Antonín Leopold Dvořák (/d(ə)ˈvɔːrʒɑːk,-ʒæk/d(ə-)VOR-zha(h)k;Czech:[ˈantoɲiːnˈlɛopoldˈdvor̝aːk]ⓘ; 8September 1841 – 1May 1904) was aCzech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of thefolk music ofMoravia and his nativeBohemia, following theRomantic eranationalist example of his predecessorBedřich Smetana. Dvořák's style has been described as "the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them,"[1] and Dvořák has been described as "arguably the most versatile... composer of his time".[2]
Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being a talented violin student. The first public performances of his works were inPrague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was 31 years old. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted scores of works including symphonies to competitions in Germany and Austria. He did not win a prize until 1874, withJohannes Brahms on the jury of the Austrian State Competition.[a] In 1877, after his third win, Brahms recommended Dvořák to his publisher,Simrock, who commissioned what became theSlavonic Dances, Op. 46. The sheet music's high sales and critical reception led to his international success. ALondon performance of Dvořák'sStabat Mater in 1883 led to many other performances in the United Kingdom, the United States, and eventually Russia in March 1890.[3] TheSeventh Symphony was written for London in 1885.
In 1892, Dvořák became the director of theNational Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. While in the United States, Dvořák wrote his two most successful orchestral works: the SymphonyFrom the New World, which spread his reputation worldwide,[4] and hisCello Concerto, one of the most highly regarded of allcello concerti. On a summer holiday inSpillville, Iowa in 1893, Dvořák also wrote his most famous piece of chamber music, his twelfthString Quartet in F major, Op. 96, theAmerican. While he remained at the Conservatory for a few more years, pay cuts and an onset ofhomesickness led him to return to Bohemia in 1895.
All of Dvořák's tenoperas, except his first, havelibrettos in Czech and were intended to convey the Czech national spirit, as were some of his choral works. By far the most successful of the operas isRusalka, premiered in 1901. Among his smaller works, the seventhHumoresque and the song "Songs My Mother Taught Me" are also widely performed and recorded. TheDvořák Prague International Music Festival is a major series of concerts held annually to celebrate Dvořák's life and works.[5]
Dvořák's birthplace inNelahozevesAntonín Dvořák birth record 1841 (SOA Prague)
Dvořák was born inNelahozeves nearPrague, in theAustrian Empire, and was the eldest son ofFrantišek Dvořák [cs] (1814–1894) and his wife,Anna, née Zdeňková [cs] (1820–1882).[6] František worked as an innkeeper, a professional player of thezither, and a butcher. Anna was the daughter of Josef Zdeněk, thebailiff of thePrince of Lobkowicz.[7] Anna and František married on 17 November 1840.[8] Dvořák was the first of 14 children, eight of whom survived infancy.[9] Dvořák was baptized as a Roman Catholic in the village's church of St. Andrew. Dvořák's years in Nelahozeves nurtured his strong Christian faith and the love for his Bohemian heritage that so strongly influenced his music.[10] In 1847, Dvořák entered primary school and was taught to play violin by his teacher Joseph Spitz. He showed early talent and skill, playing in a village band and in church.[11] František was pleased with his son's gifts. At the age of 13, through the influence of his father, Dvořák was sent toZlonice to live with his uncle Antonín Zdenĕk in order to learn the German language. His first composition, theForget-Me-Not Polka in C (Polka pomněnka) was written possibly as early as 1855.[12]
Dvořák aged 26 or 27 (1868)
Dvořák took organ, piano, and violin lessons from his German-language teacherAntonín Liehmann [cs]. Liehmann also taught the young boymusic theory and introduced him to the composers of the time; Dvořák had much regard for Liehmann despite his teacher's violent temper. Liehmann was the church organist in Zlonice and sometimes let Antonín play the organ at services.[13] Dvořák took further organ and music theory lessons atČeská Kamenice with Franz Hanke,[14] who encouraged his musical talents even further and was more sympathetic. At the age of 16, through the urging of Liehmann and Zdenĕk, František allowed his son to become a musician, on the condition that the boy should work toward a career as an organist.[15] After leaving for Prague in September 1857, Dvořák entered the city'sOrgan School [de], studying singing withJosef Zvonař, theory withFrantišek Blažek, and organ withJoseph Foerster [cs]. The latter was not only a professor at thePrague Conservatory, but also a composer for the organ; his sonJosef Bohuslav Foerster became a better known composer.[16][17][18] Dvořák also took an additional language course to improve his German and worked as an "extra" violist in numerous bands and orchestras, including the orchestra of the St. Cecilia Society.[19] Dvořák graduated from the Organ School in 1859, ranking second in his class.[20] He applied unsuccessfully for a position as an organist atPrague St. Henry's Church [cs], but remained undaunted in pursuing a musical career.[21]
In 1858, he joinedKarel Komzák's orchestra, with whom he performed in Prague's restaurants and atballs.[22][23] The high professional level of the ensemble attracted the attention ofJan Nepomuk Maýr, who engaged the whole orchestra in the BohemianProvisional Theatre Orchestra. Dvořák played viola in the orchestra beginning in 1862. Dvořák could hardly afford concert tickets, and playing in the orchestra gave him a chance to hear music, mainly operas.[24] In July 1863, Dvořák played in a program devoted to the German composerRichard Wagner, who conducted the orchestra. Dvořák had had "unbounded admiration" for Wagner since 1857.[25] In 1862, Dvořák had begun composing his firststring quartet.[26] In 1864, Dvořák agreed to share the rent of a flat located in Prague'sŽižkov district with five other people, who also included violinistMořic Anger [cs] andKarel Čech [cs], who later became a singer.[27][28] In 1866, Maýr was replaced as chief conductor byBedřich Smetana.[29] Dvořák was making about $7.50 a month. The constant need to supplement his income pushed him to give piano lessons.
