Nocturne in B major (Dvořák)

The Nocturne in B major, Op. 40 (B. 47), is a single-movement composition for string orchestra by Antonín Dvořák, published in 1883.

History The work originated as the slow movement, Andante religioso, of Dvořák's early string quartet, No. 4 in E minor, of 1870, which was unpublished in his lifetime. The movement was adapted and included in his String Quintet No. 2 in G, of 1875: it was one of two slow movements, and he later withdrew this movement from the quintet."Nocturne in B Op. 40", The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra Listening Library, accessed 25 January 2015."Nocturne in B major", antonin-dvorak.cz, accessed 26 January 2015.

He developed it into this nocturne; the work was published in 1883 by Simrock. It was premiered under the composer's baton at Crystal Palace in London, on 22 March 1885.Nocturne in B, Op. 40 by Antonín Dvořák Los Angeles Philharmonic Association As well as the version for string orchestra (B. 47), he made versions for violin and piano (B. 48a) and piano four hands (B. 48b).

Structure The work is in the key of B major, and its duration is about 9 minutes. There is a calm atmosphere throughout. After a simple introduction in octaves, there is a long section, featuring a winding melody over a pedal note of F which gives a sense of anticipation; eventually this gives way to a more animated section. Finally there is a return, without the sense of anticipation, to the original texture.

Recordings The work has been a popular one to record and perform, with recordings extant from the early 1940s. There are several recordings of the original string quintet version as well as the standard orchestral one. Some prominent recordings are: (in English) YearConductorOrchestraLabel1941Anthony BernardLondon Chamber OrchestraHMV1941Leslie HewardHallé OrchestraColumbia1941Adolf BuschBusch Chamber PlayersColumbia1948Karel Boleslav JirákCzech Radio Symphony OrchestraUltraphon1956Cedric DumontBoyd Neel OrchestraPhilips1969Václav NeumannCzech PhilharmonicSupraphon1979Sir Neville MarrinerAcademy of St. Martin in the FieldsEMI1980Antal DorátiDetroit Symphony OrchestraDecca1981Gerard SchwarzLos Angeles Chamber OrchestraDelos1984Vernon HandleyLondon Philharmonic OrchestraChandos1989André PrevinLos Angeles Philharmonic OrchestraTelarc1990Raymond LeppardIndianapolis Symphony OrchestraKoss1990Orpheus Chamber OrchestraDeutsche Grammophon1993Václav NeumannPrague Chamber OrchestraDelos1994Jiří BělohlávekCzech PhilharmonicSupraphon1994Charles MackerrasEnglish Chamber OrchestraEMI1994Coull QuartetHyperion1995Yuli TurovskyI Musici de MontréalChandos1998Josef SukSuk Chamber OrchestraSKO1999Iván FischerBudapest Festival OrchestraPhilips2000Vlach QuartetNaxos2001L'ArchibudelliSony2004Joseph SwensenScottish Chamber OrchestraLinn2010Marin AlsopBaltimore Symphony OrchestraNaxos2011Berlin Philharmonic String QuintetPentatone

References

External links , Orpheus Chamber Orchestra