2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series History & Geography Presents
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World Teacher’s Guide
October 31 & November 1, 2012, 9:45 am & 11:10 am LAURIE AUDITORIUM
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Table of Contents TEACHER’S GUIDELINES COMPOSER BIOGRAPHY Antonín Leopold Dvořák PROGRAM CONCEPTS Dvořák’s New World Symphony CONCERT PROGRAM & TEKS OBJECTIVES PREPARATORY CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES “Goin’ Home” – (to be sung in the concerts!) Dvořák Travels – Map Exercise Orchestra Map Worksheet Concert Etiquette CONDUCTOR BIOGRAPHY Yaniv Dinur, Guest Conductor ADDITIONAL RESOURCES Web-based Educational Resources Fun Facts about the Composer Instrument Families Four Families of the Orchestra Vocabulary DIRECTIONS TO LAURIE AUDITORIUM CONCERT SPONSORS
3 4-6 7-10 11 12-14 15-17 18 19-20 21 22 23 24-25 26 27-28 29 30
2
YPC Teacher’s Guidelines Before the Concert: ‐Please prepare students using these Teacher Guide materials ‐We will be singing the song, “Goin’ Home” at the concert; please prepare students on this song!! ‐You will receive your tickets through email approximately 1‐2 weeks before the concert ‐Students should be briefed on concert etiquette in advance (see concert etiquette activity) ‐Please contact Jeremy Brimhall at (210) 554‐1006 at least ONE WEEK before the concert if you have any special needs students or teachers Day of the Concert (please read carefully!): ‐Before leaving school, please allow time for students to visit the restroom ‐Clearly mark buses or cars for quick identification and memorize bus numbers ‐Learn your bus driver’s name and be sure you can recognize him/her ‐Plan to arrive at Laurie Auditorium at least 30 minutes before the concert time ‐For any last‐minute problems or questions please call: Jeremy Brimhall on his cell phone at (210) 441‐2858 Upon Arrival at Laurie Auditorium ‐Buses will unload students and teachers at in front of Laurie Auditorium BEFORE the buses enter parking Lot B. For a map detailing how buses should proceed, please visit our website at http://www.sasymphony.org/wp‐content/uploads/2011/07/trinity_map.pdf. ‐Concert attendees not arriving by bus MUST park in the Alamo Stadium Parking Lot – (See Map) ‐Concert attendees with special needs, or needing wheelchair access should park under Laurie Auditorium in the Green Lot ‐Check‐in with a volunteer outside the building. The volunteer will guide you to your entrance ‐All students should be in their seats at least five minutes before the start of the program! ‐No food or drink, including chewing gum is permitted in the concert hall During the Concert ‐The use of cameras and recorders is prohibited; please turn off your cell phones ‐Students and teachers should remain in their seats for the entire concert ‐Restrooms are located on all levels and should be used for urgent need only ‐If a student must visit the restroom, please have an adult accompany them ‐Students not maintaining acceptable behavior may be asked to leave and may jeopardize their school’s future attendance at San Antonio Symphony events After the Concert ‐Please remain in your seats until your school is dismissed ‐You MAY NOT be exiting the same doors you entered ‐Upon dismissal, listen carefully and follow instructions for departing the building Back At School ‐Please fill out the YPC online evaluation (to be sent by email following each concert) ‐Student letters/artwork expressing reactions to the concert are greatly appreciated Send Any Young People’s Concert related student work or Teacher evaluations to: Education San Antonio Symphony Orchestra Fax: 210‐554‐1008 PO Box 658 Email:
[email protected] San Antonio, TX 78293‐0658
3
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New
Antonín Leopold Dvořák
World
Born: September 8, 1841 - Nelahozeves, Bohemia Died: May 1, 1904 - Prague, Bohemia Famous Works: Symphonies, Slavonic Dances, Cello Concerto, Violin Concerto Antonín
Dvořák
(pronounced
di-
VOR-zhak)
was
born in a small village
about
twenty-five miles north of Prague, the city which is Dvořák in 1868
now the capital of
the country known as the Czech Republic. His
father
was
a
butcher
and
an
innkeeper, but also played the zither. Although he had a great deal of exposure to local folk songs and bands, young Dvořák didn’t begin his formal musical training until he was 12, when his parents sent him to live with an uncle in a nearby town.
