Posted by Paul Conrad on June 06, 2000 at 22:52:27:
In Reply to: Re: Dvorak 7 posted by Richard on June 04, 2000 at 10:32:01:
On the New World Symphony; I heard an interesting story, rather than an afterthought the part was specifically written to force the tuba player (at the time the work was being premired)to go along on the tour the orch. was planning. Allegedly the tuba player was having an affair with the composer's woman and Dvorak wanted to get him out of town and so wrote a non-important part just so that the tubist would have to go on the tour. Obviously not wanting to write a "good" part for his rival, he wrote the part that many of us detest to have to play when it comes up in the schedule, not that the music is bad, just the fact that the tuba player really doesn't participate in the work at all. Dvorak did write some very nice bass lines in his works and it is a shame that the New World doesn't include more tuba. Don't really know if the story is true or how one would check the history books for that info but I have always enjoyed the work more by thinking of that story.