Introduction

Slavonic Dances, Series 2, Op. 72, B. 147: No. 1 in B Major (version for orchestra) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Zdeněk Košler

Bits and pieces are all we may know about the music of Antonín Dvořák

10 Biblical Songs, Op. 99, B. 185: No. 4. Hospodin jest můj pastýř (The Lord is my shepherd) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Performer: Iwona Sakowicz, Manuel Lange

The fourth of Dvořák's Ten Biblical Songs, titled 'The Lord is my shepherd' and set to a well-known Psalm text from the traditional Czech translation of the Kralice Bible

10 Biblical Songs, Op. 99, B. 185: No. 6. Slyš, ó Bože, volání mé (Hear my prayer, O Lord) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Performer: Iwona Sakowicz, Manuel Lange

Antonín Leopold Dvořák was born on 8 September 1841 in the village of Nelahozeves, near Kralupy, in Bohemia, approximately 28km north of Prague

Symphony No. 6 in G Major, Op. 116, "Historische Symphonie im Styl und Geschmack vier verschiedener Zeitabschnitte": IV. Allerneueste Periode (1840): Allegro vivace (excerpt)

Composer: Louis Spohr

Ensemble: Slovak State Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Alfred Walter

Reflecting on this period of the composer's life, Zubatý (the Czech writer mentioned previously) wrote…

Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, B. 9, "The Bells of Zlonice": II. Adagio molto (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser

Dvořák's first symphony, composed between February and March 1865, began life as a submission to a German composition competition…

Symphony No. 1 in C Minor, B. 9, "The Bells of Zlonice": I. [Maestoso] - [Allegro] (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser

In early 1865, Dvořák started teaching piano to the daughters of a Prague goldsmith: one of the two, Anna Čermáková would later become his wife…

String Quartet No. 4 in E Minor, B. 19: I. Assai con moto ed energico (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Fine Arts Quartet

Before he left the Provisional Theatre orchestra in the summer of 1871, Dvořák was the subject of an announcement in a leading local music journal

Král a uhlíř (King and Charcoal Burner), B. 21, Act I Scene 9: Jaký zvuk to jest? (What sound is that?) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Prague Chamber Choir, WDR Rundfunkchor Köln, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

Performer: Michelle Breedt, Dalibor Jenis, Peter Mikuláš

Conductor: Gerd Albrecht

It seems that Dvořák's revision of the opera between 1873 and 1874 was but part of a larger stylistic renovation being undertaken by the composer at the time

Moravské dvojzpěvy (Moravian Duets), Op. 32, B. 62: No. 2. Veleť vtáčku (Fly, Sweet Songster) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Performer: Michaela Rózsa Růžičková, Hana Dobešová, Ladislava Vondráčková

In response to Dvořák's multi-composition submission for the 1877 stipendium, Brahms singled out the Moravian Duets for special praise

Slavonic Dances, Series 1, Op. 46, B. 83: No. 1 in C Major (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Zdeněk Košler

While this style of music might be regarded, somewhat cynically, as a kind of opportunistic 'tourist nationalism' (to quote a recent historian), listeners in Dvořák's time thought the very opposite…

Piano Trio No. 3 in F Minor, Op. 65, B. 130: I. Allegro ma non troppo (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Joachim Trio

In August 1883, Dvořák received a prestigious invitation: the London Philharmonic Society requested his presence as conductor (of his own orchestral works) in their forthcoming concert season

Stabat Mater, Op. 58, B. 71: Stabat mater dolorosa (original 1876 version) (version with orchestral accompaniment) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Washington Orchestra

Conductor: Robert Shafer

Dvořák left Prague for London on 5 March 1884: eight days later he was conducting the Stabat Mater in the Royal Albert Hall

Piano Trio No. 4 in E Minor, Op. 90, B. 166, "Dumky": I. Lento maestoso - Allegro vivace, quasi doppio movimento - Tempo I (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Performer: Ilya Kaler, Amit Peled, Alon Goldstein

In 1891, the same year Dvořák completed the 'Dumky' Trio, he took up the position of professor of composition and instrumentation at the Prague Conservatory

Te Deum, Op. 103, B. 176: Te Deum laudamus (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Orfeón Pamplonés, Navarre Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Antoni Wit

The premiere of the Te Deum within the celebratory concert, which took place on 21 October 1892 at New York's Carnegie Hall, was preceded by a concert address by the American musical patron…

Symphony No. 9 in E Minor, Op. 95, B. 178, "From the New World": III. Scherzo: Molto vivace (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra

Conductor: Stephen Gunzenhauser

Following the premiere of his Ninth Symphony, Dvořák may well have looked forward to a prosperous and productive period in New York

Cello Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104, B. 191: III. Finale: Andante - Allegro vivo (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Royal Philharmonic Orchestra

Performer: Maria Kliegel

Conductor: Michael Halász

The next - and, indeed, the penultimate - phase in Dvořák's compositional journey seems to have emerged from his previous interest in music's extra-musical associations…

The Water Goblin, Op. 107, B. 195 (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra

Conductor: Antoni Wit

During his final years, Dvořák became the recipient of various honours…

Armida, Op. 115, B. 206, Act I Scene 1: Jak z dervišových prstů řinou (As delightful rosary beads glide in the hands of the dervishes) (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Ensemble: Prague Chamber Choir, Tschechische Philharmonie

Performer: Roman Janál

Conductor: Gerd Albrecht

Dvořák is said to have departed the theatre early on the evening of 25 March 1904, during the premiere of Armida at the National Theatre in Prague…

Hymnus ad laudes in festo Sanctae Trinitatis, B. 82 (excerpt)

Composer: Antonín Dvořák

Performer: Iwona Sakowicz, Peter Frisée