Symphony No. 8 in G Major

Symphony No. 8 in G Major, Op. 88, B. 163

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Date of Publication: 1889

Upon being elected into the Bohemian Academy of Science, Literature, and Arts, Dvořák was elated. Previously, Dvořák had been a poor, unknown composer. A decade earlier, he was barely surviving off stipends and his amiable relations with influential composers, including Brahms, and Smetana. In the Czech Republic, his popularity grew thanks to his well-received Sixth and Seventh Symphonies and various chamber works, but he was still a minor composer. However, his election into the Bohemian Academy assured him of his worth and marked a new status of fame and international recognition. To express his gratitude, Dvořák dedicated his Eighth Symphony to the Academy.

While at his summer resort in Vysoká u Příbramě, Dvořák began composing his Eighth Symphony on August 26, 1889. Remarkably, he finished the piece in just over 2 months, on November 8. His speed could be attributed to his tranquil surroundings in Vyoská. The Symphony is cheerful, warm, and pastoral – Vyoská’s beautiful countryside must have given Dvořák some inspiration. As a result, Dvořák seemed to effortlessly invent his melodies and motifs, even claiming that “Melodies simply pour[ed] out of me”.

The piece’s cheerfulness also highlights Dvořák’s efforts to be fresh and innovative. It stood out against his stormy Seventh Symphony in D minor and his somber Piano Trio in F minor. Dvořák even chose an unusual key, G Major. Mahler’s pastoral Fourth Symphony is the one of the only well-known romantic symphonies to share the key. G Major helps evoke pictures of a peaceful landscape and warm sunlight, making it a fitting choice. In fact, while working on first drafts, Dvořák kept almost the entirety of the piece in major keys, stressing a deliberate happiness. It was only after he started revising that Dvořák decided to modulate to and from minor keys in order to add nuance and melancholic, tender, or pensive passages, such as the beginning of the first movement.

The prominence of its major motifs make the Symphony appear entirely jolly on the surface — almost one-dimensional. It’s marked by playful melodies in the flutes and lively fanfares in the trumpets. However, upon closer inspection, the minor motifs instead hint at a sense of long-gone nostalgia. For instance, the first movement’s G minor opening and flute melody sound distant. The second movement modulates form Eb Major to C minor, ushering in an eerie motif, resembling the funeral march from Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony. The third movement’s waltz begins in G minor, creating a wistful melody. Some say Dvořák wanted to paint a melancholic picture of childhood because of the loss of his three children in the 1870s. Dvořák would never be able to give them the rest of their childhood. The Eighth Symphony is cheerful and naïve – as childhood is carefree and happy. However, underneath, the Symphony is a distant dream, filled with melancholic yearning – as his children can’t reach that happiness and as adults, we can’t return to that happiness; we can only look back with fond memories.

Fun Fact:

Dvořák himself conducted the première with at the National Theatre on February 2, 1890.

Movements: I. Allegro con brio

II. Adagio

III. Allegretto grazioso – Molto vivace

IV. Allegro ma non troppo