Legends (Dvorák)
Encyclopedia
Legends, Op.59, B.122, is a cycle of ten small-scale pieces by the Czech
composer Antonín Dvořák
. The work was composed originally for piano duet, but later was arranged also for a reduced orchestra.
, Dvořák wrote to his publisher Fritz Simrock
about his plans for the near future saying he hoped to finish a piano duet cycle, "Legends," in the next month. He did not, however, begin to sketch the work until 30 January, 1881. The definitive shape of the piano version was created from 12 February to 23 March, 1881, partly in Prague
and partly in Vysoká u Příbrami. Dvořák dedicated the composition to the critic Eduard Hanslick
, who praised the cycle with great enthusiasm. The piano duet version was printed by the German publishing house Simrock in summer, 1881. In that same year Dvořák arranged the cycle for orchestra. The orchestration differs in every individual piece. The work was premièred in 1882, at the concert of the Prague Conservatory
(part 1, 3, 4), under the baton of Antonín Bennewitz
. Three more of the "Legends" (Nos. 2, 5, 6) were premièred at a concert of the Vienna Philharmonic on 26 November, 1882, conducted by Wilhelm Jahn
.
The approximate duration is 40 minutes.
Czech people
Czechs, or Czech people are a western Slavic people of Central Europe, living predominantly in the Czech Republic. Small populations of Czechs also live in Slovakia, Austria, the United States, the United Kingdom, Chile, Argentina, Canada, Germany, Russia and other countries...
composer Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
. The work was composed originally for piano duet, but later was arranged also for a reduced orchestra.
Background
On 15 October, 1880, the day before finishing the score of his sixth symphonySymphony No. 6 (Dvorák)
Czech composer Antonín Dvořák composed his Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60, B. 112, in 1880. It 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 wrote to his publisher Fritz Simrock
Fritz Simrock
Friedrich August Simrock, better known as Fritz Simrock was a German music publisher who inherited a publishing firm from his grandfather Nicolaus Simrock...
about his plans for the near future saying he hoped to finish a piano duet cycle, "Legends," in the next month. He did not, however, begin to sketch the work until 30 January, 1881. The definitive shape of the piano version was created from 12 February to 23 March, 1881, partly in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and partly in Vysoká u Příbrami. Dvořák dedicated the composition to the critic Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick
Eduard Hanslick was a Bohemian-Austrian music critic.-Biography:Hanslick was born in Prague, the son of Joseph Adolph Hanslick, a bibliographer and music teacher from a German-speaking family, and one of his piano pupils, the daughter of a Jewish merchant from Vienna...
, who praised the cycle with great enthusiasm. The piano duet version was printed by the German publishing house Simrock in summer, 1881. In that same year Dvořák arranged the cycle for orchestra. The orchestration differs in every individual piece. The work was premièred in 1882, at the concert of the Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory
Prague Conservatory, sometimes also Prague Conservatoire, in Czech Pražská konzervatoř, is a Czech secondary school in Prague dedicated to teaching the arts of music and theater acting.- Instruction :...
(part 1, 3, 4), under the baton of Antonín Bennewitz
Antonín Bennewitz
Antonín Bennewitz was a Czech violinist, conductor and teacher. He was in a line of violinists that extended back to Giovanni Battista Viotti, and forward to Jan Kubelík and Wolfgang Schneiderhan....
. Three more of the "Legends" (Nos. 2, 5, 6) were premièred at a concert of the Vienna Philharmonic on 26 November, 1882, conducted by Wilhelm Jahn
Wilhelm Jahn
Wilhelm Jahn was an Austro-Hungarian conductor. He served as director of the Vienna Court Opera from 1880 to 1897 and principal conductor of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1882 to 1883. He gave the partial premiere of Bruckner's Symphony No. 6, performing the middle two movements in 1883....
.
Structure
The cycle consists of ten pieces:-
- Allegretto non troppo, quasi andantino (in D minor)
- Molto moderato (in G major)
- Allegro giusto (in G minor)
- Molto maestoso (in C major)
- Allegro giusto (in A major)
- Allegro con moto (in C minor)
- Allegretto grazioso (in A major)
- Un poco allegretto (in F major)
- Andante con moto (in D major)
- Andante (in B minor)
The approximate duration is 40 minutes.