Symphony No. 3 (Dvořák)

First page of the autograph manuscript.

The Symphony No. 3 in E flat major Op. 10 (1873) by Antonín Dvořák is a composition consisting of three movements:

• Allegro moderato
• Adagio molto, tempo di marcia
• Finale: Alegro vivace

With this work, Dvořák obtained a scholarship from the Austrian state in 1874. The jury gathered in Vienna included, among others, Johannes Brahms, Eduard Hanslick and Johann Herbeck. All of them, and especially Brahms, did not look favorably on Wagnerian-style works as did those by Dvořák, a fervent follower of the German musician. However, overcoming all kinds of prejudices, he obtained the scholarship, which gives an idea of the value that the jury must have appreciated in this symphony and in the rest of the scores presented by the young composer.

One of the peculiarities of this symphony is that it has only three movements, compared to the traditional four in classical symphonies. But it is also true that the intermediate movement is divided into two sections that could alleviate this defect. The first section, in C sharp minor, with the air of a funeral march is reminiscent of Berlioz, while the other section, in D flat major, is modulated on a motif reminiscent of Walhalla from The Valkyrie from Wagner.

It premiered on March 30, 1874, with Bedřich Smetana conducting the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.