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{dvor'-zhahk}
Antonin Dvorak, b. Sept. 8, 1841, d. May 1, 1904, was the
greatest Bohemian composer and one of the leading masters
of symphonic and chamber music of the late 19th century. Dvorak
displayed unusual musical talent at an early age and learned
to play the violin from the local schoolmaster. At age 16
he went to Prague to study organ and composition, supporting
himself as a violist and piano teacher. His first successful
composition was Hymnus (1873), a patriotic choral work. His
fame grew steadily--in part owing to encouragement from Johannes
Brahms and Franz Liszt--and after the publication of the first
set of his Slavonic Dances (1878), Dvorak enjoyed wide popularity.
Brahms befriended him and enabled his music to be performed
and published in Germany.
Between 1884 and 1891 Dvorak often conducted his music in
England; he wrote his great Symphony no. 7 (1885) and the
oratorio St. Ludmilla (1886) for the English. In 1892 he moved
to the United States to become director of New York's National
Conservatory. During his three-year tenure he composed his
most popular work, Symphony no. 9, From the New World (1893),
as well as his popular cello concerto (1895). Dvorak became
director of the Prague Conservatory in 1901. In the same year,
the most successful of his ten operas, Rusalka, premiered
at the Prague National Theater.
A prolific composer, Dvorak worked in all forms, and his music
has a spontaneous freshness that sometimes conceals the skill
of its construction. He was a melodist of genius and a superb
orchestrator, and, like Brahms, cultivated the traditional
classical forms. Although Dvorak is best known for his orchestral
music--which includes nine symphonies, several overtures and
symphonic poems, the Slavonic Rhapsodies, the Scherzo capriccioso,
and many other works--much of his finest music is found in
his string quartets and other chamber works, particularly
the Piano Quintet in A. Most of his songs have the flavor
of Czech folk melody, which is also present--if more subtly--in
his other music. Among his choral works are the Stabat Mater
(1877), Requiem (1890), and Te Deum (1892).
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