It was through these piano lessons that he met his future wife, Anna. He originally fell in love with Anna's sisterJosefína Čermáková, who was his pupil and colleague from theProvisional Theatre. It was apparently for Josefína that he composed the song-cycle "Cypress Trees".[28] However, she never returned Dvořák's affections and later married another man, namely Count Wenzel Robert vonKaunitz (1848-1913).[30]
In 1873 Dvořák married Josefina's younger sister,Anna Čermáková. They had nine children, of whom several died in infancy. The children were: Otakar (1874–1877), Josefa (1875-1875), Růžena (1876–1877), Otýlie (1878-1905), Anna (1880-1923),Magdalena [cs] (1881-1952), Antonín (1883-1956),Otakar [cs] (1885-1961) and Aloisie (1888-1967).[31] In 1898 Otýlie, a composer in her own right, married Dvorak's student, the composerJosef Suk, but died only seven years later.[32] In 1960, shortly before his own death, the younger Otakar wrote a book about his father.[31]
St. Adalbert in Prague, where Dvořák was organist from 1874 to 1877
Dvořák called hisString Quintet in A minor (1861) his Opus 1, and hisFirst String Quartet (1862) his Opus 2, although the chronological Burghauser Catalogue[33] numbers these as B.6 and B.7, showing five earlier compositions without opus numbers. In the early 1860s, Dvořák also made his first symphonic attempts, some of which he self-critically burned. The manuscript of a symphony in C minor without opus number, B.9, composed in 1865, was preserved.[33] This symphony has come to be numbered as Dvořák's First (see under "Works"). His first composing attempts passed without critical reception or public performances. His compositions up through 1870, according to the Burghauser Catalogue[34] either had no known premieres, or were premiered in 1888 or later. For example, the Third String Quartet, B.18, was written in about 1869 but first published posthumously in 1964 and premiered in 1969.[35] In 1870, he composed his first opera,Alfred, over the course of five months from May to October.[36] Itsoverture was first publicly performed as late as 1905, and the full opera only in 1938.[37]
In 1871, Dvořák left the Provisional Theatre orchestra to have more time for composing.[38] Up through 1871 Dvořák only gave opus numbers up to 5 among his first 26 compositions.[39] The first press mention of Antonín Dvořák appeared in theHudební listy journal in June 1871, and the first publicly performed composition was the songVzpomínání ("Reminiscence", October 1871, musical evenings ofJan Ludevít Procházka.[40] The operaThe King and the Charcoal Burner was returned to Dvořák from the Provisional Theatre and said to be unperformable. Its overture was premiered in 1872 in a Philharmonic concert conducted byBedřich Smetana, but the full opera with the original score was performed once in 1929,[41] and not heard again until a concert performance in September 2019 at theDvořák Prague International Music Festival.[42] Clapham[43] says Dvořák realized he had gone to "extremes in attempting to follow the example of Wagner". In 1873–74, he reset "the King and Charcoal Burner libretto entirely afresh, in a totally different manner", without using "anything from the ill-fated earlier version". The alternate opera, calledKing and Charcoal Burner II, B.42, was premiered in Prague in 1874.[44]
Dvořák with his wife Anna in London, 1886
On leaving the National Theater Orchestra after his marriage, Dvořák secured the job of organist atSt. Vojtěch [cs],[20] also called St. Adalbert's, Church in Prague under Josef Foerster, his former teacher at the Organ School. The job paid "a mere pittance", but it was "a welcome addition for the young couple".[45] Despite these circumstances, Dvořák still managed to compose a substantial body of music around this time.
In November 1872, Dvořák'sPiano Quintet in A major, Op. 5, was performed in Prague, by a "splendid team of players" organized by Procházka. It was his first piece played in a concert.[46] In March 1873, his Czech patriotic cantataThe Heirs of the White Mountain[47] was performed by thePrague Hlahol Choral Society [de] of 300 singers (conducted by his friend and supporterKarel Bendl) to a warm response from both audience and critics, making it an "unqualified success".[48] Dvořák's compositions were first coming to be recognized in Prague.
When Dvořák turned age 33 in 1874, he remained almost unknown as a composer outside the area of Prague. That year, he applied for and won the Austrian State Prize ("Stipendium") for composition, awarded in February 1875 by a jury consisting of the criticEduard Hanslick,Johann Herbeck, director of the State Opera, andJohannes Brahms.[49] It seems that Brahms had only recently joined the jury, as he was not on it during the calendar year of 1874, according to Hanslick.[50] Hanslick had first-hand knowledge, as a continuing member of the jury(from at least 1874 to 1877). Nevertheless, Brahms had time and opportunity to appreciate Dvořák's 1874 submission.Leon Botstein[51] says that the jury's purpose was "to award financial support to talented composers in need" in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The jury received a "massive submission" from Dvořák: "fifteen works including two symphonies, several overtures and asong cycle". Brahms was "visibly overcome" by the "mastery and talent" of Dvořák. The two symphonies were Dvořák'sthird andfourth,[52] both of which had been premiered in Prague in the spring of 1874.
Clapham[53] gives the official report for the 1874 prize, saying Dvořák was a relatively impoverished music teacher who "has submitted 15 compositions, among them symphonies, which display an undoubted talent...The applicant... deserves a grant to ease his straitened circumstances and free him from anxiety in his creative work." It says he had not yet owned a piano. Before being married, he had lodged with five other men, one of whom owned a small "spinet" piano.[28]
In 1875, the year his first son was born, Dvořák composed hissecond string quintet, his5th Symphony,Piano Trio No. 1, andSerenade for Strings in E. He again entered but this time did not win the Austrian State Prize. He did win it in 1876, and finally felt free to resign his position as an organist.[54] In 1877, he wrote theSymphonic Variations, and Ludevít Procházka conducted its premiere in Prague.