He began to take music lessons
there, along with training to become a butcher’s apprentice. Although his parents wanted him to become a butcher, Dvořák moved to Prague when he was 16 to study organ and began playing viola in the local orchestra. For the next ten years, he made his living by performing and teaching, while
constantly working to improve his compositional techniques. His music was kept quietly enough that few of his closest friends even knew he composed anything at all. One of Dvořák’s first orchestral pieces to be performed was the overture to an opera called King and Charcoal Burner that was conducted by the great Czech composer and conductor Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák’s music is a unique combination of well-known classical forms and Czech folk songs and dances. After years of quietly writing music for his own pleasure, word of Dvořák’s uniquely Czech compositions began to spread throughout Europe. Eventually Johannes Brahms, a very famous and influential German composer, personally took up Dvořák’s cause and helped arrange to have some of the young composer’s music published in Germany. The two become lifelong friends, and Brahms’s encouragement was incredibly important in furthering Dvořák’s career. As Dvořák’s music began to have a more international audience, he relied more and more on the melodies, folk songs and styles from his native Bohemia. In other parts of Europe, this type of music was exotic and interesting, and soon Dvořák
4
became one of the most well-known composers of the era. Dvořák wrote his first set of Slavonic Dances, Opus 46, in 1878, soon after Brahms intervened and had Dvořák’s music published in Germany. Brahms had suggested that Dvořák write a series of Slavonic Dances that would be in a similar style as Brahms’s own recently published Hungarian Dances. The Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 were originally written for fourhand piano, but Dvořák orchestrated them within a few months of composing the piano version. The Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C major is the first dance from the Op. 46 set and is written in the form of a furiant, which is a type of Bohemian folk dance in 3/4 time. Marked “Presto” and following the characteristics of the furiant, it is very lively and energetic with accents that seem to stress a frequently changing beat pattern. Although the origin of the music is Bohemian, Dvořák wrote this dance loosely in ternary, or ABA form, a form of classical music that had been developed at least 200 years before. [YPC 1 CD, track 1] The Dances were very well received, winning Dvořák immediate recognition and a number of prizes over the coming years. Unlike Brahms, however, Dvořák had entirely invented his own melodies for his dances while only using the rhythms and feel of the Slavic folk music. Dvořák’s German publisher, Simrock, made a great deal of money from the publication of the Slavonic Dances and pressured Dvořák to immediately compose a second set. He ended up waiting almost eight years before composing another set
of 8 Slavonic Dances, those of Op. 72. He wrote them while on vacation in the country and, as with the first set of dances, wrote them for piano four-hands initially and then a few months later orchestrated the dances. Among the op. 72 dances is a beautiful Starodávný with a haunting melody, No. 10 in E minor. The word Starodávný literally means “Ancient,” and the dance is similar to a Polonaise, a slowish dance form in 3/4 time. Marked “Allegretto grazioso,”
Slavonic
Dance
No. 10 begins with a graceful melody in the strings and winds that is filled with a sense of longing. Eventually, a much more lively and playful B-section ensues before returning to the haunting Starodávný melody. [YPC 1 CD, track 2] Dvořák in 1870
Together the Op. 46 and Op. 72 Slavonic Dances are considered one of Dvořák’s masterpieces and a gem of the orchestral repertoire. They helped to establish his position in Germany as a new and inventive voice from Eastern Europe. In-between the two sets of Slavonic Dances, Dvořák composed two other important works of nationalistic music, his overture My Homeland and the Czech Suite for orchestra. One of the folksongs Dvořák incorporated into the My Homeland overture, Kde domov můj?
5
(Where is my home?) was later adopted as the Czech national anthem.
The Czech Suite was written in 1879 but was not published until 1881 due to a dispute between Dvořák and his publisher Simrock. The work has 5 movements, all of which are based on Czech dance forms. The last movement marked “Finale: Presto” is also a furiant, like the Slavonic Dance No. 1, but encompasses a more somber mood and a beat pattern more clearly in three. The finale builds to one of Dvořák’s most dramatic finishes. [YPC 1 CD, track 3] In 1892, Dvořák accepted a position as the director of the new National Conservatory of Music in New York. This school charged no tuition and accepted students purely on the basis of talent, regardless of gender or race. The aim of the conservatory was to make American musical life independent from European teachers and performers, and Dvořák’s job was to help young American composers create a uniquely “American” musical identity. He spent a great deal of time learning about and listening to the music of the American people, including Native-American dances, the ballads of Stephen Foster, and spirituals and folk songs of African Americans. The music he heard had a profound effect on his own compositions.
which was premiered by the New York Philharmonic in December of 1893. The reception was so great that the audience gave thunderous applause after every movement! The Symphony No. 9 was subtitled “From the New World,” and indeed this composition was greatly influenced by the sights and sounds Dvořák encountered in America, especially Native American songs and African American spirituals. For more about the New World Symphony, see the following article. Dvořák eventually returned to Prague, where he took up the post of Director at the Conservatory of Music from 1901 until his death. Today, his compositions are among the most listened-to pieces of classical music in the world.
