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Antonin Dvořák

One of the world’s most famous composers, Antonín Leopold Dvořák, was born in Bohemia just outside of Prague in the town of Nelahozeves. His birthday was September 8, 1841.

By Kimberly Kradel

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Antonin Dvorak
Dvořák is buried in the Vyšehrad cemetery in Prague, under his bust by Czech sculptor Ladislav Šaloun.

Prague has had an eternal love affair with classical music, as you can tell by the number of concerts held on any given day in the city.

One of the world’s most famous composers, Antonín Leopold Dvořák, was born in Bohemia just outside of Prague in the town of Nelahozeves, on the bank of the Vltava river, about 25 km north of the city. His birthday was September 8, 1841 and at that time Bohemia was known to be part of the Austrian Empire. Dvořák was born into the family of a butcher/innkeeper. His father was also a professional musician who played the zither and his parents recognized his own musical talent early in his childhood. He began his musical education when he started school at the age of six.

For two years, from 1857 – 59, he studied music in Prague’s Organ School, and gradually developed into an accomplished player of the violin and the viola. Throughout the 1860s he played viola in the Bohemian Provisional Theater Orchestra and taught. The need to supplement his orchestral income by teaching left Dvořák with little free time, and in 1871 he quit the orchestra in order to devote his time to composing.

Prior to the publication of the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46 in 1878, Dvořák was a relatively unknown composer. Because of this fact, he had applied for the Austrian State Music Prize scholarship in order to fund his compositional work. After he won the prize four years in a row, Johannes Brahms, as one of the members of the committee responsible for awarding the scholarship, referred Dvořák to his own publisher, Fritz Simrock. The first of Dvořák’s music to be published by Simrock was the Moravian Duets, which attained widespread success; encouraged, Simrock asked the composer to write something with a dance-like character. — Wikipedia on the Slavonic Dances

Dvořák wrote in a number of different forms. His nine symphonies are for the most part classical models, although he also worked in the (then) newly developed symphonic poem. Many of his pieces show the influence of Czech folk music, in their rhythms and melodic characteristics. The best known examples of this are the two sets of Slavonic Dances mentioned above. Dvořák also wrote operas, serenades for string orchestra and wind ensemble, chamber music, songs, choral and piano music.

Dvořák’s travels took him to Russia in 1890 where he conducted, London, had no less than nine visits from him, and New York, where he became the the director of The National Conservatory of Music from 1892-95.

In 1891 Dvořák received an honorary degree from Cambridge.

Probably his most recognizable pieces are the Cello Concerto in B minor and the Symphony No. 9, Second Movement.

Dvořák was the director of the Conservatory in Prague from 1901 until his death from heart failure in 1904.

More information on Dvořák can be found in his article on Wikipedia.

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