Dvořák - Karneval-Ouvertüre | Cristian Măcelaru | WDR Sinfonieorchester

Antonín Dvovořák's "Carnival Overture op. 92", played by the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Cristian Măcelaru. Recorded live on 10.02.2023 at the Kölner Philharmonie. Antonín Dvořák - Carnival Overture op. 92 WDR Symphony Orchestra Cristian Măcelaru, conductor ► For more on the symphony orchestra, concerts and current livestreams, visit https://sinfonieorchester.wdr.de ► The WDR Symphony Orchestra on Facebook   / wdrsinfonieorchester   ► Further concerts and introductions to works from the world of classical music, symphonic crossover, choral singing and concerts for children can also be found in the ARD Mediathek: https://www.ardmediathek.de/klassik Work introduction: Carnival with its colourful hustle and bustle is a favourite subject for exuberant, joyful compositions, whether by Hector Berlioz, Robert Schumann, Bedřich Smetana and Camille Saint-Saëns - or by Antonín Dvořák. He composed his concert overture "Carnival" in 1891 in connection with two other overtures. His basic idea was a cycle entitled "Nature, Life and Love". Since each of these three overtures can also be performed individually, Dvořák finally decided to publish them separately - under the titles "In Nature", "Carnival" and "Othello". The original title for the cycle foreshadows this: The "Carnival" overture is not about translating foolish hustle and bustle into music, but about a person who - according to the Czech editor Otakar Šourek - throws himself "into the colourful hustle and bustle of life". "He gladly surrenders to its wild frenzy and glee and is grateful for all its joys and glories. Suddenly torn out of this frenzy of joy, he asks himself: Where does all this joy actually come from, and who gives it? The answer he hears is: nature". All of this is vividly portrayed in the music. Similar to Bedřich Smetana's example in his symphonic cycle "My Fatherland", Dvořák also quotes a passage from "In Nature", the first of his three overtures. The "Carnival" programme goes on to say: "After this brief reflection, however, man returns to the whirling bustle of unbridled revelry, and even if at first [...] many things seem bizarrely distorted to him, in the end everything in him rejoices again." It is certainly no coincidence in which phase of life Dvořák composed his detached overture cycle. He noted its increasing success with astonished eyes: Audiences across Europe were at his feet. And in the same year he received a medal from the emperor, he became a member of the Academy of Sciences in Prague. On top of that, he was awarded honorary doctorates from the universities of Prague and Cambridge. Many reasons, then, to celebrate life musically as well. Text: Otto Hagedorn