During his time in New York, Dvořák composed his Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Dvořák in his later years
6
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series Shortly after his arrival in New York City in September of 1892, Dvořák wrote to friends in his native Prague, “the Americans expect great things of me and the main thing is, so they say, to show them to the promised land and kingdom of a new and independent art. In short, to create a national music. If the small Czech nation can have such musicians, they say, why could not they, too, when their country and people are so immense.” Certainly Dvořák was a wise choice for the task of helping to develop America’s “national music,” as indeed he had already brought his native music of Bohemia to the world stage, immortalizing it with such wondrous works as the Slavonic Dances Op. 46 & 72, My Homeland, and the Czech Suite for orchestra. But the masterpiece that Dvořák was about to create in the fledging New World would accomplish for the art of music far beyond what anyone could have imagined at the time. Dvořák had been invited to New York to become the director of the newly founded National Conservatory of Music. At a time when every word of communication was an added expense, the transatlantic cable message that reached him in June of 1891 simply read: would you accept position director national conservatory New York October 1892 also lead six concerts of your works twenty words prepaid Imagine replying to such an unexpected invitation in twenty words or less! Dvořák had never been across the ocean but nonetheless made up his mind to make the 9‐day journey by boat on the open sea the following year. Upon his arrival on firm ground, Dvořák took to the task set out for him seriously. Having already become a great champion of folk music in Europe, Dvořák quickly sought out and immersed himself in African‐American folksong, which he would come to consider truly “American” music. A prominent African‐American student of his at the Conservatory, composer Harry Burleigh, helped him become acquainted with the music and culture. Burleigh recalled:
Dvořák’s New
World Symphony
Dvořák literally saturated himself with Negro song…. I sang our Negro songs for him very often, and before he wrote his own themes, he filled himself with the spirit of the old Spirituals…. Dvořák especially liked ‘Nobody knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’ and ‘Go Down Moses.’ He asked hundreds of questions about Negro life.
Dvořák began to encourage his students to use the African‐American rhythms and melodies in their own music. In an article in the New York Herald in 1893, he was famously quoted: 7
I am now satisfied that the future music of this country must be founded upon what are called the negro melodies…. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil…. These are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them…. Among my pupils in the National Conservatory of Music I have discovered strong talents. There is one young man upon whom I am building strong expectations. His compositions are based on negro melodies and I have encouraged him in this direction. The other members of the composition class seem to think that it is not in good taste to get ideas from old plantation songs, but they are wrong, and I have tied to impress upon their minds the fact that the greatest composers have not considered it beneath their dignity to go to humble folk song motifs.
While Dvořák was championing folksongs to his students, the exposure to these same melodies and sounds was having a profound effect on his own music. Early in 1893 he began work on a new symphony, one that would be filled with the sights and sounds of America as he interpreted them, but also firmly rooted in European symphonic tradition. This Symphony No. 9 in E minor would bear the subtitle: “From the New World.” The second movement, or Largo of this so‐called New World Symphony starts with a starkly beautiful but mysterious set of chords in the brass. [YPC 1 CD, T4, 0:00‐0:31] Above these chords, Dvořák wrote vaguely “The beginning of a legend.” A reviewer at the premier said of this movement that it was… …made to fit the impressive quiet of night on the prairie. When the star of the empire took its way over those mighty Western plains, blood and sweat and agony and bleaching human bones marked its course. Something of this awful buried sorrow must have forced itself upon Dr. Dvořák’s mind.
A beautiful melody follows in the English horn. Although not directly taken from a plantation song tune, many musicologists agree that this theme may have been inspired by spiritual melodies. One major reason for this is that the melody is based on a pentatonic scale, in similar fashion to many spirituals. [YPC 1 CD, T4, 0:43‐2:16] In fact, Dvořák’s student William Arms Fisher later adopted the now‐ famous tune into a folksong called “Goin’ Home” (see “Goin’ Home” activity page). Apart from his interest in African‐American folksong, Dvořák was also heavily inspired by Native American music. As a young man, he had read a Czech translation of the famous poem about an Iroquois hero, The Song of Hiawatha by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Although historically inaccurate, Hiawatha would have a tremendous influence on the New World Symphony. Dvořák would later mention this poem many times in letters and interviews, along with his goal to write an opera based on the story of Hiawatha. Although Dvořák never finished his opera, he was quoted to have said in the New York Herald article a day before the premiere that the Largo was a “sketch, or study” for a later work to be based on Hiawatha. He went on to say, “I have not actually used any of the [Native American] melodies. I have simply written original themes embodying the peculiarities of the Indian music.” Thus the mention of the legend at the beginning of the Largo may have been an indirect reference to the story of Hiawatha. Even more interestingly, as the Chicago Symphony’s Beyond the Score series asserts, the beautiful English horn melody may have been inspired by 8
the song Hiawatha played to woo his wife, Minnehaha. According to Wadworth’s poem, “With his flute of reeds, a stranger wanders piping through the village, beckons to the fairest maiden, And she follows where he leads her, ...” [YPC 1 CD, T4, 0:43‐2:16] Later in the movement, a pleading and wistful melody appears in a minor key played by the flute and oboe. [YPC 1 CD, T4, 4:53‐6:34] The Beyond the Score series connects this with the painful famine scene of the poem, where Minnehaha is dying of hunger during a long winter and calling out to Hiawatha in the darkness. A sort of funeral march follows with the clarinets and violins leading a rumbling bass line: “Then they buried Minnehaha; In the snow a grave they made her, In the forest deep and darksome, Underneath the moaning hemlocks; …” [YPC 1 CD, T4, 6:53‐7:32] In the following section of the Largo, it is apparent that spring and happier times have returned. Dvořák incorporates the sounds of the American bluebird and the robin, played by the woodwinds. [YPC 1 CD, T4, 7:45‐8:12] Burleigh noted in his visits to the composer’s home that Dvořák had a special love for birds and birdsong: “He had bird cages all over the house with thrushes in them. He kept the cage doors open so the thrushes flew about freely and joined in the singing.” The movement ends quietly with the opening melody and chords from the beginning. Dvořák also mentioned in the New York Herald article that the Symphony’s third movement, the scherzo, “was suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance.” The fiery, restless opening to the scherzo makes this an easy connection for the listener to imagine. [YPC 1 CD, T5, 0:00‐ 0:40] First he danced a solemn measure, Very slow in step and gesture, In and out among the pine-trees, Through the shadows and the sunshine, Treading softly like a panther. Then more swiftly and still swifter, Whirling, spinning round in circles, Leaping o'er the guests assembled, Eddying round and round the wigwam, Till the leaves went whirling with him, Till the dust and wind together Swept in eddies round about him.
