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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 1-25 of 345 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor B-3315 10-in. 4/18/1906 Mně, daroval můj Karlíček Jan V. Hofreiter-Rokycanský Male vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-6105 10-in. 4/14/1908 Songs my mother taught me Evan Williams Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-6207 12-in. 5/19/1908 Als die Alte Mutter Emma Eames Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-8656 10-in. 2/24/1910 Als die alte Mutter Riccardo Martin Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-8799 12-in. 4/6/1910 Humoresque, op. 101, no. 7 Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-8799 12-in. 5/31/1928 Humoreske Mischa Elman Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CC-8871 12-in. 4/20/1910 Largo from Fifth symphony Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor C-8941 12-in. 5/11/1910 Humoresque Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor CVE-8941 12-in. 4/9/1926 Humoresque Fritz Kreisler Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor C-9457 12-in. 9/16/1910 Babylon Albert G. Janpolski Baritone vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor B-10293 10-in. 5/8/1911 Humoresque Arthur Pryor's Band Band composer  
Victor B-10332 10-in. 5/15/1911 Humoresque Kryl's Bohemian Band Band composer  
Victor B-10363 10-in. 5/19/1911 Kukčka valčik Kryl's Bohemian Band Band composer  
Victor B-10498 10-in. 5/25/1911 Als die alte Mutter Ethel S. Elliot Soprano vocal solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-10522 10-in. 6/8/1911 Songs my mother taught me Evan Williams Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-11066 12-in. 10/9/1911 Humoreske Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-11066 10-in. 5/24/1918 Humoresque Victor Herbert's Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor B-12268 10-in. 7/24/1912 Songs my mother taught me Lucy Isabelle Marsh Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-12585 12-in. 11/6/1912 Slavonic dance, op. 46, part 1 Vessella's Italian Band Band composer  
Victor C-12732 12-in. 12/18/1912 New World symphony : Largo Victor Concert Orchestra Orchestra composer  
Victor C-13249 12-in. 5/7/1913 Humoresque Maximilian Pilzer Violin solo, with orchestra composer  
Victor C-13730 12-in. 9/8/1913 Slavonic dance no. 7 in A major Maud Powell Violin solo, with piano composer  
Victor B-13837 10-in. 9/23/1913 Humoresque Venetian Trio (Victor Records ensemble) Instrumental trio composer  
Victor BVE-13837 10-in. 7/14/1925 Humoresque Venetian Trio (Victor Records ensemble) Instrumental trio composer  
Victor C-14428 12-in. 2/6/1914 Humoresque Fritz Kreisler Piano solo composer  
(Results 1-25 of 345 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dvořák, Antonín," accessed March 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

Dvořák, Antonín. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved March 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

"Dvořák, Antonín." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 March 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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