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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 201-225 of 348 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 144836 10-in. 10/7/1927 Sailin' on The Harmonians [Selvin's Orchestra] Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo composer  
Columbia W145777 10-in. 3/19/1928 Rings ist der Wäld so stumm und still Elsa Alsen Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W145778 10-in. 3/19/1928 In dem weiten breiten luftgen keinen Kleide Elsa Alsen Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W148999 10-in. 9/12/1929 Songs my mother taught me Walter Golde ; Louis Graveure Baritone vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W98280 12-in. 6/15/1926 Humoresque Arthur Loesser ; Toscha Seidel Violin solo, with piano composer  
Columbia W98402 12-in. 10/13/1927 Slavonic dance in E minor Emanuel Bay ; Toscha Seidel Violin and piano duet composer  
Columbia W98515 12-in. 4/6/1928 Songs my mother taught me The Orpheus Club Male vocal chorus, unaccompanied composer  
Columbia W98689 12-in. 4/9/1930 Goin' home Louis Graveure Tenor vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 6148 12-in. approximately 1911 Songs my mother taught me Morgan Kingston Male vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 6454 12-in. approximately 1915 Humoresque Leo Strockoff Violin solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 43857 10-in. either 1915 or 1916 Měsičku na nebi hlubokém Erma Žárská Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Columbia 75219 12-in. 11/13/1922 Quartet in F major, op. 96 : Lento Léner Quartet String quartet composer  
Columbia 75330 12-in. approximately 1916 Songs my mother taught me Gervase Elwes Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Columbia 75874 12-in. approximately 1917 Quintet in A major, op. 81 London String Quartet ; William Murdoch Piano quintet composer  
Columbia 75875 12-in. approximately 1917 Quintet in A major, op. 81 London String Quartet ; William Murdoch Piano quintet composer  
Columbia 76528 12-in. approximately 1919 Slavonic dances, op. 46, no. 1 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76529 12-in. approximately 1919 Slavonic dances, op. 46, no. 2 New Queen's Hall Orchestra ; Henry J. Wood Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76941 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 1st movement, part 1 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76942 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 1st movement, part 2 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76943 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 1st movement, part 3 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76944 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 2nd movement, part 1 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76945 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 2nd movement, part 2 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76946 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 3rd movement, part 1 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76947 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 3rd movement, part 2 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76948 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 4th movement, part 1 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
(Results 201-225 of 348 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dvořák, Antonín," accessed April 24, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

Dvořák, Antonín. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 24, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

"Dvořák, Antonín." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 24 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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