The dance settles into what might be a wedding song, which bears a stark resemblance to the theme of the Largo (see below). [YPC 1 CD, T5, 1:28‐2:12] In a third section, the CSO Beyond the Score suggests that Dvořák paints imagery of a tale being told to the guests, so that (according to the poem) “the feast might be more joyous, ... And the guests be more contented.” As the tale is about a 9
young hunter, Dvořák uses the sounds of hunting horns (although this was a European tradition) as well as a whippoorwill in the forest. [YPC 1 CD, T5, 2:51‐5:13] Although Dvořák had at least given some clues about what he had in mind while composing the second and third movements of the New World Symphony, he unfortunately said very little about the last movement. A frightening opening and a bold first theme in the finale might suggest Hiawatha’s wrath and his frenzied search for the traitor Pau‐Puk‐Keewis, who had stolen and cheated the villagers. [YPC 1 CD, T6, 0:00‐1:54] In the finale, Dvořák puts on a brilliant display of unity, combining elements from all of the previous movements, particularly the Largo. The mysterious opening chords of the Largo return at the very end of the movement but now with the trumpets blaring a desperate finale theme above them. [YPC 1 CD, T6, 10:25‐10:35] The movement ends in major with an almost jazzy‐sounding bass line in the final bars, suggesting the song “Shortnin’ Bread,” which may
have been a traditional plantation song of the time. [YPC 1 CD, T6, 10:38‐11:01] While some musicologists have argued that the New World Symphony shows far more of Dvořák’s Bohemian heritage than anything “American,” others have wondered whether Native American and African‐American songs should be considered truly “American.” Despite these ongoing debates, few if any seem to have ever doubted the musical quality of this monumental work. Today his Ninth Symphony “From the New World” is a staple of concert halls throughout the world, often performed to sold‐out audiences. Dvořák predicted in the 1890’s that “any serious and original school of composition” in America must come from African‐American melodies. In a startlingly uncanny way, he was quite accurate in his prediction; in the coming century African‐American music would develop into some of the most popular musical genres on the planet, including jazz, blues, R&B, rock, hip hop, and rap. Although Dvořák may not have yet been able to imagine such things as jazz and rock, perhaps this country owes some piece of our American identity to the teachings and inspiring works of the old Czech master.
10
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Concert Program & TEKS Objectives Slavonic Dance No. 1 in C major, Op. 46, No. 1 Slavonic Dance No. 10 in E minor, Op. 72, No. 2 from Czech Suite, Op. 39, B. 93 V. Finale: Presto from Symphony No. 9 in E minor, op. 95 II. Largo III. Scherzo: Molto vivace IV. Allegro con fuoco
Antonín Leopold Dvořák
(1841-1904)
YPC 1 Concert TEKS Objectives (All numbers refer to the Knowledge and Skills section of the TEKS): 4th Grade: Fine Arts – Music (b) 1(A), 2(A,B), 3(C), 5(A), 6(A-C) 5th Grade: Fine Arts – Music (b) 1(A), 2(A-C), 5(A,C), 6(A-C) 5th Grade: Social Studies – Culture – (b) 21(B), 22(A-C) 11
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
“Goin’ Home” sing-along The San Antonio Symphony will invite students to sing the song "Goin' Home" at the concerts as the orchestra performs an excerpt of the Largo from Dvorák's Symphony No. 9 "From the New World.” [YPC 1 CD, track 4] Please prepare your students on “Goin’ Home” so that they will feel comfortable participating in the concert. Text and notes will be projected above the orchestra. A piano score can be found on the next page. The Symphony will be performing in the same key as the song below (D‐flat major).