Dvořák entered the Austrian Prize competition again in 1877, submitting hisMoravian Duets and other music—possibly hisPiano Concerto.[55] He did not learn the outcome until December. Then, he received a personal letter from the music criticEduard Hanslick, who had also been on the juries awarding the prizes. The letter not only notified Dvořák that he had again won the prize, but made known to him for the first time that Brahms and Hanslick had been on the jury. The letter conveyed an offer of friendly assistance of the two in making Dvořák's music known outside his Czech motherland.[55] Within the month December 1877, Dvořák wrote hisString Quartet No. 9 in D minor and dedicated it to Brahms.[56] Both Brahms and Hanslick had been much impressed by theMoravian Duets, and Brahms recommended them to his publisher,Simrock, who published them with success. Having in mind Brahms's well-receivedHungarian Dances, Simrock commissioned Dvořák to write something of the same nature. Dvořák submitted hisSlavonic Dances, Op. 46 in 1878, at first forpiano four hands, but when requested by Simrock, also in an orchestral version. These were an immediate and great success. On 15 December 1878, the leading music criticLouis Ehlert published a review of the Moravian Duets and Slavonic Dances in the Berlin "Nationalzeitung", saying that the "Dances" would make their way "round the world" and "a heavenly naturalness flows through this music".[57] "There was a run on the German music shops for the dances and duets of this hitherto... unknown composer." The dances were played in 1879 in concerts in France, England, and the United States. Later Simrock requested further Slavonic Dances, which Dvořák supplied in his Op. 72, 1886.
In 1879 Dvořák wrote hisString Sextet. Simrock showed the score to the leading violinistJoseph Joachim, who with others premiered it in November of that year. Joachim became a "chief champion" of Dvořák's chamber music.[58] In that same year, Dvořák also wrote hisViolin Concerto. In December, he dedicated the piece to Joachim and sent him the score.[59] The next spring the two discussed the score and Dvořák revised it extensively, but Joachim was still not comfortable with it. The concerto was premiered in Prague in October 1883 by the violinistFrantišek Ondříček, who also played it in Vienna with conductorHans Richter in December of that year.[59] Twice later, Joachim was scheduled to play the concerto, but both times the arrangements fell through[60] and he never did play it.
Hans Richter asked Dvořák to compose hisSymphony No. 6 for theVienna Philharmonic, intending to premiere it in December 1880. However, Dvořák later discovered that, despite this intention, members of the orchestra objected to performing works by the composer in two consecutive seasons, due to "anti-Czech feeling".[61]Adolf Čech therefore conducted the premiere of the symphony at a concert of thePhilharmonia society (in Czech:spolek Filharmonie,[62] predecessor of theCzech Philharmonic) on 25 March 1881, inPrague.[63] Richter did eventually conduct the piece in London in 1882 and always retained an interest in Dvořák's compositions.[64]
Dvořák's first piece of a religious nature, his setting ofStabat Mater, was premiered in Prague in 1880. However, after it was performed and very well received at theRoyal Albert Hall in London on 10 March 1883, conducted byJoseph Barnby,[65] the success "sparked off a whole series of performances in England and the United States", a year ahead of appreciation in Germany and Austria.[65] Dvořák was invited to visit Britain, where he appeared to great acclaim in 1884. TheLondon Philharmonic Society commissioned Dvořák to conduct concerts in London, and his performances were well received there.[66] In response to the commission, Dvořák wrote hisSymphony No. 7 and conducted its premiere atSt. James's Hall on 22 April 1885.[67] On a visit later in 1885, Dvořák presented his cantataThe Spectre's Bride, in a concert on 27 August. He had arrived a week early to conduct rehearsals of the chorus of 500 voices and orchestra of 150. The performance was "a greater triumph than any" Dvořák "had had in his life up to that time...following this phenomenal success, choral societies in the English-speaking countries hastened to prepare and present the new work."[68] Dvořák visited Britain at least eight times in total, conducting his own works there.[69] In 1887, Richter conducted theSymphonic Variations in London and Vienna to great acclaim (they had been written ten years earlier and Dvořák had allowed them to languish after initial lack of interest from his publishers). Richter wrote to Dvořák of the London performance, "at the hundreds of concerts I have conducted during my life, no new work has been as successful as yours."[70]
Despite Dvořák's newfound success, a February 1888 performance of Stabat Mater in Vienna fell victim to more anti-Czech feeling and what the composer called "destructive criticism". He heartily thanked Richter for his "courage and devoted sympathy".[71] In 1890, influenced byPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Dvořák also visited Russia, and conducted performances of his music in Moscow andSt. Petersburg.[3] In 1891, Dvořák received an honorary degree from theUniversity of Cambridge, and was offered a position at thePrague Conservatory as professor of composition and instrumentation. At first he refused the offer, but then later accepted; this change of mind was seemingly a result of a quarrel with his publisher Simrock over payment for hisEighth Symphony. Dvořák'sRequiem was premiered later that year inBirmingham at theTriennial Music Festival.
In 1891 theBohemian String Quartet, later called theCzech Quartet, was founded, withKarel Hoffmann, first violin,Josef Suk, second violin,Oskar Nedbal, viola, andOtto Berger [cs], cello. It is said that Nedbal and Suk had been two of Dvořák's "most promising" students at the Conservatory and took the initiative in founding the Quartet.[72] As of 1891 Dvořák had written 11 string quartets, six of which had been premiered,[73] and these were available as part of the repertory of the Quartet on tour, as were the two quartets ofSmetana.
