Introduction

Nicholas Boulton

Great Composers in Words & Music: Antonín Dvořák

8 SECONDS • JUL 14 2023

Album tracklist

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00:08

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Slavonic Dances, Op. 72, B. 147 (Version for Orchestra): No. 1 in B Major (Excerpt) (Version for Orchestra)

01:16

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

04:04

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10 Biblical Songs, Op. 99, B. 185: No. 4, Hospodin jest můj pastýř (Excerpt)

01:32

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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

02:57

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10 Biblical Songs, Op. 99, B. 185: No. 6, Slyš, ó Bože, volání mé (Excerpt)

00:57

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

02:48

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

00:38

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

02:31

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

00:49

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

01:34

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

01:48

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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…

01:24

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

01:04

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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

03:57

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Král a uhlíř, B. 21, Act I Scene 9: Jaký zvuk to jest? (Excerpt)

00:42

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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

02:06

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Moravské dvojzpěvy, Op. 32, B. 62: No. 2, Veleť vtáčku (Excerpt)

00:45

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

02:16

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

00:54

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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…

02:47

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

00:58

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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

01:22

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Stabat Mater, Op. 58, B. 71 (1876 Version): Stabat mater dolorosa (Excerpt) (1876 Version)

00:53

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

03:13

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

02:01

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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

03:20

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

01:32

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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…

03:11

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

01:28

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

03:37

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

01:14

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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…

02:59

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

01:38

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

03:50

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Armida, Op. 115, B. 206, Act I Scene 1: Jak z dervišových prstů řinou (Excerpt)

01:40

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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…

02:33

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

01:07

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Great Composers in Words & Music: Antonín Dvořák

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Great Composers in Words & Music: Antonín Dvořák

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Introduction

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