As I am trying to finish up my coursework this semester, I am overwhelmed with readings, writings, teaching, and other commitments. It's only Wednesday of the second week of the semester and I was so tired and took a nap when I got back from school. So I thought that I'd give myself a thing that would pick me up.
I recently found my love for Dvořák's Symphony no. 8. When I first heard it on NPR, I fell for it and searched libraries and everything. And I found -- I had the CD! that I bought like 15 years ago.
How come I did not know that I had the CD?? Well, it was coupled with Dvořák's most popular Symphony no. 9 ("From the New World") and I definitely bought the CD for it, listened to No. 9 only repeatedly.
This Symphony No. 8 is a sibling of a celebrity that has been overshadowed by his/her star sibling but has its own beauty and talent. But they have more lasting appeal because they are not so stimulant and eyepopping as their celebrity sibling. When I was very young (and bought the CD) I was attracted to the embellished, grandiose beauty of No. 9 -- it was a love at first sight. But I soon grew out of it. Conversely, I did not fall for the less known No. 8 but as I grow older and mature I became appreciative of its quiet beauty that does not fade away. In other words, No. 8 is the wife/husband material.
And here is, most invigorating Movement 3.
Antonín Dvořák, Symphony no. 8 (Abbado, Berlin Phil)
