Romance in F minor, Op.11

The Romance in F minor was the result, it seems, of a request from Josef Markus, leader of the Czech Theatre Orchestra, for a solo piece he could play at a concert in aid of the theatre’s pensions fund. As it happened, Dvorák had just the right material for a work like that in the slow movement of an early String Quartet in F minor which he didn’t want to publish but which was too good to throw away. So he rescued the nostalgic main theme from that movement and put it in a new context, duly supplying the violinist with the virtuoso element that would have been out of place in a string quartet.

Dvorak’s Romance in F minor is too often judged to be a juicy arrangement of a melodious slow movement from an insignificant early string quartet and, as such, scarcely worthy of serious consideration. There is more to it than that, however. Apart from the fact that no piece with a main theme as inspired as that which so graciously adorns the Romance in F minor can be lightly dismissed, much of its content originated shortly before its first performance in 1877 - between the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies - and was specifically designed by a mature composer to offset the material he had written four eventful years earlier.

The Romance in F minor was the result, it seems, of a request from Josef Markus, leader of the Czech Theatre Orchestra, for a solo piece he could play at a concert given in aid of the theatre’s pensions fund. Having decided that he would not seek the publication of his String Quartet in F minor Op.9 but that the Andante con moto was too good to discard entirely, Dvorak rescued the main theme from that movement and put it in a new context, duly supplying the violinist with the virtuoso element that would have been out of place in a string quartet.

So the most dramatic parts of the Romance in F minor are the newly written second subject and development. The work begins with teasing anticipations on strings and woodwind of the gently nostalgic siciliano-like main theme that is to be introduced in its definitive form by the violin on its first entry. The second subject is an interestingly wayward harmonic departure led by the violin and passing through a bravura improvisation in a variety of keys and into a short development. The final allusions to the main theme, in a misleading D minor on the orchestra and then a radiant F major on the solo violin, are most beautifully accomplished.

Dvorak’s Romance in F minor is too often judged to be a juicy arrangement of a melodious slow movement from an insignificant early string quartet and, as such, scarcely worthy of serious consideration. In fact, there is more to it than that. Apart from the fact that no piece with a main theme as inspired as that which adorns the outer sections of the Romance in F minor can be dismissed so lightly, much of its content originated shortly before its first performance in 1877 - between the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies - and was specifically designed by a mature composer to offset the material he had written four eventful years earlier.

The Romance in F minor was the result, it seems, of a request from Josef Markus, leader of the Czech Theatre Orchestra, for a solo piece he could play at a concert given in aid of the theatre’s pensions fund. Having decided that he would not seek the publication of his String Quartet in F minor Op.9 but that the Andante con moto was too good to discard entirely, Dvorak rescued the main theme from that movement and put it in a new context, duly supplying the violinist with the virtuoso element that would have been out of place in a string quartet.

So the most dramatic parts of the Romance in F minor are the newly written second subject and development. In both the orchestral score and the violin-and-piano arrangement (which were written at much the same time) the work begins with teasing anticipations of the gently nostalgic siciliano-like main theme that is to be introduced in its definitive form by the violin on its first entry. The second subject is an interestingly wayward departure setting off in E major and led by the violin through a bravura improvisation in a variety of keys and then into a short development. The main theme is recapitulated in an elaborated version in F minor and the second subject in a shortened and less adventurous form in F major. The final allusions to the main theme in D minor on the piano and in a radiant F major on the violin are most beautifully accomplished.