1.5 (above average)
Tune of the Day: Scherzo from the New World Symphony
The third movement of Dvořák's Symphony No. 9 “From the New World” clearly pays homage to Ludwig van Beethoven. Appropriately entitled after the “Molto vivace” (“very lively”) in Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, the first notes will make the listener feel they are suddenly listening to Beethoven all over again. Being so fast and lively, this dancing movement is a direct contrast to the Largo before it. The following “Poco sostenuto” trio in E major, on the other hand, recalls Dvorak's very strong Czech-Bohemian folk influences. Of course, Native American music had also been an influence on this symphony. In particular, Dvořák wrote that the third movement scherzo was “suggested by the scene at the feast in Hiawatha where the Indians dance“, referring to Longfellow's 1855 epic poem The Song of Hiawatha.