12
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
“Goin’ Home” piano-vocal score
13
“Goin’ Home” Sing-Along Activity TEKS Objectives (All numbers refer to the Knowledge and Skills section of the TEKS): 4th Grade: Fine Arts – Music (b) 2(A,B), 3(C), 5(A,B), 6(C) 5th Grade: Fine Arts – Music (b) 2(A-C), 3(D), 5(A,C), 6(C)
14
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World Dvořák’s travels in America
Interdiscplinary Theme: US & European Geography, Social Studies
Introduction: As you might imagine, it would be very hard for an artist or composer to escape the influence of the culture and surroundings of the places where they are born and live. However, history tells us that what composers have seen and heard in their travels can also influence them tremendously in their work. The composer Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), for example, who was German, was inspired to compose his two most famous symphonies, the “Scottish” Symphony (No. 3) and the “Italian” Symphony (No. 4) following trips to Scotland and Italy.
Preparatory Activities: Ask students if they have ever felt that their perspective on life was changed by something they saw or heard while traveling or by a new experience. Were they ever inspired to create a piece of art or music based on these new experiences? Ask students to imagine how they think their lives might be changed if they had to live in another country for a month (ex. China). What aspects of their new surroundings might they find interesting or inspiring? Solicit specific examples (not just “everything!”) such as people, culture, language, religion, traditions, food, music, ethnic groups, etc. but also landscape, scenery, vegetation etc.
Teaching Sequence: Ask students if they think it would be easier to enjoy the art or music of a particular country after spending some time there. Explain how knowing more about the travels artists took and the places they visited during their lifetime can help us better understand and appreciate their work. 15
Culminating Activity: Hand out copies of the following exercise page. Students will create a rough map of selected places that Antonín Dvořák visited during his lifetime according to the timeline provided. Allow students access to US and European maps to help them with locations and place names. Please note that the US and European maps presented are not set to scale with each other.
Evaluation: How might specific experiences from Dvořák’s travels (such as his 9-day boat ride across the Atlantic Ocean, his 1893 summer stay on the edge of civilization in Iowa, or seeing and hearing Niagara Falls, etc.) have affected his compositions?
Activity TEKS Objectives (All numbers refer to the Knowledge and Skills section of the TEKS): 4th Grade: Social Studies – (b) 6(A), 21(C), 22(C) 5th Grade: Social Studies – (b) 6(A), 7(C), 21(A,B), 25(C)
16
Dvořák’s Travels in Europe & America Instructions (please read carefully): 1. Trace Dvořák’s travels during his lifetime on the maps below. 2. Each dot represents a place that Dvořák visited. Write the name of the place next to each dot with a BLUE pen. The names of some places have already been labeled on the map. 3. Use a RED pen to connect the dots on the map using arrows according to Dvořák’s timeline. 4. Above each arrow connecting the dots, write the year that Dvořák made the trip in RED. 5. Use the two arrow that are already completed as examples. 6. If necessary, use online or classroom maps to help you complete the assignment. England
United States of America, 1890s
Europe, late 19th Century
Niagara Falls
New York Bremen
Russia
Nelahozeves
1892
1857
Prague
Austrian Empire
Bohemia Timeline of Dvořák’s life and selected travels: 1841 – Dvořák is born in the village of Nelahozeves, Bohemia, part of the Austrian Empire. 1857 – Dvořák moves to Prague to study music. 1884 – he is invited to London to conduct his Stabat Mater for a crowd of 12,000 Londoners; he returns to Prague. 1890 – Dvořák visits Russia, conducting orchestras in Moscow and then St. Petersburg before returning to Prague the same year. 1892 – Dvořák takes the train to Bremen, Germany. 1892 – He takes a 9 day trip across the Atlantic to New York in a steam‐powered ship.
1893 – Upon completing his 9th Symphony “From the New World,” Dvořák spends the summer in the small western town of Spillville, Iowa. “It is very strange here,” he said. “…there are only endless acres of field and meadow and that is all you see… It is so very wild here and sometimes sad, sad to despair.” 1893 – Dvořák takes a trip to St. Paul, Minnesota, and then travels to Chicago, Illinois, to conduct his 8th Symphony at the World Columbian Exposition. 1893 – He visits Niagara Falls on his way back to New York City. Seeing the gigantic falls, he said, “My goodness, what a symphony in B minor that will be!” 1895 – Dvořák returns to Prague, where he passes away due to heart failure in 1901.
17
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series Orchestra Map Worksheet Can you match each instrument with where they sit in the orchestra? Draw lines to connect each instrument to their place in the orchestra. Use RED for woodwinds, GREEN for strings, BLUE for percussion, ORANGE for brass, and PURPLE for the conductor
Conductor
Percussion Woodwinds
Brass
Strings 18
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Concert Etiquette Teaching Objective: Students will examine, discuss and practice appropriate concert behavior in different settings.
Preparatory Activities: 1. Ask the students to list places or situations where they might be part of an audience. Solicit examples such as a rock concert, tennis match, football game, golf tournament, sitting at home watching television with the family. Create a list of answers where everyone can see them. 2. Discuss the way audience behavior in various settings would be different. Discuss how different venues or activities have different expectations for audience behavior. Discuss how an audience can positively or negatively affect the performer/athlete.
