A Mindless Eating Machine

Who knew that two notes could induce such panic!

Antonin Dvorak certainly didn't. His two note intro (which could have been where John Williams got the idea) is actually the beginning of the fourth movement of his ninth and most famous symphony, The New World (1893).

The New World Symphony is a celebration of all things America. Dvorak worked and lived in Bohemia (current day Czech Republic), but he spent 3 years in New York City as the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America. He wrote this symphony while he was there. It is not only his most famous symphony, it is also one of the most famous symphonies in the world and the most famous work on the moon.**

But terror? Not really. Dvorak was inspired by Native American and African American music, and the wide-open spaces in America. He combined all those things with rhythms from his native Bohemia in what is a joyous glorification of the New World.

Prokofiev didn't really see a Mindless Eating Machine when he wrote his "Dance of the Pagan Monsters"*** from the Scythian Suite (1915), but he certainly begins to embody the terror that Williams evoked.

This music was originally written for a ballet, but was rejected before is was ever performed, so Prokofiev turned it into an orchestra suite. This song was a radical departure from his earlier works. You can hear the beginnings of the heaviness that marked so many Soviet composers of the time period. Prokofiev would have lived through his country going through the Bolshevik revolution and two world wars. His music reflects that chaotic time period.

Crazy? Yes. Chaotic? Yes. But terror? Mindless Eating Machines? Grinding, unstoppable, instinctual?

That award goes to John Williams.

The soundtrack to Jaws jump started John William's career. He received his second Academy Award for it, his first for "original score". Like George Lucas, Stephen Spielberg believed that the music made the movie. The soundtrack is number 6 on the list of best soundtracks.

Come and join the Timpanogos Symphony Orchestra on October 25 and 26 when we explore Villains and Monsters and perform both the "Dance of the Pagan Monster" and Jaws! Visit thetso.org for more information.

*Say it with me. "I am a nice shark. I am not a mindless eating machine..."
**Neil Armstrong took this symphony with him on the Apollo 11 mission!
***This song is crazy hard to play for us violins! I think Prokofiev was a little nuts!

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