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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 - 1949

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 151-175 of 348 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor PBS-09784 10-in. 11/4/1937 Goin' home Esther McNiff Curtis Symphonet solo composer  
Victor BS-010148 10-in. 5/12/1937 Humoresque Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor BS-010149 10-in. 5/12/1937 Goin' home Tommy Dorsey Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
Victor CS-010968 12-in. 6/29/1937 Carnival overture Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler Orchestra composer  
Victor CS-010969 12-in. 6/29/1937 Carnival overture Boston Pops Orchestra ; Arthur Fiedler Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-015749 10-in. 11/5/1937 Humoresque in swing time Emilio Cáceres Trio Jazz/dance trio composer  
Victor BS-048463 10-in. 3/28/1940 Songs my mother taught me Frank La Forge Piano solo composer  
Victor CS-050303 12-in. 5/25/1940 Symphony no. 5 "New World" : Second movement (abridged version) Charles O'Connell ; Victor Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor BS-056958 10-in. 10/25/1940 Songs my mother taught me Jessica Dragonette ; H. Maurice Jacquet Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor D5VB-1155 10-in. 11/16/1945 Humoresque David Rose Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor PD6VB-2528 10-in. 7/24/1946 Humoresque Mary Lou Williams Trio Piano solo, with bass (take 1)Piano solo, with bass and drums (take 2) composer  
Victor D9RC-1784 12-in. 5/24/1949 O lovely moon (Air of Russalka) Erich Leinsdorf ; Dorothy Maynor ; RCA Victor Orchestra Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor D9RC-1785 12-in. 5/24/1949 Maiden's lament Erich Leinsdorf ; Dorothy Maynor ; RCA Victor Orchestra Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor BVE-Test-188 10-in. 8/1/1929 Songs my mother taught me Dora Devine Female vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor [Trial 1913-04-28-12] Not documented 4/28/1913 Courante and lento Flonzaley Quartet String quartet composer  
Victor [Trial 1924-02-28-05] 10-in. 2/28/1924 Songs my mother taught me Louise Homer Contralto vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 1007 7-in. ca. 1902-Oct. 1905 Slavonic dance no. 1 Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 1007 10-in. ca. 1902-1908 Slavonic dance no. 1 Columbia Band Band composer  
Columbia 38691 10-in. 3/7/1913 Hümoreske S. Andrew Georgopolus Male vocal solo, with violin and piano composer  
Columbia 45554 10-in. 4/12/1915 Songs my mother taught me Columbia Stellar Quartette Male vocal quartet, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 45786 10-in. 6/17/1915 Humoreske George Stehl Violin solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 46586 10-in. Mid-late Aug. 1915 Komedianti Brousková Vojenská Kapela Band, with vocal chorus composer  
Columbia 77061 10-in. 5/15/1917 Humoreske Bernardo Di Pace ; Nino Di Pace Guitar and mandolin duet, unaccompanied composer  
Columbia 77102 10-in. 6/5/1917 Humoresque Sibyl Sanderson Fagan Whistling solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 77719 10-in. 3/12/1918 Songs my mother taught me Hulda Lashanska Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 151-175 of 348 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dvořák, Antonín," accessed April 25, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

Dvořák, Antonín. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 25, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

"Dvořák, Antonín." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 25 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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