| "Furiant!" | |
| Here's another of my modern arrangements of the classics, but the title is misleading. Although Tony Dvorak wrote many pieces based on the Czech folk-dance called a Furiant, this is not one of them. It's in the triple meter of a Furiant, and it has the syncopation of that dance, but this is simply the third movement of Dvorak's Symphony No. 7 in D-minor, which I've arranged with modern sounds. At first, I wanted to use just fuzz-tone guitars, but that would hardly do for the lilting Viennese trio section (the trio is the equivalent of the bridge in popular music), so I used more traditional instruments there. I'd hope, however, that it inspires some young band to try something in a triple meter, or to use the theme from this piece. Classical music needn't be limited to old people sawing away on antique instruments. This brings up the dilemma of what genre the music should be classified under. You might assume it's classical, but classical music votaries don't like my metallic arrangements of their sacred relics. I also hesitate to post anything this raucous among the classical pieces, because it sounds like they've gotten into the Valium over there. I just hope you think it rox. What sort of man was Dvorak? He came to the USA in 1892 to teach composition at the National Conservatory in New York. The writer and critic James Huneker was a member of the conservatory's staff, and he took Dvorak to Luchow's restaurant. Dvorak was of course familiar with the Pilsner on tap at Luchow's, so he expressed a desire to try an American drink. Huneker called for a Manhattan cocktail for him, and Dvorak liked it so much that he immediately asked for another. Before the food arrived he had drunk five, and during the meal he drank five more. During his stay in New York, Dvorak spent most of his spare time at Luchow's, and he became so fond of Manhattans that the bosses of the conservatory became alarmed that he would do himself in with drink. This music should thus be listened to in the spirit in which it was created. The artwork is Salome painted in 1870 by Henri Regnault. | |