Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( / d ( ə . ) ˈ v ɔːr . ʒ ɑː k , – . ʒ æ k / , d(ə- )VOR -zha(h)k ; Czech: [ˈantoɲiːn ˈlɛopold ˈdvor̝aːk] ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a composer from the Czech Republic. He often used rhythms and other elements from the folk music of Moravia and Bohemia, following the example of his earlier teacher, Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák’s style is known for blending national music traditions with the symphonic style of the Romantic era. He is considered one of the most skilled composers of his time.

Dvořák showed musical talent early in life, especially as a violin student. His first public performances took place in Prague in 1872 and 1873, when he was 31 years old. To gain recognition beyond Prague, he sent scores of his works, including symphonies, to competitions in Germany and Austria. He did not win a prize until 1874, when Johannes Brahms, a famous musician, was on the jury of an Austrian competition. In 1877, after winning a third prize, Brahms recommended Dvořák to his publisher, Simrock, who commissioned the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. The success of this work helped Dvořák gain international fame. A performance of his Stabat Mater in London in 1883 led to more performances in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Russia in 1890. His Seventh Symphony was written for London in 1885.

In 1892, Dvořák became the director of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. While in the United States, he created two of his most famous orchestral works: the Symphony From the New World, which spread his fame worldwide, and his Cello Concerto, one of the most respected cello concertos ever written. During a summer trip to Spillville, Iowa, in 1893, he also composed his most famous chamber music piece, the twelfth String Quartet in F major, Op. 96, known as the American. Although he stayed at the Conservatory for a few more years, lower pay and feelings of homesickness caused him to return to Bohemia in 1895.

All of Dvořák’s ten operas, except the first, have Czech librettos and were meant to express the Czech national spirit, as were some of his choral works. The most successful opera is Rusalka, which premiered in 1901. Other well-known works include the seventh Humoresque and the song "Songs My Mother Taught Me." The Dvořák Prague International Music Festival is an annual event held to honor his life and music.

Biography

Antonín Dvořák was born in Nelahozeves, near Prague, in the Austrian Empire. He was the eldest son of František Dvořák (1814–1894) and Anna Zdeňková (1820–1882). František worked as an innkeeper, a zither player, and a butcher. Anna was the daughter of Josef Zdeněk, who served as a bailiff for the Prince of Lobkowicz. Anna and František married on November 17, 1840. Dvořák was the first of 14 children, and eight of them lived past infancy. He was baptized as a Roman Catholic in the village church of St. Andrew. His early years in Nelahozeves helped shape his strong Christian faith and love for his Bohemian heritage, which influenced his music. In 1847, Dvořák entered primary school and learned to play the violin from his teacher, Joseph Spitz. He showed early talent, playing in a village band and in church.

The Nelahozeves train station was built during Dvořák’s childhood, and he developed a lifelong interest in trains. František, though not successful as an innkeeper or butcher, earned a living as a musician and was proud of his son’s talents. At age 13, Dvořák moved to Zlonice in 1853 to live with his uncle, Antonín Zdeněk, to learn German. His first composition, the "Forget-Me-Not Polka" in C ("Polka pomněnka"), may have been written as early as 1855.

Dvořák studied organ, piano, and violin with his German teacher, Antonín Liehmann. Liehmann also taught him music theory and introduced him to contemporary composers. Despite Liehmann’s temper, Dvořák respected him. Liehmann was the church organist in Zlonice and sometimes let Dvořák play the organ during services. Dvořák later studied organ and music theory with Franz Hanke in Česká Kamenice, who supported his musical growth more kindly. At age 16, with encouragement from Liehmann and Zdeněk, František allowed Dvořák to pursue a career as a musician, provided he aimed to become an organist. In September 1857, Dvořák moved to Prague and enrolled in the Prague Organ School. He studied singing with Josef Zvonař, theory with František Blažek, and organ with Joseph Foerster. Foerster was a professor at the Prague Conservatory and a composer. Dvořák also took German language lessons and worked as a violist in bands and orchestras, including the St. Cecilia Society. He graduated from the Organ School in 1859, ranking second in his class. He later applied for a position as an organist at Prague St. Henry’s Church but was not selected.

