TDCM: May 26th-27th - Antonin Dvořák

 

Listening Through The Dictionary of Composers and Their Music 

Antonin Dvořák (1841-1904)

Bio

Dvořák will be getting two days of listening in this project. He was one of the first Czech composers to gain worldwide notoriety. He is the pinnacle of the national-symphonic composer, weaving rhythms and folk traditions of the Czech people into his grandiose Symphonic works. His father was a professional zither player, he had 13 siblings, and was a practicing Catholic. He studied in Prague and was a concert violist. After some local recognition, he entered a contest judged by Hanslick, Herbeck, and Johannes Brahms. His submission, which included his 3rd and 4th Symphonies, won Brahms over and he vaulted into the national spotlight. He traveled around Europe and then eventually to the United States where he was the director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. He wrote that his favorite composers were Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert but was also noticeably influenced by Smetana, Wagner, and Brahms. 

Music

Symphony No. 1 in C minor "The Bells of Zlonice"

Symphony No. 2 in B-flat major

Symphony No. 3 in E-flat major

Symphony No. 4 in D minor

Symphony No. 5 in F major

Symphony No. 6 in D major

Symphony No. 7 in D minor

Symphony No. 8 in G major

Symphony No. 9 in E minor "From the New World"

String Quartet No. 12 in F major "American"

String Quartet No. 11 in C major

String Quartet No. 13 in G major

Piano Trio No. 4 in E minor "Dumky"

String Quintet No. 2 in G major

String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat major "American"

Piano Quintet No. 2 in A major

The Water Goblin

A Hero's Song

The Golden Spinning Wheel

Slavic Dances