Symphony No. 6 in D Major, Op. 60

Music history is full of the life stories of composers who were child prodigies—creative geniuses whose gifts were discovered and celebrated early and by many. But for every Mozart who was performing for royalty before his tenth birthday, there is a Dvořák. Born into a family of butchers, Dvořák struggled for decades as an underpaid church organist and community orchestra violist, composing primarily as a hobby. It was only in his mid-thirties that he was finally “discovered” and began to gain international recognition. The “discovering” was done in large part by Johannes Brahms, who in 1875 had served on a panel of composers judging works submitted by “impoverished artists” who were seeking scholarships from the Ministry of Culture and Education in Vienna. Dvořák had submitted 15 works, including two complete symphonies. It is recorded that Brahms was “visibly overcome” by “the mastery and talent of Dvořák,” and the struggling Czech composer was awarded first prize. It was this financial award that finally allowed the 33-year-old husband and father to begin composing full time.

The Symphony in D Major, although the sixth symphony Dvořák wrote, was actually the first to be published. It was written in seven weeks during the early fall of 1880 after a request by Hans Richter, then conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic. Richter had conducted Dvořák’s Third Slavonic Rhapsody in a performance in 1879 and was quite taken by the work. Unfortunately, due to a series of delays, the symphony was not premiered in Vienna but rather in Prague, where it was well received. Richter eventually conducted the work in London, but the Vienna Philharmonic did not perform the piece until decades later.

The symphony is a shining example of Dvořák’s mature style, which incorporates his lifelong love of Bohemian folk music within the traditional Germanic symphonic structures. The first movement, Allegro non tanto, has frequently been compared with the opening of Brahms’ Second Symphony, not only in that they share the key of D major but also in the pastoral quality of the themes and the bucolic writing for horns and woodwinds. The composer’s sheer joy in nature is evident throughout the movement. The Adagio is one of Dvořák’s most idyllic slow movements. Here the woodwinds and horns still reign supreme, and the comparisons to Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony No. 6 are frequently noted. The third movement, Furiant, is where Dvořák’s love of Czech folk music is front and center. It was following this movement that the audience at the premiere in Prague demanded an immediate encore. The Finale is a jubilant romp through the countryside—a full-throated expression of joy from a mature artist finally receiving the recognition he so long deserved.