Antonín Dvořák composed his Symphony No. 6 in D major,řá Op. 60, B. 112, in 1880. It was premiered on 25 March 1881. It was originally published as Symphony No. 1 and is dedicated to Hans Richter, who was the conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. With a performance time of approximately 40 minutes, the four-movement piece was one of the first of Dvořák’s large symphonic works to draw international attention. In it, he manages to capture some of the Czech national style within a standard Germanic classical-romantic form.
Background
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 was composed for the Vienna Philharmonic. In order to understand the context in which he composed this symphony, the climate and reception of Dvořák’s earlier works in Vienna should be taken into consideration.
In late 1879, Hans Richter conducted the Vienna Philharmonic in a subscription concert that included the Third Slavonic Rhapsody. According to Dvořák, in a letter dated 23 November 1879, I set out last Friday and was present at the performance of my Third Rhapsody, which was liked very much, and I had to show myself to the audience. I sat next to Brahms by the organ in the orchestra, and Richter drew me out. I had to appear. I must tell you that I immediately won the sympathy of the whole orchestra and that out of all the new works they tried over, and Richter said there were sixty of them, they liked my Rhapsody best of all. Richter kissed me on the spot and told me he was very glad to know me.…
Music historians have made various conclusions regarding what this letter implies about Dvořák’s reception in Vienna. Dvořák scholar John Clapham interprets this letter to say that the audience at the concert responded with a warm ovation, and that Richter was pleased with the work. Yet, according to David Brodbeck, this account probably only describes the dress rehearsal (the Philharmonic’s dress rehearsals were open to a limited audience), arguing that there is no other way to explain the presence of Brahms and Dvořák on stage during a performance. Eduard Hanslick, a music critic in Vienna at this time, reported: “The Rhapsody was respectfully but not warmly received. I had expected it to make a livelier effect after the impression of the dress rehearsal.” Even though audience reception at the actual concert may have been less than enthusiastic, Richter saw promise in Dvořák’s work and asked him to write a symphony for the orchestra. He finished the symphony the following year, in October 1880, and traveled to Vienna to play the composition on the piano for Richter, who was very excited about the work.
Dvořák expected to have the Vienna Philharmonic premiere his symphony in December 1880. However, Richter postponed the performance repeatedly, citing family sickness and an over-worked orchestra. Dvořák, suspicious of anti-Czech feelings in Vienna, eventually grew frustrated. He learned later that members of the orchestra objected to performing works by the relatively new Czech composer in two consecutive seasons.
Instead, Adolf Čech conducted the premiere of Symphony No. 6 with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra on 25 March 1881 in Prague. The Scherzo was encored. Richter did eventually conduct the piece in London in 1882. Though he never conducted it in Vienna, he still retained an interest in Dvořák's compositions. The Vienna Philharmonic did not perform this symphony until 1942.
Dvořák’s Symphony No. 6 was originally issued as his Symphony No. 1 by Simrock, Dvořák’s German music publisher, as it was his first published work in this genre. Further confusion in numbering Dvořák’s symphonies came from several sources. Dvořák believed that his first symphony was lost, and numbered the remaining symphonies Nos.1 to 8 by date of composition. Simrock continued to order the symphonies by publication date, ignoring the first four symphonies. Therefore, according to Dvořák, this work was his fifth symphony, according to the publisher it was his first, but chronologically (and after the first symphony was recovered) it is now known as his Symphony No. 6. The order of symphonies was first codified by Dvořák scholar Otakar Šourek.
Compositional context and influences
The period of Dvořák's life that culminated with his Symphony No. 6 in D major was a time of experimentation and development of his personal compositional style. He developed his basic compositional voice largely from a study of the Germanic classical tradition. There are differing opinions about what influences were in play as he wrote his sixth symphony; it is possible to see the No. 6 as a synthesis of many influences, or as the focus of just a few.