Carnival Overture

With a series of whirling, tambourine-studded melodies, Dvořák’s overture Carnival evokes an urban carnival scene but also, more symbolically, the hubbub of everyday life. The Czech composer was in his 50th year in 1891 and preparing for a residency in the US when he embarked on a planned trilogy of concert overtures, provisionally titled Nature, Life and Love. He eventually decided to publish them separately as: In Nature’s Realm, Carnival and Othello. Carnival portrays “a lonely, contemplative wanderer” who arrives in a city at twilight to discover that a carnival is in full swing, complete with barkers, vendors and boisterous crowds. A languorous interlude featuring a cor anglais and flute evokes a “pair of straying lovers”, as Dvořák put it. But the lovers’ rendezvous is short-lived and the festive music resumes, mounting to a dazzling coda. Dvořák conducted the premiere in Prague in 1892, and presented it six months later at Carnegie Hall, when he introduced himself to American audiences.