In 1858, Dvořák joined Karel Komzák’s orchestra, performing in Prague’s restaurants and at balls. The orchestra’s high skill level caught the attention of Jan Nepomuk Maýr, who hired the entire group for the Bohemian Provisional Theatre Orchestra. Dvořák played viola in the orchestra starting in 1862. He could not afford concert tickets, but playing in the orchestra allowed him to hear music, especially operas. In July 1863, Dvořák performed in a concert featuring Richard Wagner, the German composer, who conducted the orchestra. Dvořák had admired Wagner since 1857. In 1862, Dvořák began composing his first string quartet. In 1864, he shared a flat in Prague’s Žižkov district with five others, including violinist Mořic Anger and Karel Čech, who later became a singer. In 1866, Maýr was replaced as conductor by Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák earned about $7.50 a month, and to support himself, he gave piano lessons.

Through these lessons, Dvořák met his future wife, Anna. He initially fell in love with Anna’s sister, Josefína Čermáková, who was his student and a colleague at the Provisional Theatre. He composed the song-cycle "Cypresses" for her, but she did not return his feelings and later married Count Wenzel Robert von Kaunitz. In 1873, Dvořák married Josefína’s younger sister, Anna Čermáková. They had nine children, several of whom died in infancy. Their children were: Otakar (1874–1877), Josefa (1875–1875), Růžena (1876–1877), Otýlie (1878–1905), Anna (1880–?), and others. Otýlie later became a composer.

Dvořák’s early works included the Piano Quintet in A major, Op. 5, which premiered in Prague in November 1872. In March 1873, his Czech patriotic cantata, The Heirs of the White Mountain, was performed by the Prague Hlahol Choral Society with 300 singers, conducted by his friend Karel Bendl. Dvořák also worked as an organist at St. Vojtěch (St. Adalbert’s Church) in Prague under his former teacher, Josef Foerster. Though the job paid little, it helped support his family. During this time, he composed a significant amount of music.

Style

Antonín Dvořák used music from Czech, Moravian, and other Slavic traditions as inspiration for many of his compositions, including the Slavonic Dances and a large number of songs. He often included traditional Slavic folk dance forms in his works, such as the skočná, Bohemian furiant, sousedská, špacirka, Slovak odzemek, Polish mazurka and polonaise, Yugoslav Kolo, and Ukrainian dumka. His 16 Slavonic Dances, Op. 46, which helped him gain fame, and Op. 72, include at least one example of each of these forms. Dvořák also composed an orchestral Polonaise in 1879. He named the third movement of his 6th Symphony "Scherzo (Furiant)." His Dumky Trio, a well-known chamber work, is named after the dumka, a traditional Ukrainian and Slavic musical style. His major works show his connection to his heritage and love for his homeland. Dvořák followed the musical path of Bedřich Smetana, who helped shape modern Czech music.

Dvořák admired Richard Wagner’s music since 1857. Later in his life, he said Wagner was "so great a genius that he was capable of doing things that were beyond the reach of other composers." Wagner’s influence is especially clear in Dvořák’s operas and some orchestral pieces. According to Clapham, the theme of the Andante Sostenuto from his fourth symphony "could almost have come directly out of Tannhäuser."

Starting in 1873, Dvořák’s style became more similar to classical musical models. In 1894, he wrote an article stating that the composers he most admired were Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert. Since the article focused on Schubert, three years before the 100th anniversary of his birth, it appears Dvořák had a special interest in Schubert’s work.

Works

Antonín Dvořák wrote many different types of music. His nine symphonies usually follow the structure of classical music, but he also created new types of pieces called symphonic poems. Many of his works show the influence of Czech folk music, especially in the rhythm and melody. Examples include the two sets of Slavonic Dances, the Symphonic Variations, and most of his songs. This influence is also found in his major choral works. Dvořák wrote ten operas, the best known being Rusalka. He also composed serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, chamber music (like string quartets and quintets), and piano music.

Many of Dvořák’s works were given numbers called opus numbers, but these numbers did not always match the order in which the works were written or published. Some publishers, like N. Simrock, gave early works higher opus numbers to make young composers appear more established. In other cases, Dvořák chose lower opus numbers for new works to avoid selling them to his publishers. For example, the Czech Suite was published as Op. 39 instead of Op. 52 to avoid selling it to Simrock. This caused some opus numbers to be used for more than one work. For instance, the number 12 was assigned to five different pieces. In some cases, a single work had three different opus numbers from different publishers.

