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Antonín Dvořák

Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( d(ə-)VOR-zha(h)k; Czech: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈlɛopold ˈdvor̝aːk] (listen); 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Bedřich 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".

Dvořák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being an apt violin student from age six. The first public performances of his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was 31 years old. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted a score of his First Symphony to a prize competition in Germany, but did not win, and the unreturned manuscript was lost until it was rediscovered many decades later. In 1874, he made a submission to the Austrian State Prize for Composition, including scores of two further symphonies and other works. Although Dvořák was not aware of it, Johannes Brahms was the leading member of the jury and was highly impressed. The prize was awarded to Dvořák in 1874 and again in 1876 and in 1877, when Brahms and the prominent critic Eduard Hanslick, also a member of the jury, made themselves known to him. Brahms recommended Dvořák to his publisher, Simrock, who soon afterward commissioned what became the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. These were highly praised by the Berlin music critic Louis Ehlert in 1878, the sheet music (of the original piano 4-hands version) had excellent sales, and Dvořák's international reputation was launched at last.

Dvořák's first piece of a religious nature, his setting of Stabat Mater, was premiered in Prague in 1880. It was very successfully performed in London in 1883, leading to many other performances in the United Kingdom and United States. In his career, Dvořák made nine invited visits to England, often conducting performances of his own works. His Seventh Symphony was written for London. Visiting Russia in March 1890, he conducted concerts of his own music in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. In 1891, Dvořák was appointed as a professor at the Prague Conservatory. In 1890–91, he wrote his Dumky Trio, one of his most successful chamber music pieces.

In 1892, Dvořák moved to the United States and became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. The President of the National Conservatory of Music in America, Jeannette Thurber, offered Dvořák an annual salary of $15,000 – an incredibly lavish sum for the era (equivalent to $488,556 in 2022), twenty-five times what he was paid at the Prague Conservatory. While in the United States, Dvořák wrote his two most successful orchestral works: the Symphony From the New World, which spread his reputation worldwide, and his Cello Concerto, one of the most highly regarded of all cello concerti.

In the summer of 1893, Dvořák moved from New York City to Spillville, Iowa, following the advice of his secretary, J.J. Kovarík. Dvořák had originally planned to come back to Bohemia, but Spillville was made up of mostly Czech immigrants, and thus he felt less homesick; Dvořák referred to it as his "summer Vysoka." This is where he wrote his most famous piece of chamber music, his String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, which was later nicknamed the American Quartet. Shortly after his time in Iowa, Dvořák extended his contract at the National Conservatory for another two years. However, the economic crisis of April 1893 resulted in Thurber's husband's loss of income, and directly influenced the National Conservatory's funding. Shortfalls in payment of his salary, along with increasing recognition in Europe and an onset of homesickness, led him to leave the United States and return to Bohemia in 1895.

All of Dvořák's nine operas, except his first, have librettos 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 is Rusalka. Among his smaller works, the seventh Humoresque and the song "Songs My Mother Taught Me" are also widely performed and recorded. He has been described as "arguably the most versatile... composer of his time".

The Dvořák Prague International Music Festival is a major series of concerts held annually to celebrate Dvořák's life and works.

Birth and Death Data: Born 1841 (Nelahozeves), Died May 1, 1904 (Prague)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1902 - 1946

Roles Represented in DAHR: composer, arranger

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 26-50 of 346 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-14503 10-in. 2/20/1914 Humoresque rag Felix Arndt Piano solo composer  
Victor C-14653 12-in. 3/31/1914 Indian lament Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-14653 12-in. 11/30/1928 Indian lament Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-14757 12-in. 4/23/1914 Lieblicher Mond Ema Destinnová Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-15719 10-in. 2/19/1915 Humoresque Charles Kellogg Whistling solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-15719 10-in. 2/18/1926 Humoresque Charles Kellogg Whistling solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-15737 12-in. 2/25/1915 Slavonic dance no. 3 in G major Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-15737 12-in. 12/6/1928 Slavonic dance no. 3 in G major Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-15738 10-in. 2/25/1915 Slavonic dance no. 1 in G minor Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor BVE-15738 10-in. 12/6/1928 Slavonic dance no. 1 in G minor Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-15742 12-in. 2/25/1915 Slavonic dance no. 2 in E minor Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-16348 10-in. 8/12/1915 Go to sleep, my dusky baby Elsie Baker ; Marguerite Dunlap ; Olive Kline Female vocal trio, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-16748 10-in. 11/4/1915 Tyrolean dance Natalie Boshko Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-17002 12-in. 1/12/1916 Songs my mother taught me Nellie Melba Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-17004 12-in. 1/12/1916 Songs my mother taught me Nellie Melba Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-17013 10-in. 1/14/1916 Songs my mother taught me Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-17073 10-in. 1/26/1916 Als die alte Mutter Beatrice Harrison Cello solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-17643 10-in. 5/9/1916 Zigueuner melodie Hans Kindler Cello solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-17783 12-in. 6/2/1916 Go to sleep my dusky baby Frieda Hempel Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-17796 10-in. 6/5/1916 Songs my mother taught me Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-17797 12-in. 6/5/1916 Humoresque Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-17847 10-in. 6/13/1916 Kdyz mne stara matka zpivak ucivala Victor Ledeky Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-17955 10-in. 6/29/1916 Humoreske Julius L. Schendel Piano solo composer  
Victor B-18146 10-in. 7/24/1916 Humoresque Francis J. Lapitino Harp solo composer  
Victor BVE-18146 10-in. 11/2/1926 Humoresque Francis J. Lapitino Harp solo composer  
(Results 26-50 of 346 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dvořák, Antonín," accessed April 17, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

Dvořák, Antonín. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 17, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

"Dvořák, Antonín." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 17 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102

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