Dvořák with his family and friends in New York in 1893 - from left: his wife Anna, son Antonín, Sadie Siebert,Josef Jan Kovařík [cs] (secretary), mother of Sadie Siebert, daughterOtilie, Antonín.[74]
From 1892 to 1895, Dvořák was the director of theNational Conservatory of Music in New York City. The Conservatory's President,Jeannette Thurber, offered Dvořák an annual salary of $15,000 – an incredibly lavish sum for the era (equivalent to $524,944 in 2024), twenty-five times what he was paid at the Prague Conservatory.[75][76] Emanuel Rubin[77] describes the Conservatory and Dvořák's time there. Thurber, a wealthy and philanthropic woman, made it open to women and black students as well as white men, which was unusual for the times. Dvořák's original contract provided for three hours a day of work, including teaching and conducting, six days a week, with four months of vacation each summer.[76] ThePanic of 1893, a severe economic depression, depleted the assets of the Thurber family and other patrons of the Conservatory. In 1894, Dvořák's salary was cut to $8,000 per year and moreover was paid only irregularly.[76] The Conservatory was located at 126–128East Seventeenth Street,[b][78] but was demolished in 1911 and replaced by what is today a high school.
Dvořák's main goal in America was to discover "American Music" and engage in it, much as he had used Czech folk idioms within his music. Shortly after his arrival in America in 1892, Dvořák wrote a series of newspaper articles reflecting on the state of American music. He supported the concept that African-American and Native American music should be used as a foundation for the growth of American music. He felt that through the music of Native Americans and African-Americans, Americans would find their own national style of music.[79] Here Dvořák metHarry Burleigh, who later became one of the earliest African-American composers. Burleigh introduced Dvořák to traditionalAfrican-American spirituals.[80]
In the winter and spring of 1893, Dvořák was commissioned by theNew York Philharmonic to writeSymphony No. 9,From the New World, which was premiered under the baton ofAnton Seidl, to tumultuous applause. Clapham writes that "without question this was one of the greatest triumphs, and very possibly the greatest triumph of all that Dvořák experienced" in his life, and when the Symphony was published it was "seized on by conductors and orchestras" all over the world.[81]
Two months before leaving for America, Dvořák hiredJosef Jan Kovařík [cs] as his secretary, who had just finished violin studies at the Prague Conservatory and was about to return to his home in the United States. There he continued to serve as Dvořák's secretary and lived with the Dvořák family.[82] He had come from theCzech-speaking community ofSpillville, Iowa, where his father Jan Josef Kovařík was a schoolmaster. Dvořák decided to spend the summer of 1893 in Spillville, along with all his family; he referred to it as his "summer Vysoka."[83][84] While there he composed theString Quartet in F (the "American") and theString Quintet in E♭ major. Back in New York that autumn, he composed hisSonatina for violin and piano. He also conducted a performance of hisEighth Symphony at theColumbian Exposition in Chicago that same year.
In the winter of 1894–95, Dvořák wrote hisCello Concerto in B minor, Op. 104, B. 191, completed in February 1895.[85] However, due to homesickness, his partially unpaid salary,[76] and increasing recognition in Europe – he had been made an honorary member of theGesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna – he decided to return to Bohemia.[86][87] He informed Thurber that he was leaving. Dvořák and his wife left New York before the end of the spring term, with no intention of returning.
Dvořák's New York home was located at 327East Seventeenth Street, near the intersection of what is today calledPerlman Place.[c]It was in this house that both the B minor Cello Concerto and the New World Symphony were written within a few years. Despite protests, from Czech PresidentVáclav Havel among others who wanted the house preserved as a historical site, it was demolished in 1991 to make room for aBeth Israel Medical Center residence for people with AIDS.[88][89][90] In 2017, this residence was converted into a homeless shelter.[91][92] To honor Dvořák, a statue of him was erected in nearbyStuyvesant Square.[78]
Brahms continued to try to "clear a path for" Dvořák, "the only contemporary whom he considered really worthy".[93] While Dvořák was in America, Simrock was still publishing his music in Germany, and Brahms corrected proofs for him. Dvořák said it was hard to understand why Brahms would "take on the very tedious job of proofreading. I don't believe there is another musician of his stature in the whole world who would do such a thing."[93]
Portrait of Dvořák's son-in-lawJosef Suk, with dedication:"Drahé miss Otilce Dvořákové" ("To dear miss Otilka Dvořáková"), 1894
Dvořák returned from the United States on 27 April 1895 with his wife and Otakar Berger.[94] After a performance ofDimitrij at the National Theater on 19 May, Dvořák left the city for the family country cottage[95] inVysoká. Dvořák's first love and later sister-in-law, Josefina Kaunitzová, née Čermáková, died in May 1895. He and she had maintained friendly relations over the years. After her death, he revised the coda of his Cello Concerto in her memory.[96]
During Dvořák's final years, he concentrated on composing opera and chamber music. In November 1895, he resumed his professorship at the Prague Conservatory.[97] Between 1895 and 1897, he completed his string quartets inA♭ major andG major, and also worked on the cycle of symphonic poems inspired by the collectionKytice byKarel Jaromír Erben. As seen in Burghauser's 1960 Catalogue, Dvořák wrote his five Symphonic Poems in 1896, but after that completed few works per year, mainly operas:Jakobín in 1896, nothing in 1897, onlyThe Devil and Kate in 1898–1899,Rusalka in 1900, two songs and "Recitatives" in 1900–1901, and finally the operaArmida in 1902–1903.Rusalka became the most popular of all Dvořák's ten operas and gained an international reputation (below under Works, Operas).