The numbering of Dvořák’s symphonies has changed over time. Initially, they were numbered based on when they were published, not when they were written. The first four symphonies were published after the last five. The last five were not published in the order they were written, which is why the New World Symphony was first called No. 5, then No. 8, and later No. 9 in modern editions.

All of Dvořák’s works were listed in order of when they were created by Jarmil Burghauser. For example, the New World Symphony, Op. 95, is labeled B.178 in the Burghauser catalog. Scholars today often use the B numbers because many early works lack opus numbers. However, traditional opus numbers are still commonly used in printed programs because they are familiar and connected to historical records.

During Dvořák’s lifetime, only five of his symphonies were widely known. The first published was the Sixth Symphony, dedicated to Hans Richter. After Dvořák’s death, four previously unknown symphonies were discovered. One of these had been lost to the composer himself. This led to the New World Symphony being called No. 5, then No. 8, and finally No. 9 in modern editions.

Dvořák’s symphonies are often described as lyrical and easy to listen to, similar to the works of Franz Schubert. However, scholars like Richard Taruskin note that Dvořák used a musical structure called cyclic form, especially in his later works, where he reused musical themes, giving his pieces a subtle sense of storytelling.

The Symphony No. 1 in C minor, Op. 3, was written in 1865 when Dvořák was 24 years old. It was later given the title The Bells of Zlonice, referencing his time in the village of Zlonice. The Symphony No. 2 in B♭ major, Op. 4, also written in 1865, had some original ideas but did not become part of the standard symphonic repertoire.

The Symphony No. 3 in E♭ major, Op. 10 (c. 1873), shows the influence of Richard Wagner’s music. This influence is less clear in the Symphony No. 4 in D minor, Op. 13, except for the beginning of the second movement.

The Symphony No. 5 in F major, Op. 76, and the Symphony No. 6 in D major, Op. 60, are both described as pastoral. The Sixth Symphony, published in 1880, resembles Brahms’ Symphony No. 2, especially in the outer movements, but differs in the third movement, a lively Czech dance called a furiant. This symphony made Dvořák internationally known as a symphonic composer.

The Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70, is highly praised by critics and music experts. Sir Donald Tovey called it one of the greatest symphonies since Beethoven’s time, along with the four symphonies of Brahms and Schubert’s Ninth Symphony.

The Symphony No. 8 in G major, Op. 88, has a warmer and more hopeful tone. Karl Schumann compared it to the works of Gustav Mahler.

The Symphony No. 9 in E minor, Op. 95, is also known as the New World Symphony or From the New World. Dvořák wrote it in 1893 while in New York. He claimed to have used American music like spirituals and Native American melodies, but later denied this. A recording of the New World Symphony was taken to the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. In 2009, it was voted the favorite symphony in a poll by ABC Classic FM in Australia.

Many conductors have recorded all of Dvořák’s symphonies, including István Kertész, Rafael Kubelík, Witold Rowicki, Neeme Järvi, Zdeněk Mácal, Václav Neumann, Libor Pešek, Otmar Suitner, Jiří Bělohlávek, and José Serebrier.

Adolf Čech performed more of Dvořák’s symphonies than anyone else. He conducted the first performances of several symphonies, including the Sixth Symphony.

Dvořák also wrote five symphonic poems, including The Water Goblin, The Noon Witch, The Golden Spinning Wheel, The Dying Swan, and The Noon Witch. These pieces tell stories and use vivid musical themes

Legacy

The Antonín Dvořák Museum in Prague holds many written works and letters from the composer, along with a large part of Dvořák’s collection of musical scores and books.

The 1980 film Concert at the End of Summer is based on Dvořák’s life. In the film, Dvořák is played by Josef Vinklář. The 2012 television film The American Letters focuses on Dvořák’s personal relationships. In this film, Dvořák is played by Hynek Čermák. Ian Krykorka has written several children’s books inspired by some of Dvořák’s operas. Josef Škvorecký wrote a book titled Dvorak in Love, which describes Dvořák’s experiences in America as the Director of the National Conservatory of Music.

Asteroid 2055 Dvořák, discovered by Luboš Kohoutek, was named in honor of the composer. Dvorak (Anton) Park in Chicago’s Pilsen Historic District is also named after Dvořák.