Cocktail Party Fact: Dvorak originally intended these works to be played together, and so they were when first performed (in Carnegie Hall, actually). He later broke them up to enjoy life separately under different names, but never repudiated the original concept.

Commitment Factor: About 37 to 40 minutes

Vital Statistics: Romantic Period (1892). Though billed as “overtures,” these are symphonic poems of the non-narrative type. They don’t tell a story, but rather present the contrasting moods of nature’s tranquility, boisterous merrymaking, and tragic passion. So the names should only be taken as indications of the emotional content of each piece.

What to Listen For: Each of these tunes shares a theme — that heard at the beginning of “In Nature’s Realm.” This theme changes appearance somewhat in each overture, but its presence is always clearly detectable. This long-term, cyclical structure supports the idea of hearing the works together — and they make a very exciting group. Although Dvorak as a classical symphonist and follower of Brahms has become the view of him which we know best, there was also Dvorak the progressive, composer of symphonic poems and operas (which are just being recognized as the great works that they are). Like his compatriot Smetana in his cycle of six tone poems called “Ma Vlast” (”My Country”), Dvorak was also concerned with creating unified, symphonic compositions which were not symphonies, and which allowed him more freedom to exploit his natural love of instrumental color than he believed was appropriate to symphonic form. For example, these p ieces (as well as the four symphonic poems of 1896) display in quantity colors which were used very sparingly in the symphonies: vibrant piccolo and harp writing, extra percussion (with tambourine and suspended cymbals — still unusual in 1892), and a very free treatment of the brass section. But beyond all that, they are just fun to listen to. “Carnival” has been one of Dvorak’s most beloved pieces since the day he wrote it.