In 1896 he visited London for the last time to conduct the premiere of hisCello Concerto in B minor by the London Philharmonic.[85] Also in 1896, Brahms tried to persuade Dvořák, who had several children, to move toVienna. Brahms said he had no dependents and "If you need anything, my fortune is at your disposal".[98] Clapham writes "Dvořák was deeply moved and tears came to his wife's eyes, but it was quite impossible for him, a Czech, to contemplate leaving Bohemia."[98] Brahms himself had little time left to live, as he died 3 April 1897. Also, Brahms hoped to gain an ally in Vienna to "counterbalance the influence of"Bruckner.[98]
Dvořák's funeral on 5 May 1904, an event of national significance[99]
In 1897, Dvořák visited Brahms on his deathbed and attended his funeral on 6 April 1897.[100] In November Dvořák was appointed a member of the jury for the Viennese Artists' Stipendium.[101][102] In 1898 Dvořák's daughterOtilie married his student, the composerJosef Suk.[103] At about the same time (November 1898), he was informed that EmperorFranz Joseph I ofAustria-Hungary would award him a gold medal forLitteris et Artibus, the ceremony taking place before an audience in June 1899.[104] On 4 April 1900 Dvořák conducted his last concert with theCzech Philharmonic, performing Brahms'Tragic Overture, Schubert's"Unfinished" Symphony, Beethoven's8th Symphony, and Dvořák's own symphonic poemThe Wild Dove.[102] In April 1901, The Emperor appointed him a member of theAustrian House of Lords, along with the leading Czech poetJaroslav Vrchlický.[d] Dvořák also succeededAntonín Bennewitz as director of the Prague Conservatory from November 1901 until his death.[106] Dvořák's 60th birthday was celebrated as a national event. First, around the actual date, six of his operas and the oratorioSt. Ludmila were performed in Prague, but Dvořák was away in Vienna; then in November 1901 came the "postponed official birthday party... In many towns all over Bohemia and Moravia, the Czech people celebrated his birthday."[107]
On 25 March 1904 Dvořák had to leave a rehearsal ofArmida because of illness.[108] The first Czech Musical Festival, in April 1904, had "a programme consisting almost entirely" of Dvořák's music[108] (Leoš Janáček was disappointed that none of his music was performed.)[109] "Seventy-six choral associations" from all over Bohemia gathered in Prague, and "sixteen thousand singers" sang Dvořák's oratorioSaint Ludmila. "Thousands of listeners celebrated" thesymphony "From the New World".[110] Dvořák himself was forced by illness to "take to his bed" and so was unable to attend.
Dvořák had an "attack ofinfluenza" on 18 April[111] and died on 1 May 1904, of an undiagnosed cause[e] following five weeks of illness, at the age of 62, leaving many unfinished works. His funeral service was held on 5 May,[113] and his remains were buried inVyšehrad Cemetery in Prague, beneath a bust by Czech sculptorLadislav Šaloun.
Many of Dvořák's compositions, such as theSlavonic Dances and his large collection of songs, were directly inspired by Czech,Moravian, and other Slavictraditional music. As the basis for his works, Dvořák frequently used Slavicfolk dance forms including theskočná; the Bohemianfuriant,sousedská, andšpacirka; the Slovakodzemek; the Polishmazurka andpolonaise; the YugoslavKolo; and folk song forms of Slavic peoples, including the Ukrainiandumka. His 16Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, which first brought him a wide reputation, and Op. 72, include at least one of each of these forms. He also wrote an orchestralPolonaise (1879). He named the thirdmovement of his6th Symphony as "Scherzo (Furiant)". HisDumky Trio is one of his best-known chamber works, and is named for thedumka, a traditional Ukrainian and Slavic genre. His major works reflect his heritage and love for his native land. Dvořák followed in the footsteps ofBedřich Smetana, the creator of the modern Czech musical style.
Dvořák had been an admirer ofWagner's music since 1857.[25] Late in life, he said that Wagner "was so great a genius that he was capable of doing things that were beyond the reach of other composers".[114] Wagner especially influenced Dvořák's operas, but also some orchestral pieces. According to Clapham, the theme of the Andante Sostenuto from hisfourth symphony "could almost have come directly out ofTannhäuser".[115]
From 1873 on, Dvořák's style was "moving steadily in the direction ofclassical models".[48] To be more specific about "classical models," in 1894 Dvořák wrote an article in which he said the composers of the past he admired most wereBach,Mozart,Beethoven andSchubert. As the article was specifically on Schubert, three years in advance of the centennial of his birth, it seems Dvořák had a special predilection toward Schubert.[116][117]
A large number of Dvořák's works were givenopus numbers, but not always in the order in which they were written or published. To improve sales, some publishers such asN. Simrock preferred to represent budding composers as being well established by giving early works much higher opus numbers than their chronological order would merit. In other cases, Dvořák deliberately assigned lower opus numbers to new works to be able to sell them outside contract obligations to his publishers. An example is theCzech Suite, which Dvořák did not want to sell to Simrock, and had published with Schlesinger as Op. 39 instead of Op. 52. This led to the same opus number being given to more than one of Dvořák's works; for example, the opus number 12 was assigned successively to the operaKing and Charcoal Burner (1871), the Concert Overture in F (1871, derived from the opera), theString Quartet No. 6 in A minor (1873), the Furiant in G minor for piano (1879), and the Dumka in C minor for piano (1884). In other cases, a work was given as many as three different opus numbers by different publishers.
To add to this confusion, the numbering of Dvořák's symphonies has varied:[118]
they were initially numbered by order of publication instead of composition
the first four symphonies to be composed were published after the last five
the last five symphonies were not published in order of composition, explaining why, for example, theNew World Symphony originally published as No. 5, was later known as No. 8, and then renumbered as No. 9 in the critical editions published in the 1950s.
All of Dvořák's works were catalogued chronologically byJarmil Burghauser.[119] As an example, in the Burghauser catalogue, theNew World Symphony, Op. 95, is B.178. Scholars today often refer to Dvořák's works by their B numbers (for Burghauser), partly because many early works do not have opus numbers. References to the traditional opus numbers are still common because of their historical continuity with earlier scores and printed programs. The opus numbers remain more likely to appear in printed performance programs.
During Dvořák's life, only five of his symphonies were widely known. The first one published was thesixth, dedicated toHans Richter. After Dvořák's death, research uncovered four unpublished symphonies. The manuscript of the first one had even been lost to the composer himself. This led to the situation in which theNew World Symphony has successively been called the 5th, 8th and 9th.[118] The modern chronological numbering system is used here.