Teaching Sequence: 1. Assign a group of two or more students to act out behavior that would occur at various venues at the front of the classroom. For example, have two students pretend to be playing tennis. 2. Instruct the rest of the class to pretend that they are the audience for the event being portrayed. Instruct the “audience” to show their appreciation for the performers/athletes pretending in front of the class. 3. Critique the “audience” behavior and discuss why certain behavior was appropriate or inappropriate for the situation. Talk about audience reactions such as applause, yelling or whistling and when it is appropriate or inappropriate. 4. Ask the performers to tell the class how the “audience” behavior affected their efforts.
Culminating Activity: Talk to the students about the upcoming San Antonio Symphony concert. Discuss with them what they should expect to happen and how they can appropriately show their appreciation for the symphony.
Evaluation: Were students able to understand how and why audience behavior might be different in different settings and venues? Did they understand the importance of their role as an audience member?
Activity TEKS objectives: (All numbers refer to the Knowledge and Skills section of the TEKS) Fine Arts – Music Grade 4 – (b) 6 (C) Grade 5 – (b) 6 (C) Fine Arts – Theater Grade 4 – (b) 2 (A), 5 (A) Grade 5 – (b) 1 (F), 5 (A) 20
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Yaniv Dinur, guest conductor
Yaniv Dinur is the winner of numerous international conducting competitions. In September 2009, he won a special Second Prize - an award the jury created especially for him - in the International Eduardo Mata Conducting Competition in Mexico City. In 2005, he won the Yuri Ahronovitch First Prize in the inaugural Aviv Conducting Competition that was held in Tel Aviv. He is also a grant recipient of the America-Israel Cultural Foundation and The Zubin Mehta Scholarship Endowment. In 2011, Yaniv Dinur was chosen by the League of American Orchestras to be a featured conductor at the Bruno Walter National Conducting Preview that took place in New Orleans with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Yaniv Dinur began his conducting career at the age of 19 when, following a conducting masterclass with Gerhard Markson in Dublin, the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland issued several invitations to Dinur to come back and perform with them. Following this event, he was invited to perform with the Israel Camerata Orchestra in Jerusalem, making him the youngest conductor ever invited to conduct an orchestra in Israel. Since then, he has also conducted the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Portugal, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto (Italy), Orchestra Giovanile Italiana, Torino Philharmonic Orchestra, Solisti di Perugia, Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese (Italy), Pomeriggi Musicali in Milan, State Orchestra of St. Petersburg (Russia), Sofia Festival Orchestra of Bulgaria, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the New World Symphony Orchestra in Miami, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa, Canada. Since 2003, he has conducted the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra annually at the Young Artists Competition which is broadcasted live on the Israeli radio. Yaniv Dinur has worked closely with such world‐class conductors as Lorin Maazel, Michael Tilson Thomas, Pinchas Zukerman, Kurt Masur and Jorma Panula. He holds a Doctorate in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre and Dance where he studied with Prof. Kenneth Kiesler. Yaniv Dinur is a passionate lecturer and music educator. He has made it his mission to bring college students to the concert halls, and he often meets with students in universities around the world and introduces them to classical music. In addition, he lectures regularly about the connections between music and the visual arts, a subject that he has been exploring in the past decade. He has lectured in such venues as the Chicago Architecture Foundation, the University of Minnesota, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem, and the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts. In 2012, he founded the conducting studio at the Conservatory of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance and has created and taught several courses at the Jerusalem Academy as well as the Dante Alighieri Society in Israel. Born in Jerusalem in 1981, Yaniv Dinur began studying the piano at the age of 6 with his aunt, Olga Shachar and later with Prof. Alexander Tamir, Tatiana Alexanderov and Mark Dukelsky. At the age of 16, he began to study conducting with Dr. Evgeny Zirlin. While still in high school, Dinur began his formal studies with Dr. Zirlin at the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. After graduating from the Jerusalem Academy, he studied privately with conductor Mendi Rodan. Yaniv Dinur served in the Israeli Army's Excellent Musicians Unit. During his service, he conducted the Education Corps Orchestra and wrote musical arrangements for the different ensembles of the army.
21
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Web-based Educational Resources ♪ Carnegie Hall Listening Adventures – Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” Highly recommended. This is a fun‐filled online program with a useful breakdown of the music and themes from the different movements of the symphony as well as activities based on aural skills, quizzes, quotes, and interesting tidbits of information. http://listeningadventures.carnegiehall.org/nws/splash.html
♪
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Beyond the Score ‐ Dvořák Symphony No. 9 Highly recommended. This 7‐part series of YouTube videos (about 70 minutes total) provides a very in‐depth examination of the New World Symphony and its various influences, including a breakdown of the themes and sections of each movement, inspiring pictures and video, and interesting quotes read by professional actors.
