work, this time conducting it himself in Prague's

Rudolfinum The Rudolfinum is a building in Prague, Czech Republic. It is designed in the neo-renaissance style and is situated on Jan Palach Square on the bank of the river Vltava. Since its opening in 1885, it has been associated with music and art. Curr ...

. The National Theatre Orchestra so pleased him with this second performance that he decided to send the score to the conductor Hans Richter. Richter was delighted with it and immediately included the piece in the programme for his forthcoming English tour. He wrote to the composer on 17 May after the first rehearsal with the

Philharmonic Society The Royal Philharmonic Society (RPS) is a British music society, formed in 1813. Its original purpose was to promote performances of instrumental music in London. Many composers and performers have taken part in its concerts. It is now a membe ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

on 13 May, ''"I am absolutely carried away. It is a magnificent work! I am so happy to be the first to produce it in London. But why have you held it back so long? These variations should shine in the first rank of your compositions"''. The concert itself later that month was a huge success, and Richter wrote again, ''"At the hundreds of concerts which I have conducted during my life, no ''new'' work has ever had such a success as yours"''. In December 1887,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

was exposed to the ''Symphonic Variations'' for the first time, again with Richter conducting. In the audience were Dvořák and his friend

, who presented the composer with an exquisite cigarette holder to mark the occasion. Now his publisher

N. Simrock N. Simrock (in German Musikverlag N. Simrock, Simrock Verlag, or simply Simrock) was a German music publisher founded by Nikolaus Simrock which published many 19th-century German classical music composers. It was acquired in 1929 by Anton Benjamin ...

, which had declined to publish the work ten years earlier, sat up and took notice, but instead of the

opus number In musicology, the opus number is the "work number" that is assigned to a musical composition, or to a set of compositions, to indicate the chronological order of the composer's production. Opus numbers are used to distinguish among compositio ...

28 that Dvořák had given it, they published it as opus 78, to suggest a brand new composition. The work has been given number 70 in the Burghauser catalogue. In around 1888, Dvořák arranged the ''Variations'' for piano four-hands, which are listed in the Burghauser catalogue as B. 514. Dvořák's ''Symphonic Variations'' are among the three most frequently played of all sets of orchestral variations, along with Brahms's ''

'' and

Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

's ''

''.

Hubert Parry Sir Charles Hubert Hastings Parry, 1st Baronet (27 February 18487 October 1918) was an English composer, teacher and historian of music. Born in Richmond Hill in Bournemouth, Parry's first major works appeared in 1880. As a composer he is b ...

's ''Symphonic Variations'' were doubtlessly influenced by Dvořák's example.

Orchestration

The work is scored for piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, timpani, triangle and strings. It takes about 22 minutes to play.

Structure

The theme is introduced ''Lento e molto tranquillo'' in

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

, then proceeds through 27 variations in various tempi, ending in an ingenious

fugal In music, a fugue () is a contrapuntal compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject (a musical theme) that is introduced at the beginning in imitation (repetition at different pitches) and which recurs frequently in the c ...

finale ''Allegro maestoso''. The work remains in C major until Variation 17, moving into

D major D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor. The D major scale is: : Ch ...

for Variation 18,

B major B major (or the key of B) is a major scale based on B. The pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A are all part of the B major scale. Its key signature has five sharps. Its relative minor is G-sharp minor, its parallel minor is B minor, and its ...

for Variation 19,

B minor B minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative major is D major and its parallel major is B major. The B natural minor scale is: : Changes neede ...

for Variations 20–24,

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

for Variations 25 and 26, before returning to C major for the final variation and the finale. It is predominantly in time, but explores for the ''

Scherzo A scherzo (, , ; plural scherzos or scherzi), in western classical music, is a short composition – sometimes a movement from a larger work such as a symphony or a sonata. The precise definition has varied over the years, but scherzo often ref ...

'' (Variation 17) and ''Tempo di

valse The waltz ( ), meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom and folk dance, normally in triple ( time), performed primarily in closed position. History There are many references to a sliding or gliding dance that would evolve into the wal ...

'' (Variation 19), and also uses , and in some of the later variations. The final variation and the fugal finale return to .

Recordings

The work has been recorded many times. Currently available recordings include those conducted by

Marin Alsop Marin Alsop ( �mɛər.ɪn ˈæːl.sɑːp born October 16, 1956) is an American conductor, the first woman to win the Koussevitzky Prize for conducting and the first conductor to be awarded a MacArthur Fellowship. She is music director laureate ...

Jiří Bělohlávek Jiří Bělohlávek, (; 24 February 1946 – 31 May 2017) was a Czech conductor. He was a leading interpreter of Czech classical music, and became chief conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra in 1990, a role he would serve on two occasio ...

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

Iván Fischer Iván Fischer (born 20 January 1951) is a Hungarian conductor and composer. Born in Budapest into a musical family of Jewish heritage, Fischer initially studied piano, violin, cello and composition in Budapest. His older brother, Ádám Fis ...

John Eliot Gardiner Sir John Eliot Gardiner (born 20 April 1943) is an English conductor, particularly known for his performances of the works of Johann Sebastian Bach. Life and career Born in Fontmell Magna, Dorset, son of Rolf Gardiner and Marabel Hodgkin, Gard ...

Stephen Gunzenhauser Stephen Charles Gunzenhauser (born April 8, 1942) is an American conductor of classical music. He was the music director of the Lancaster Symphony Orchestra for 40 years, retiring after the 2019–20 season. In 2005, he founded the Endless Mounta ...

Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi (; born 7 June 1937) is an Estonian American conductor. Early life Järvi was born in Tallinn. He initially studied music there, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, ...

, István Kertész,

Rafael Kubelík Rafael Jeroným Kubelík, KBE (29 June 1914 – 11 August 1996) was a Czech conductor and composer. Son of a well-known violinist, Jan Kubelík, he was trained in Prague, and made his debut with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 1 ...

Theodore Kuchar Theodore Kuchar (born May 31, 1963) is an American and Ukrainian conductor of classical music and a violist. Biography Kuchar was born in 1963 in New York City.Zdeněk Mácal Zdeněk Mácal (; born 8 January 1936) is a Czech people, Czech Conducting, conductor. Mácal was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and began violin lessons with his father at the age of four. He later attended the Brno Conservatory and the Janáč ...

, Sir

Charles Mackerras Mackerras in 2005 Sir Alan Charles MacLaurin Mackerras (; 1925 2010) was an Australian conductor. He was an authority on the operas of Janáček and Mozart, and the comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan. He was long associated with the Eng ...

Václav Neumann Václav Neumann (29 October 1920 – 2 September 1995) was a Czech conductor, violinist, violist, and opera director. Life and career Neumann was born in Prague, where he studied at the Prague Conservatory with Josef Micka (violin), and Pav ...

Wolfgang Sawallisch Wolfgang Sawallisch (26 August 1923 – 22 February 2013) was a German conductor and pianist. Biography Wolfgang Sawallisch was born in Munich, the son of Maria and Wilhelm Sawallisch. His father was director of the Hamburg-Bremer-Feuerversich ...

, Peter Tiboris and

Arturo Toscanini Arturo Toscanini (; ; March 25, 1867January 16, 1957) was an Italian conductor. He was one of the most acclaimed and influential musicians of the late 19th and early 20th century, renowned for his intensity, his perfectionism, his ear for orch ...

.ArkivMusic
/ref>

References

External links

About Symphonic Variations on a comprehensive Dvorak site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Symphonic Variations (Dvorak) Compositions by Antonín Dvořák 1887 compositions Variations Compositions for symphony orchestra