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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 226-250 of 348 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Columbia 76949 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 4th movement, part 2 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia 76950 12-in. 4/10/1923 Symphony no. 5 in E minor 4th movement, part 3 Hallé Orchestra ; Hamilton Harty Orchestra composer  
Columbia W107881 10-in. approximately May 1927 Pochod ze slovanských tanců Československá Národní Kapela Band composer  
OKeh 156 10-in. ca. June 1918 Castle valse classique Jazarimba Orchestra Instrumental ensemble composer  
OKeh S-7452 10-in. May 1920 From the New World : Largo Henry Hadley Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
OKeh S-7453 10-in. May 1920 From the New World : Largo Henry Hadley Symphony Orchestra Orchestra composer  
OKeh S-70452 10-in. Feb. 1922 Valse bohemienne The Florence Society Dance Orchestra Jazz/dance band composer  
OKeh S-71340 10-in. March 1923 Humoresque Hugo Kortschak ; Justin Ring Violin solo, with piano composer  
OKeh S-72301 10-in. Jan. 1924 Humoreske Elinor Remick Warren Piano solo composer  
OKeh W401085 10-in. 8/30/1928 Humoresque Eugene Ormandy ; Steffy Goldner Ormandy Violin solo, with harp composer  
Brunswick 750 10-in. approximately early 1917 Humoresque Peerless Orchestra Instrumental ensemble composer  
Brunswick X5458 12-in. approximately Apr. 1921 Humoresque Frederic Persson ; Max Rosen Violin solo, with piano composer  
Brunswick X4425-X4426 12-in. approximately Oct. 1920 Humoresque Frederic Persson ; Max Rosen Violin solo, with piano composer  
Brunswick X9206-X9207 12-in. approximately Nov. 1922 Quartet in F major : Scherzo New York String Quartet String quartet composer  
Brunswick X9208-X9209 12-in. approximately Nov. 1922 Quartet in F major : Lento New York String Quartet String quartet composer  
Brunswick X12294-X12295 12-in. 1/15/1924 Humoreske Fredric Fradkin Violin solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick 12305-12306 10-in. 1/16/1924 Songs my mother taught me Florence Easton ; Fredric Fradkin Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra and violin obbligato composer  
Brunswick X12472-X12474 12-in. 2/6/1924 Humoreske Fredric Fradkin Violin solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick 15053-15055 10-in. 3/4/1925 Songs my mother taught me Elshuco Trio Instrumental trio composer  
Brunswick X15199-X15201 12-in. 3/17/1925 Goin’ home Maria Ivogun Soprano vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick E29744 10-in. May 1929 Songs my mother taught me Kathryn Meisle Female vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick XE16850-XE16852 12-in. 11/6/1925 Goin' home Mario Chamlee Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick XE16928-XE16929 12-in. 11/18/1925 Goin' home Mario Chamlee Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick XE17045-XE17046 12-in. 12/4/1925 Goin' home Mario Chamlee Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
Brunswick XE17361-XE17363 12-in. 1/5/1926 Goin’ home Mario Chamlee Tenor vocal solo, with orchestra composer  
(Results 226-250 of 348 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Dvořák, Antonín," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

Dvořák, Antonín. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103102.

"Dvořák, Antonín." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

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

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