♪
Please Come Flying: Goin’ Home This site contains an introduction to the song “Goin’ Home” taken from the Largo of the New World Symphony as well as the full lyrics to the song and a YouTube clip featuring the Dublin Philharmonic Orchestra. http://www.pleasecomeflying.com/2007/10/goin‐home‐antonin‐dvorak‐william‐arms.html
♪
Hiawatha; a poem, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow The complete text of The Song of Hiawatha. http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/toc/modeng/public/LonHiaw.html
♪
The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Story of Hiawatha This is an online version of the book The Story of Hiawatha, adapted from Longfellow by Winston Stokes, with illustrations by M.L. Kirk. It also has a full version of the poem. http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31926/31926‐h/31926‐h.htm
♪
Antonin Dvorak Letters and Reminiscences An online version of the book by Otakar Sourek.
http://archive.org/stream/antonindvoraklet001860mbp/antonindvoraklet001860mbp_djvu.txt
♪
Examples of Czech folk music http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8KWUp213QIU http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CtKokYaCqM&feature=related
22
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Fun facts about the Composer ♪ Dvořák was a little “coocoo” for birds and birdsong. His friend Burleigh noted, “Dvořák had bird cages all over the house with thrushes in them. He kept the cage doors open so the thrushes flew about freely and joined in the singing.” Another friend named Fidler recalled, “Master Dvořák was also a great lover of singing birds. At home and in the garden arbour at Vysoka he used to have a great many cages with songsters, mostly thrushes, and always when they sang he would say to me: ‘Do you hear them? How they sing! They are the real masters!’” Once he told Fidler, “You know, before I die, I shall write a fine bird symphony and I shall put my very best into it!" Unfortunately for us, Dvořák never did write his “bird symphony.” ♪
Dvořák was a stern teacher. He once kept a student working on one composition assignment for 40 weeks, and they had lessons together three times a week! He made the student re-write and re-write the music until he had written thousands of measures. Finally, he said, “Now it is right; now you know the … treatment from Haydn to me, and if you imitate any composer, you are a bad musician. Now go your own way.''
♪
When Dvořák saw Niagara Falls in 1893, he stared intently for a full five minutes. Finally he said, “My goodness, what a symphony in B minor that will be!” Similar to the “bird symphony,” this was a work that Dvořák would not finish, although he may have made some sketches.
♪
Like most great composers, Dvořák was very intense when he was in compositional mode. His student Harry Rowe Shelley remembers Dvořák singing wordlessly “with great passion and fervor, his eyes bulging out; his blood purple red in the neck veins…his whole body vibrating.”
♪
Family was very important to Dvořák. In 1891 when he was invited to be the director of the new National Conservatory of Music in New York, he let his wife and children vote on whether he should go or not. He was 50 years old at the time. He also had nine children, although three of them died in infancy.
23
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Instrument Families
The BRASS family is one of the oldest families of the orchestra and includes the trumpet, French horn, tuba, trombone, which are all made of brass! Sound is produced when a brass player buzzes his or her lips into a cup-shaped mouthpiece to produce vibrating air. The vibrating air then travels through a long metal tube that modifies and amplifies the vibrations. In order to change pitch, brass players use two techniques. One is to change the speed that they buzz their lips. The other is to change the length of the tubing that they are blowing air through. They are able to change the length of tubing either by pressing a key to open a valve, as with a trumpet, or using a slide to physically increase or decrease the length of tubing, as with a trombone. Brass instruments have a very sweet and round sound. Then can also play very loudly and are often used in the most exciting parts of a piece. The Woodwind family includes the flute, clarinet, oboe and bassoon. This family produces sound by blowing a vibrating column of air inside some form of tube. In the past, woodwind instruments were all made out of wood, but now some instruments, such as the flute, are made out of metal. Woodwinds create the vibrating column of air in different ways. Flutes blow across the top of an open hole. Clarinets blow between a reed – usually a small, flat piece of bamboo – against a fixed surface. That is why clarinets are sometimes called “single-reed” instruments. Bassoons and oboes blow between two reeds that vibrate against each other. That is why bassoons and oboes are sometimes called “double-reed” instruments. Woodwinds usually change the pitch of their instruments by changing the length of the tube they are blowing the vibrating air through. They most often change the length by opening and closing holes using keys on their instruments. Woodwind instruments have very a beautiful, singing sound. They are often used to play solo parts during symphonies when their unique tonal qualities can be heard even if the entire orchestra is playing. The String family is made up of the violin, viola, cello and bass. Instruments in this family produce sound by (you guessed it!) vibrating strings! The strings are vibrated in two ways. One way to produce vibrations is to use a bow made out horsehair stretched on a wood stick, to rub the strings and produce vibrations. The other way is to pluck the string, usually with the hand. This is called “Pizzicato.” String instruments change pitch by adjusting the length of the string. This is usually accomplished
24
by putting fingers down at some point on the string to shorten the length of the vibrating string. String instruments have a very mellow, rich round. There are many string players in an orchestra because each instrument alone does not have a very loud sound compared to other instrument families. Often strings will play a beautiful melody, but sometimes the strings play the harmony parts.
