Following the amorous path traced eighty years earlier by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak was forced to set his eyes on the younger sister of Josefina Cermakova, his first love, after she did not respond to his requests despite the great effort Antonin put into it. The younger sister was named Anna and, although she was always aware of her status as a consolation prize, she ended up marrying Antonin, enchanted about her life, in 1873.
The couple conceived nine children and were immensely happy, despite the fact that during the years 1876-77 they had to face an ordeal. In the span of two years, the couple lost three of their children: one before birth, another in an accident and a third from smallpox.
A special movement
Three years earlier, Dvorak had composed an F minor string quartet that was never released. Shortly after, he published a version for violin and piano that did not obtain the recognition of the general public. In spite of everything, Antonin recognized in the quartet's second movement a great intrinsic value. Therefore, in the midst of the pain imposed by the loss of his children, he devoted himself in those same years to rebuilding the movement, endowing it with individuality and unique personality. for he was firmly convinced that he had written a major work, which should be preserved. It is the origin of the Romance.
Romance for violin and orchestra in F minor, opus 11
The work is built on two main ideas. The first, a simple melody, a song, presented at first by the violins and then freely elaborated by the soloist (1:45). The second motif is a romantic melody, somewhat less elaborate than the first (3:40). Then comes a short, more dramatic midsection that allows the soloist to show his virtuosity (4:50). But soon he returns to the serenity of the first motive. The piece takes the major mode when the second motif reappears, after which a brief coda will lead to the serene closure.
The rendition is by the Slovenian violinist Tanja Sonc, accompanied by the Slovenian Philharmonics conducted by the Canadian director Kery-Lynn Wilson.
