Date of composition: 1884-1885
Premiere: 22 April 1885 in the St. James Hall London with the Orchestra of the Philharmonic Society directed by the composer
Duration: 38 minutes
Performances by the Berliner Philharmoniker:
First performed on 28 October 1889 conducted by Hans von Bülow
The British were captivated: Antonín Dvořák’s London debut at the Royal Albert Hall in 1883 was already a huge success, and when he returned the following year, The Times hailed the Czech composer as the “musical hero of the hour”. Dvořák then travelled home with a lucrative commission in his pocket: a new symphony for the Royal Philharmonic Society.
He completed the score in just three months, with one goal firmly in mind: “My symphony must be such as to move the world.” And it did – the premiere in London in spring 1885 was a triumph, even though Dvořák had almost entirely abandoned the Bohemian and Moravian folk tunes that had shaped so much of his earlier music.
In their place, a dramatic tone now dominates, rather than the cheerful spirit of the dance floor. At the same time, following Ludwig van Beethoven’s example, Dvořák strives to compact his thematic material as much as possible. “Having a beautiful idea is nothing special,” he insisted, well aware of his reputation for effortlessly charming melodies, “but to execute it well, to make something great of it – that is the hardest thing. That is art.”
Setting aside the familiar sounds of home did not mean Dvořák had abandoned the patriotic ambition behind the Seventh Symphony: securing Czech music its rightful place on the international stage. Here, though, a new idea came to the fore – the liberation myth of the Hussites and their resistance to the Roman Catholic Church in the fifteenth century.
Bedřich Smetana had already immortalised this national movement in his orchestral cycle Má vlast (My Country), and in 1883 Dvořák himself had composed a Hussite Overture in a brooding D minor – the same key as the Seventh Symphony. The symphony itself carries no explicit programme; Dvořák would not begin writing his five narrative tone poems until 1896. Yet with the Hussite story in mind, the opening movement readily conjures vivid images: dramatic battle scenes beneath a darkened sky, set against passages where the sun breaks through the clouds and the rebels find fresh hope.
A Christian chorale opens the slow movement, as if honouring those fallen in battle. Tender thoughts take shape in bittersweet melodies, repeatedly interrupted by menacing outbursts. As in the preceding Allegro maestoso, the mood stays tense throughout, rarely settling into true peace or joy, for all its romantic fervour.
The scherzo, at last, turns folk-like: Dvořák draws on the furiant, a quintessentially Czech dance. Unusually, though, it is cast in a minor key, so that despite the brisk tempo, no real festive spirit emerges. Instead, the theme of “homeland” is explored in a more philosophical light – the wish to preserve one’s traditions demands great effort, since outside threats must constantly be fended off.
The finale, too, remains full of conflict: Dvořák works with stark contrasts of light and shade and almost operatic sound effects. Powerful emotions erupt in a thrilling furore from the full orchestra – making unmistakably clear why this symphony has earned the sobriquet “Tragic”.