The Percussion family is probably the most varied family in the orchestra. Percussion instruments create sound by physically hitting, rubbing or shaking either a solid material, like a metal triangle, or a membrane, like the top of a snare drum. The membranes used to be made out of animal skins, but today most drums use a synthetic material. Only a few percussion instruments produce a specific pitch. Pitched percussion instruments that use a solid material, like a xylophone, change pitches by hitting different sized materials. Pitched percussion instruments that use a membrane, like a timpani, change pitch by changing the tension of the membrane. There are many different kinds of percussion instruments used in an orchestra, including the snare drum, maracas, and even sometimes even metal parts from a car! Percussion instruments produce many different types of sounds, but they are usually used in an orchestra to provide rhythm for the music. Often at the most exciting part of a piece there are many percussion instruments playing.
25
Four Families of an Orchestra Brass Family
Woodwind Family
Clarinet French Horn
Bassoon
Trumpet
Flute Oboe
Trombone Tuba
Percussion Family
String Family
Viola
Timpani
Violin
Bass Drum Triangle Harp
Cello
Bass
Snare Drum
Xylophone
26
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Vocabulary ABA Form—a musical form with three main parts in which the first and last part are identical or almost the same. ABA Form is also known as Ternary Form. Most marches, scherzos, and menuets are written in this form. Allegretto grazioso—an indication in music coming from the Italian language meaning that the piece or section should be performed gracefully at a medium speed and with a playful quality. Bohemia—a region of the modern‐day Czech Republic having a strong cultural history. Czech Republic—a country in Eastern Europe bordered by Poland, Slovakia, Austria, and Germany. The capital of the Czech Republic is Prague. Finale—the final section or movement of a work of music. Furiant—a lively and energetic dance of Bohemian origin with accents that seem
to stress a frequently changing beat pattern. Largo—a tempo indication in music meaning that the piece or section should be performed slowly and in a dignified style. Measure—a rhythmic grouping of a specific number of musical beats made up of notes and rests. Movement—in music, an independent division of a larger work. Music History—the study of composers, compositional style, and performance practice and how they change over time. Musicologist—a person who researches the historical and scientific aspects of music. Nationalistic—having the purpose of promoting a nation’s culture or interests.
27
Opus—in music, a composition or set of compositions separate from others. The plural of opus is opera. Pentatonic Scale—a musical scale consisting of only five notes and often used in folk music. Polonaise—a stately Polish dance written in ¾ time and performed at a moderate tempo. Premiere—the first performance of a piece of music. Repertoire—a complete list or collection of all musical works available for performance.
Scherzo—a fast piece of music in three with a playful or amusing quality. Slavonic—relating to the culture of the Slavs, an ethnic group originating in Eastern Europe. Transatlantic Cable—a set of cables laid on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean during the 19th century connecting Canada and Ireland. The cables allowed for messages to be exchanged across the ocean using the telegraph. Zither—a string instrument commonly used in the folk music of Eastern Europe. A zither is something of a cross between a harp and a guitar.
28
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Directions to Laurie Auditorium Buses: From US 281 N – Exit at Hildebrand and turn left. At the top of the hill, turn left towards the stadium. At the bottom of the hill turn right. Make an immediate right turn into the Laurie Auditorium drive. Buses will need to enter the parking lot and turn around to unload students on the correct side of the street. There will be TWO loading zones, one at the left side of Laurie and one at the right side. Trinity security officers will direct your buses to the correct drop-off point. Once students have been unloaded, buses will exit Laurie Auditorium drive and turn around at the circle at the bottom of the hill. They will then return to the parking lot across from Laurie to park. From US 281 S – Exit Hildebrand and turn right. At the top of the hill, turn left towards the stadium. At the bottom of the hill turn right. Make an immediate right turn into the Laurie Auditorium drive. Buses will need to enter the parking lot and turn around to unload students on the correct side of the street. There will be TWO loading zones, one at the left side of Laurie and one at the right side. Trinity security officers will direct your buses to the correct drop-off point. Once students have been unloaded, buses will exit Laurie Auditorium drive and turn around at the circle at the bottom of the hill. They will then return to the parking lot across from Laurie to park. Cars and Vans – Follow directions for Buses – After Laurie Auditorium turn right onto Stadium and park in the Alamo Stadium Lot. For those with special needs or wheelchair access, park in the Orange Lot underneath Laurie Auditorium. Please note: If your school is planning on staying on campus at Trinity for a picnic lunch, you MUST INFORM THE POLICEMAN THAT WILL BE DIRECTING TRAFFIC UPON ARRIVAL. Your bus will park in the Alamo Stadium overflow lot in order to ease congestion in the “B” lot after the concert. A picnic lunch can take place anywhere outdoors on the campus grounds. However, there is no indoor area that can be used as a backup plan in case of rain. Please call Jeremy Brimhall, Director of Education (210) 554-1006 with questions.
29
2012-2013 Young People’s Concert Series
YPC 1 - Dvořák in the New World
Concert Sponsors Bexar County Department of Community Resources George W. Brackenridge Foundation Alfred S. Gage Foundation Louis J. and Millie M. Kocurek Charitable Foundation Sacks Charitable Trust Texas Women for the Arts Martha Ellen-Tye Foundation Marjorie T. Walthall Perpetual Trust Saint Susie Charitable Foundation Valero Energy Corporation 30
