Dvořák, Antonín (än`tônēn dvôr`zhäk), 1841–1904, Czech composer. He studied at the Organ School, Prague (1857–59) and played viola in the National Theater Orchestra (1861–71) under Smetana Smetana, Bedřich (bĕ`dərzhĭkh smĕ`tänä)
..... Click the link for more information. . With the performance (1873) of his Hymnus he attracted wide attention. In 1884 he went to England to conduct some of his works and eight years later moved on to the United States. While director (1892–94) of the National Conservatory, New York, he composed his most famous work, the Symphony in E Minor, Op. 95, From the New World (1893). It conveys with great exuberance Dvořák's impressions of American scenes and folk music and at the same time evokes nostalgia for his native land. After his return to Prague he was professor and director of the conservatory there. He drew freely on Czech folk music and materials in his works, which are outstanding for their rhythmic variety, melodic invention, and brilliant instrumentation. They include nine symphonies (two published posthumously), as well as symphonic poems, concertos, overtures, string quartets and other chamber music, operas, songs, choral works (mostly religious), and some piano pieces, notable for their freshness of romantic imagination.

Bibliography

See biographical studies by G. Hughes (1967), J. Clapham (1966), V. Fischl, ed. (1943, repr. 1970), and M. B. Beckerman (2002).

Dvorák, Antonín (Leopold)

(born Sept. 8, 1841, Nelahozeves, Bohemia, Austrian Empire—died May 1, 1904, Prague) Bohemian (Czech) composer. Son of a rural innkeeper and butcher, he was permitted to attend organ school in Prague in 1857. He played viola in a theatre orchestra, often under the Czech nationalist composer Bedrich Smetana, and eventually found employment that left him ample time for composition. Johannes Brahms assisted in getting Dvorák's works published, and by 1880 his fame had spread throughout Europe. While serving as director of New York's new National Conservatory of Music (1892–95) he composed the symphony From the New World (1893), his best-known work, which is thought to be based on black spirituals and other American influences. His music frequently draws on folk tunes and is seen as an expression of Czech nationalism. Highly prolific, he is primarily known for his orchestral and chamber compositions; his works include 9 symphonies, concertos for piano, violin, and cello, 2 serenades, several tone poems, 14 string quartets, 2 piano quartets, and 2 piano quintets. His many piano works include the four-hand Slavonic Dances (1878, 1886). His sacred music includes a Stabat Mater (1877), a Requiem (1890), and a Te Deum (1892). Of his 13 operas, only Rusalka (1900) is still performed.