With their lyrical style and accessibility to the listener, Dvořák's symphonies seem to derive from theSchubertian tradition; but, as Taruskin suggests, the difference was Dvořák's use of cyclic form, especially in his later symphonies and concertos, where he "occasionally recycled themes... to a degree which lent his works a tinge of secret 'programmaticism'".[2]
Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 3, was written in 1865 when Dvořák was 24 years old.[n 1] It was later subtitledThe Bells of Zlonice, in reference to the time Dvořák spent in the village of Zlonice, and in the church there, between the age of 13 and 16. Like theSymphony No. 2 in B♭ major, Op. 4,[n 2] also in 1865, despite touches of originality, it did not remain in the standard symphonic repertory.[120]
Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76,[n 5] andSymphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60,[n 6] are largely pastoral in nature. The Sixth, published in 1880, shows a resemblance to theSymphony No. 2 of Brahms, particularly in the outer movements,[120] but not so much in the third-movementfuriant, a vivid Czech dance. This was the symphony that made Dvořák internationally known as a symphonic composer.
Symphony No. 7 in D minor of 1885, Op. 70,[n 7] is highly regarded by critics and musicologists;[121] SirDonald Tovey stated that "along with the four Brahms symphonies andSchubert's Ninth, it is among the greatest and purest examples in this art-form since Beethoven".[122]
Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95,[n 9] is also known by its subtitleFrom the New World, or as theNew World Symphony. Dvořák wrote it between January and May 1893, while he was in New York. At the time of its first performance, he claimed that he used elements from American music such asspirituals andNative American music in this work,[123] but he later denied this.Neil Armstrong took a recording of theNew World Symphony to theMoon during theApollo 11 mission in 1969,[124] and in 2009 it was voted the favourite symphony ina poll run byABC Classic FM in Australia.[125]
The Stabat Mater, Op. 58, is an extensive (c. 90 minutes) vocal-instrumentalsacred work forsoli (soprano,alto,tenor andbass),choir and orchestra based on the text of an old church hymn with the same name. The inspiration for creating this piece was the death of the composer's daughter, Josefa.
Antonín Dvořák composed his Requiem in 1890, at the beginning of the peak period of his career. Dvořák was deeply religious, and this work reflects his faith and spirituality.[146] The premiere took place on 9 October 1891 inBirmingham, conducted by Dvořák himself, and was "very successful".[147] It had an outstanding success inBoston 30 November 1892: "the composer was frequently applauded between numbers and given a most enthusiastic ovation at the end.".[148] InVienna it was greeted, belatedly, in 1901: "The Vienna performance in March 1901 was a triumph of Dvořák's music, as if the Viennese public wished thereby to make up for their earlier, sometimes cool reception of his works."[147]
The Te Deum, Op. 103, is acantata for soprano andbaritone solo, choir and orchestra to the Latin text of the famous hymnTe Deum (God, we laud You). It was composed in 1892 and dedicated to the 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. The composition had been completed before Dvořák moved to America and was commissioned byJeanette Thurber in 1891, when the composer accepted a position as director of her school. Te Deum is more intimate than the Stabat Mater and Requiem. It was premiered at Dvořák's first concert in New York on 21 October 1892.
The Mass in D major (first numbered Op. 76, then Op. 86) was originally intended for organ, solo voices and small choir. The work was finalized in 1892 when, in response to a request from the Novello publishers of London, Dvořák arranged his Mass for a symphony orchestra.[149]
The oratorioSaint Ludmila was a huge success in Bohemia and Moravia, sung at events in Dvořák's honor in 1901 and 1904. The piece had considerable success in England in October 1886, with an audience on the 15th "in raptures... the critics praised the music in the warmest terms", and on the 29th, there was a "large and equally enthusiastic audience, and once again the critics were full of praise", but the libretto's translation from Czech into English was "regarded on all sides as unsatisfactory".[150]
The cantataThe Spectre's Bride, Op. 69, B. 135, performed in 1885 at the Birmingham, England, Musical Festival, was the greatest success to that point in Dvořák's career.[68]
The criticHarold C. Schonberg described "an attractive Piano Concerto in G minor with a rather ineffective piano part, a beautiful Violin Concerto in A minor, and a supreme Cello Concerto in B minor".[151] All the concerti are in the classical three-movement form.
TheConcerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor, Op. 104 was the final concerto to be composed. He wrote it in 1894–1895 for his friendHanuš Wihan. Wihan and others had asked for a cello concerto for some time, but Dvořák refused, stating that the cello was a fine orchestral instrument but completely insufficient for a solo concerto.[152] Dvořák composed the concerto in New York while serving as the Director of theNational Conservatory. In 1894,Victor Herbert, who was also teaching at the Conservatory, had written his Second Cello Concerto, Op. 30 and presented it several times that year, including its successful premiere with theNew York Philharmonic underAnton Seidl. Dvořák attended at least two performances of Herbert's cello concerto and was inspired to fulfill Wihan's request for a cello concerto. Dvořák's concerto premiered in London on 16 March 1896, with the English cellistLeo Stern.[85] The reception was "enthusiastic".[153]Brahms said of the work: "Had I known that one could write a cello concerto like this, I would have written one long ago!" Agreeing with Schonberg, the cellist and author Robert Battey wrote "I believe it to be the greatest of all cello concertos...an opinion shared by most cellists".[96] A compiler of discographies of Dvořák's music wrote that his is the "king" of cello concertos.[154]
A viola player himself, Dvořák had a natural affinity for string instruments. Over a period of thirty years, Dvořák composed over forty chamber music works.
