Program Notes

Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904)

Serenade, Op. 44 (1878)

Scored for two oboes, three clarinets, three bassoons, cello and double bass

“On the recent occasion of allotting a state grant, I took great pleasure in the works of Dvořák of Prague. I have recommended him to send you his Moravian Duets. If you play through them, you will enjoy them as much as I have done. Dvořák has written in all possible branches: operas, symphonies, quartets, pianoforte pieces. Decidedly he is a very talented man.”

Not for the first time, Johaness Brahms was using his considerable fame and influence to help a fellow composer whom he admired. In 1876 Brahms had been named one of the judges responsible for awarding the Austrian State Stipendium, a prize Dvořák was given three years in succession beginning in 1875. Because of Brahms’ intervention, Antonin Dvořák was lifted from obscurity to worldwide fame. The Moravian Duets turned out to be one of the most popular works Brahms’ publisher Simrock had ever issued, and it wasn’t long before he and the public were clamoring for more. His success following was the stuff of dreams, and his music soon spread to the whole world. One of the fruits of this first wave of acceptance was the lovely Serenade, Op. 44 for winds, cello and double-bass.

The work was written remarkably quickly between January 4 and 18, 1878. Dvořák himself conducted the premier on November 17 of that year. Brahms was overjoyed with it. He wrote to his friend the violinist Joseph Joachim, “A more lovely, refreshing impression of real, rich and charming creative talent you can’t easily have. I think it must be a pleasure for the wind players!”

A confident march defines the first movement. Its majestic energy is contrasted by the gently flowing middle section. The second movement is a minuet whose melody was inspired by a traditional Czech slow dance called a sousedska, or ‘Neighbor’s Dance.’ This dance was very popular with the older revelers for whom the dizzyingly vigorous pace of the faster dances were too much. However, it is traditionally paired with the scurrying Furiant whose pace and rhythms are suggested in the trio Dvorak has given us. The third movement begins with a serene melody introduced by the clarinet and oboe. Moving from a satisfied sigh to a poignant melancholy, the music is sensitively developed over its entire span and leaves us quietly content. The finale is jubilant and energetic with a slightly darker-hued middle section. The first movement march makes an unexpected return here, but soon the music returns to its initial good humor and ends smiling gleefully.