Dvorák Symphony no 8

For the final orchestral concert of the season, the RCM Symphony Orchestra per forms two Dvorák works with an English twist.

Dvorák’s symphonic poem The Noonday Witch tells the story of a son who, as a result of disobeying his mother, is taken away by a witch at the stroke of noon. After a semi-public performance in Prague, its first full public performance was given in London in November 1896, under the baton of a youthful Henry Wood.

Dvorák’s ravishing and tuneful Eighth Symphony was written a few years earlier, when the composer was experiencing difficulties with his German publisher. As a result, Dvorák decided to have the first edition published by the English publishers Novello & Company: the symphony was therefore known in its early days as ‘The English’