In 1860, just after he completed his education at the Prague Organ School, Dvořák composed hisString Quintet No. 1 in A minor, Op. 1. Two more would follow, of which theString Quintet No. 2 in G major, Op. 77 from early 1875, is noteworthy for the use of a double bass. This quintet was written towards the end of the composer's transitional phase, incorporating a thematic density to his works. This quintet is characterized by delicate operetta style uncommon in his instrumental work.[156] The extension of a variation to all section is reminiscent of his symphonic literature.[75] It was written for a chamber music competition sponsored by theUmělecká beseda (Artistic Circle), where it was unanimously awarded a prize of fiveducats for the"distinction of theme, the technical skill in polyphonic composition, the mastery of form and the knowledge of the instruments" displayed.[157] TheString Quintet No. 3 in E♭ major, Op. 97, with a second viola added, was written near the end of his American period in 1893, when he spent a summer holiday inSpillville, Iowa.
In the 1880s Dvořák made a list of his destroyed compositions, including string quartets in B-flat, D, and E minor of 1868–70. Dvořák destroyed these compositions during his "mad period" only after copies had already been printed. The number of errors in the parts makes it unlikely that they were ever played. Dvořák kept the manuscripts of these quartets but did not give them opus numbers. They are noted to have numbersB.17,B.18, andB.19 in the Burghauser catalog[35] and show the strong influence of the music ofRichard Wagner.[158] The second, third, and fourth quartets illustrate Dvořák's progress as a composer. He demonstrates understanding of highly developed musical language in his D major quartet, shaping the melody of the Slav freedom songHej Slovane ('Hey, Slavs!') in a variation style.[75] The quartet in E minor is a single movement, including a slow, 63 bars on an F# pedal point.[75] The single movement from the E minor quartet was used five years later in his second string quintet Op. 77, as a second movement namedIntermezzo: Nocturne, making this initially a five-movement composition. He later withdrew the second movement and reworked it into theNocturne for Strings in B major, Op. 40 (B. 47). These show a stronger sense of form[159] and include three separate arrangements: for orchestra (B47), for violin and piano (B48A), and for piano four hands (B48B).[75]
During his time in America in 1893, Dvořák composed two of his most popular quartets: theString Quartet No. 12 in F, Op. 96 ("The American") and the String Quintet in E-flat, Op. 97 (B180). Dvořák composed this work in three days after he and his family reunited in Spillville, Iowa. He drew inspiration from the freedom he felt in the countryside of America. This piece is distinguishable from his other quartets due to the simplicity of it writing. Throughout the piece, Dvořák uses skipping rhythms, high register of the first violin, and unified key relationships among all movements except for Lento.[160] There is less shaping in thematic material, heavy uses of repetition, and less attention was paid to the development.[75] Shortly after the composition of Op. 96, Dvořák composed his E-flat Major String Quintet, Op. 97. This piece was distinguished from his prior chamber works due to the instrumentation of two viola parts. The influence that Native American folk music had on Dvořák's work also was apparent in Op. 97. There is a common drum rhythm in Native American music that is presented throughout all of the movements except the Larghetto.[161]
He also composed two piano quintets, both in A major, of which thesecond, Op. 81, is the better known. He left aTerzetto for two violins and viola (Op. 74); two piano quartets (Op. 23 andOp. 87), astring sextet, Op. 48; and four piano trios, including thePiano Trio No. 4 (subtitledDumky), Op. 90. He also wrote a set ofBagatelles, Op. 47, for the unusual combination of two violins, cello, andharmonium. The Bagatelles are cyclical and similar to a suite, echoing Czech bagpipe melodies. Dvořák wrote two waltzes for string quartet, and arranged set of 12 love songs for the string quartet entitledEcho of Songs (B152), taken from his set of 18 songs originally composed in 1865 entitledCypresses. His works for violin and piano include theRomantic Pieces, theViolin Sonatina, and theViolin Sonata.
In a 1904 interview, Dvořák claimed that opera was 'the most suitable form for the nation'.[162] If this nationalist sentiment was at the heart of his opera compositions, he struggled to find a style straddling Czech traditional melody and thegrand opera style ofGiacomo Meyerbeer, which he experienced as lead viola player in the orchestra of Prague's Provisional Theatre between 1862 and 1871,[163] and whose influence is evident in his works such asVanda andDimitrij.[164] His later interest in the music ofRichard Wagner also influenced his operas, evident in his extensive rewrite ofDmitrij in 1894, following its failure at Vienna.[165]
Of all his operas, onlyRusalka, Op. 114, which contains the well-known aria "Měsíčku na nebi hlubokém" ("Song to the Moon"), is played on contemporary opera stages with any frequency outside the Czech Republic. This is attributable to their uneven invention and libretti, and perhaps also their staging requirements –The Jacobin,Armida,Vanda andDimitrij need stages large enough to portray invading armies.
There is speculation by Dvořák scholars such as Michael Beckerman that the second movement of his Symphony No. 9 "From the New World", was adapted from studies for a never-written opera aboutHiawatha.[166]
The song cycle of 10Biblical Songs, Op. 99, B. 185, was written in March 1894. Around that time Dvořák was informed of the death of the famous conductor, and his close personal friend,Hans von Bülow. A month earlier, he had been grieved to hear that his father was near death, far away in Bohemia. Dvořák consoled himself in thePsalms. The resulting work, considered the finest of his song cycles, is based on the text of theCzech Bible of Kralice. Dvořák's father died 28 March 1894,[167] two days after the completion of the work.[168]
Another well known cycle is the sevenGypsy Songs (CzechCikánské melodie) B. 104, Op. 55 which includes "Songs My Mother Taught Me" (the fourth of the set).
Dvořák created many other songs inspired by Czech national traditional music, such as the "Love Songs", "Evening Songs", etc.
From other works that show the influence of Czech folk rhythms and melodic shapes, perhaps the best known examples are the two sets ofSlavonic Dances. The first book, Op. 46 (1878), is predominantly Czech in form. It was created for pianoduet (one piano, four hands), but Dvořák then orchestrated the entire set, completing it the same year. The second book, Op. 72 (also composed originally for piano four hands), composed eight years later, includes forms native to otherSlavic lands Serbia, Poland and Ukraine, although some "merge characteristics of more than one dance".[169] Dvořák did not use actual folk tunes, but created his own themes in the style oftraditional folk music, using the rhythms of original folk dances.
