12: Music of Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904)

Antonín Dvořák (1841–1904) was born in a Bohemian village of Nelahozeves near Prague. Following in Smetana’s footsteps, Dvořák became a leading composer in the Czech nationalism music campaign. Indeed, Dvořák and Smetana are considered the founders of the Czech national school. Dvořák, at the age of sixteen, moved to Prague. As a young aspiring violinist, Dvořák earned a seat in the Czech National Theater. Dvořák learned to play viola and became a professional violist; for a time in his career, he performed under Smetana. Dvořák’s music and talent were recognized by Brahms, who encouraged him to devote his energy to composing. Early in his career Dvořák was musically under the German influence of Beethoven, Brahms, and Mendelssohn. Later, however, Dvořák explored his own culture, rooting his music in the dances and songs of Bohemia. He never lost touch with his humble upbringing by his innkeeper and butcher father.

Dvořák’s compositions received favorable recognition abroad and reluctant recognition at home. From 1892 to 1895, Dvořák served as director of the National Conservatory in New York City in the United States. During this time his compositions added American influences to the Bohemian. He fused “old world” harmonic theory with “new world” style. Dvořák mentored Henry T. Burleigh, an African-American baritone and arranger of spirituals. Burleigh introduced Dvořák to Black spirituals and often sang spirituals for Dvořák, inspiring the incorporation of spiritual melodies and spirit into his compositions. Deeply interested in American folk music, Dvořák’s admiration and enthusiasm for the African-American spirituals is conveyed as he stated:

I am convinced that the future music of this country must be founded on what are called Negro melodies. These can be the foundation of a serious and original school of composition, to be developed in the United States. These beautiful and varied themes are the product of the soil. They are the folk songs of America and your composers must turn to them.^[1]

The spirituals, along with Native American and cowboy songs, interested Dvořák and influenced his compositions for years to come. His love for this American folk music was contagious and soon spread to other American composers. Up until this point, American composers were under the heavy influence of their European counterparts. Dvořák’s influence and legacy as an educator and composer can be traced in the music of Aaron Copland and George Gershwin. Although he gained much from his time in America, Dvořák yearned for his homeland to which he returned after three years away, resisting invitations from Brahms to relocate in Vienna. Dvořák desired the simpler life of his homeland; he died in Prague in 1904, shortly after his last opera, Armida, was premiered.

12.1 Music for Orchestra

Dvořák composed music in various forms. He wrote nine symphonies and the 9th symphony, From the New World, became the most famous among all his works. The symphony was commissioned by the New York Philharmonic and premiered by the Philharmonic in New York on December 16, 1893, the same year as it was completed. It was partially inspired by a Czech translation of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poem The Song of Hiawatha. Dvořák also composed a cello concerto, a violin concerto, and a lesser known piano concerto. He received recognition for Romance for solo violin and orchestra and Silent Woods for cello and orchestra, both significant contributions to the solo repertoire for these string instruments.

Dvořák composed several concert overtures, including In Nature’s Realm, My Home, Carnival, Hussite, and Othello, as well as symphonic poems like The Water Goblin, The Golden Spinning Wheel, and The Noonday Witch. His other orchestral works, such as the polonaise-style Scherzo Capriccioso and Serenade for Strings, are widely admired. He also orchestrated some of his piano duets for symphony orchestra, including ten Legends, two sets of Slavonic Dances, and three Slavic Rhapsodies.

Focus Composition: Second Movement, Symphony No. 9, From the New World, Op. 95

You are encouraged to listen to the entire symphony. For more information and a narrative guided tour of the Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” see the following:

• Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 1)—first movement
• Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 2)—second movement
• Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 3)—third movement
• Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” analysis by Gerard Schwarz (part 4)—fourth movement
• Antonín Dvořák: Symphony No. 9 “From the New World,” a commentary (from literature) by Joseph Horowitz

12.2 Music for Chamber Ensembles

Dvořák composed fourteen string quartets. The String Quartet No. 12, the “American” Quartet, was written in 1893, the same year as the New World Symphony. Also from the American period, Dvořák composed Sonatina for violin and piano in G major, whose second movement is known as “Indian Lament.” Of the four Dvořák’s piano trios, the No. 4 in E minor, often referred to as the Dumky trio, is known for using the Slavic dance form “dumka.” His quintets for strings or strings and piano are much appreciated for listening enjoyment, as are his String Sextet and Terzetto, a trio for two violins and viola. Other chamber music works include duets for violin and piano, cello and piano, and piano four hands.

12.3 Music for Voice

Several of Dvořák’s choral works were composed for amateur choral societies such as those found in Birmingham, Leeds, and London in England, including the oratorio St. Ludmilla, the settings of the Mass, Requiem Mass, and the Te Deum, which was first performed in 1892 in New York. Earlier choral works and settings, such as Stabat Mater and Psalm CXLIX, were performed in Prague 1879–1880.

Aside from choral compositions, Dvořák wrote a wide range of songs, including the notable set of Moravian Duets for soprano and contralto. The most famous of his vocal pieces is Songs My Mother Taught Me, which is the fourth song in the song cycle Seven Gypsy Songs, Op. 55 (1880).

From 1870 to 1903, Dvořák wrote ten operas. The aria “O Silver Moon” from Rusalka (1900) is one of his most recognized songs. Dvořák wrote many of his operas with village theatres and comic village plots in mind—much the same as Smetana’s The Bartered Bride. Other operas were based upon Czech legends.