Fascinating Antonin Dvorak Facts That You Probably Didn't Know

Antonín is known for composing 19th-century romantic music by molding folk material.

Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a 19th-century Czech composer whose works included opera, chamber music, oratorios, symphonies, and concerts. Along with Smetana and Janacek, Dvorak is one of three well-known composers who wrote nationalist Czech music.

His final symphony is known as the 'New World Symphony' because he wrote it in the United States ('New World'). Slow movements with solos played on English barques were very popular. Dvořák is said to have been be so self-critical of himself that he burned his early works.

Keep reading to learn more facts about Antonin Dvorak.

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Antonín Dvořák's Compositions

Dvořák is known for bringing native folk music into his compositions. While in America, Dvořák produced his three most famous works: String Quartet No. 12 known as 'America', 'Cello Concerto' in B minor, and 'New World Symphony'.

When he aired the symphony, critics disagreed as to whether it was an all-American symphony or just more of the usual bohemian Dvořák dish. He was also a huge hit in New York thanks to his ninth symphony, 'From the New World', which earned him world celebrity status.

Due to his phobia, he missed the premiere of the 'New World Symphony' but was somehow convinced to attend another one.

Dvořák's aim in America was to discover 'African American music' and deal with it when he used Czech in his music. Shortly after arriving in America in 1892, Dvořák wrote a number of newspaper articles about the state of American music.

Antonín Dvořák Biography

Dvořák was born on September 8, 1841, in a village near Prague in Czechoslovakia. Today, Prague is the capital of the Czech Republic, but it later became part of the Austrian Empire.

Despite the fact that Antonin Leopold Dvoák was the eldest of 14 children, his parents supported him in his musical training and career despite their financial situation. His father was a professional innkeeper and butcher.

Folk music accompanied every family event, and young Antonin soon joined his father in a local band and served as an apprentice butcher.

His love of trains began at an early age when he saw the construction of a railway track near his town. He went to the Pipe Organ School in Prague for his college education.

He left the orchestra in 1871 to devote himself more to writing. For several years, he still had to teach to earn enough money to live. Dvořák wrote 'The Heirs of the White Mountain', which was a huge success.

In 1873, Dvořák married Anna Cermakova after being courted and rejected by her sister Josefina. Antonín Dvořák and his wife had a total of nine children, six of whom survived childhood. After marriage, he left the orchestra to become a church organist, which guaranteed a better income, higher social status, and more time to compose.

In 1874, he wrote the 'King and Charcoal Burner', but the opera did not want it. This made it clear to Dvořák that he needed to be more critical of himself. He decided not to write like Wagner but to find his own style of composition.

In 1875, Dvořák received a state scholarship from the Austrian government, and this award connected him with Johannes Brahms, who became his mentor. Dvorak's first best-selling dance was in 1877. Simrock commissioned him to compose several Slavonic dances for a piano duet. Aiming at the domestic market, the sheet music for the eight dances sold out in one day.

The admiration by instrumentalists, leading critics, and conductors of his time spread his fame abroad again and again, which, of course, brought even greater victories to his country.

Around 1884, he made the first of 10 visits to England, where he was always proud of the success of his work, although only 'Stabat Mater' (1877) and 'Te Deum' (1892) continued to occupy a place among the best works in the world.

Dvořák accepted the post of director of the newly founded National Conservatory of Music in New York in 1892. Although he found much of the New World environment stimulating to him, he soon began to miss his own country and returned to Bohemia in 1895. His life consisted of several symphonic poems, string quartets, and his last three operas.

He went to London in 1896 to hear the world premiere of his 'Cello Concerto'. In 1897, his daughter married his student, composer Josef Suk. He died in 1904 after a brief illness.

Antonín Dvořák Pronunciation

The pronunciation of Antonín Dvořák is an-ton-yin D (uh) -vorsz-ahk. His last name, Dvorak, can be very challenging to pronounce.

The first part, transcribed as -D (uh), is basically a 'd' sound with the much shortened 'uh' sound leading to the second part. The second syllable is pronounced as '-vorz'. This is because 'ř', known as 'r' with háček, determines the simultaneous pronunciation of 'r' and 'sz'. The 'sz' sound is the same as the 's' in 'pleasure'.

Antonín Dvořák Nationality

Dvořák was born in Nelahozeves, Bohemia, in the Austrian Empire, but lived in the United States. In 1877, he applied again for the Austrian Prize and played Moravian duets and other music, perhaps his piano concerto. He didn't know the results until December.

He then received a personal letter from music critic Eduard Hanslick, who was also a judge. The letter not only informed Dvořák that he had won the award again but also informed him for the first time that Brahms and Hanslick were on the jury.

The letter contained suggestions to support the friendship of the two in spreading Dvořák's music outside their Czech homeland. In December 1877, Dvořák wrote his String Quartet No.9 in D minor and devoted it to Brahms.

Both Brahms and Hanslick were so impressed with the Moravian duo that Brahms recommended it to his publisher, Simrock, who managed to publish it. In light of Brahms' well-received Hungarian dance, Simrock commissioned Dvořák to write something similar.

Dvořák presented 'Slavonic Dances op. 46' in 1878, originally for the four-handed piano, but also in an orchestral version at Simrock's request. It was an instant and great success.

On December 15, 1878, the prominent music critic, Louis Ehlert, published a review of the Moravian duet and Slavonic dance in the Berlin national newspaper. This hitherto unknown composer's dances and duets were extremely popular in German music stores. The dances were performed at concerts in France, England, and the United States in 1879.

Simrock then requested more Slavonic dances from Dvořák in his op. 72, 1886.

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