A work that does not fit in the other categories is theSymphonic Variations of 1877. Orchestral variations on an original theme, composed as a freestanding work, were a rather unusual genre. Originally unsuccessful and revived only after ten years, it has since established itself in the repertoire.
Statue of Antonín Dvořák in Prague, Czech Republic
Dvořák's "Largo" from theNew World Symphony was one of several pieces performed in a Japanese internment camp on Sumatra by a vocal orchestra made up of female prisoners of war on 27 December 1943.[170]
^In 1899 Franz Joseph had decreed that the Czech language could no longer be used in local administration or law courts. This was much resented, and he hoped to placate the Czechs by the appointments.[105]
^ There was no autopsy, nor were the symptoms clear.[112]
^Burghauser 1960, B.1 through B.26, with Op. 1 assigned both to a string quintet B.7 and to the operaAlfred, B.16; see "Works" about irregular opus numbering
^From a set, "Songs to words by Eliška Krásnohorská", B.23 inBurghauser 1960.
^Once each in 1884, in October 1886, and in April 1990, twice each in 1885, March to May and later in August, in 1891 June and later in October, and lastly in March 1896: Burghauser 1960 or later ed.
^Burghauser 2006, p. 82 "Dvořákova rodina s přáteli na dvoře domu v New Yorku v roce 1893 [zleva manželka Anna, syn Antonín, Sadie Siebertová, Josef Jan Kovařík, matka Sadie Siebertové, dcera Otilie, Antonín Dvořák]."
^Horowitz, Joseph (10 February 2002)."Music; Czech Composer, American Hero".The New York Times. Retrieved3 November 2007.In 1991, the New York City Council was petitioned by Beth Israel Hospital to permit the demolition of a small row house at 327 East 17th Street, once the home of Antonín Dvořák.
^Franz Schubert (fromThe Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Vol. XLVIII, No. 3 (July 1894), pp. 341–46).[dead link]
^Gilder, Richard Watson; Holland, J. G., eds. (June 1894)."Franz Schubert".The Century illustrated monthly magazine:341–346. Retrieved25 October 2025 – via babel.hathitrust.org.
^"String Quartet No. 3 in D major, B18".www.antonin-dvorak.cz. Retrieved25 October 2025.. English language version of a Czech site including details of all Dvořák's works.
Beckerman, Michael B. (2003).New Worlds of Dvořák: Searching in America for the Composer's Inner Life. New York: W.W. Norton & Co.ISBN978-0-393-04706-6.
Beckerman, Michael (1 December 1992). "Henry Krehbiel, Antonín Dvořák, and the Symphony 'From the New World'".Notes.49 (2):447–73.doi:10.2307/897884.JSTOR897884.
Brown, A. Peter (2003a).The Second Golden Age of the Viennese Symphony: Brahms, Bruckner, Dvořák, Mahler, and Selected Contemporaries. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Brown, A. Peter (2003b)."Part 1".The Symphonic Repertoire. Vol. 3. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. pp. 410–36.ISBN978-0-253-33488-6.
Burghauser, Jarmil (2006).Antonín Dvořák (in Czech). Prague: Bärenreiter Supraphon; Koniasch Latin Press.ISBN978-80-86791-26-5.
——— (1960) [Export Artia 1960, Bārenreiter Supraphon 1966, 1996].Antonin Dvořák Thematický Katalog [Thematic Catalogue] (in Czech). Prague: Bārenreiter Supraphon., notes in German and English. Bibliography co-edited by Dr. John Clapham and Dr. W. Pfannkuch, and a Survey of Life and Work. If there is a reference to one edition and the reader has access only to another edition, the catalogue numbers such as B.178 for the New World Symphony will be more useful than page numbers. In the chronology of Dvořák's life, one may search by year (and date) rather than page number.
Clapham, John (1979a).Antonín Dvořák, Musician and Craftsman. London: Newton Abbot (England), David & Charles.ISBN978-0-7153-7790-1. (St. Martin's Press or Faber & Faber 1966, MacMillan reprintISBN978-0-333-23111-1 or St. Martin's,ISBN978-0-312-04515-9, 1969)
Layton, Robert (1978).Dvořák Symphonies and Concertos. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
Raeburn, Michael; Kendall, Alan, eds. (1990) [1989].Heritage of Music. Vol. III: The Nineteenth Century Legacy. Oxford University Press.ISBN978-0-19-505372-2.
Schonberg, Harold C. (1980).The Lives of the Great Composers (revised ed.). New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
Smaczny, Jan (1999),Dvořák: Cello Concerto, Cambridge University Press.
Smaczny, Jan (2002), "Antonín Dvořák", inOxford Companion to Music, ed. Alison Latham, Oxford University Press, 2002, pp. 391–92.
Smaczny, Jan (2003). "Grand Opera Amongst the Czechs". In Charlton, David (ed.).The Cambridge Companion to Grand Opera.Cambridge Companions to Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 366–82.ISBN978-0-521-64683-3.
Beckerman, Michael B. (1993).Dvořák and His World. Princeton: Princeton University Press.ISBN978-0-691-03386-0.
Butterworth, Neil (1980).Dvořák, his life and times. Midas Books.ISBN978-0-859-36142-2.
Černušák, Gracián; Štědroň, Bohumír; Nováček, Zdenko, eds. (1963).Československý hudební slovník I. A-L (in Czech). Prague: Státní hudební vydavatelství.
Dvořák, Antonín (2009).Biblické písně (in Czech, German, English, and French). Šourek, Otakar (preface). Prague: Editio Bärenreiter.ISBN978-80-7058-008-0.
Goepp, Philip Henry (1913).Symphonies and Their Meaning. Third Series: Modern Symphonies. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott Co. p. 195.
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