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Antonin Dvorak

Czech composer who blended folk music with symphonic tradition.

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Antonin Dvorak

Unknown authorUnknown author · via Wikipedia: Antonín Dvořák · Public domain

Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer born on 8 September 1841 and died on 1 May 1904.[1] A major concert series called the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival takes place every year in honor of his legacy.[2]

Last updated 2026-10-01 from the source article.

Life and work

Dvořák was the eldest son of František, an innkeeper, zither player, and butcher, and Anna, daughter of a bailiff.[3][4] At age 13 he was sent to Zlonice to learn German, and he took organ, piano, and violin lessons there.[5][6] While in the United States he wrote his Symphony From the New World and his Cello Concerto.[7] As a child, Dvořák demonstrated musical ability by performing on the violin in both a local village band and at church services.[8]

In 1857, at age sixteen, Dvořák began studying at the Prague Organ School, and he finished his studies there in 1859 with the second-highest rank in his class.[9][10] Dvořák and Anna Čermáková became husband and wife in 1873; the couple had nine children, but several of them did not survive infancy.[11] The Austrian State Prize was awarded to Dvořák for the first time in 1874, with Johannes Brahms serving as one of the competition's judges.[12] Brahms suggested to the publisher Simrock that he should work with Dvořák, which led to Simrock commissioning the Slavonic Dances; this brought Dvořák worldwide fame.[12]

What the cited sources add

The Prague Experience account states that Dvořák holds a place among extraordinary figures of musical culture in the Czech lands and the world.[13] David R. Beveridge's biography notes that during his last years Dvořák was considered by many the greatest living composer.[14] The same source says the dance hall in his father's tavern gave young Antonín vivid experiences of village dance bands.[14] Beveridge also reports that in 1887 Dvořák abruptly ceased accepting commissions from abroad and composed mainly for his own urgings.[14]

Eleanor Kelly's article states that Dvořák's daughter Otilie Suková was born in 1878 and died suddenly from a heart condition in 1905.[15] Classic FM notes that in 1895 problems over his salary led him to decide to return to Bohemia.[16] Beveridge's radio piece quotes Dvořák saying "I'd give all my symphonies if I could have invented the locomotive!".[17]

References

  1. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clapham 1980, p. 765; Taruskin 2010, p. 754 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  2. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Dvorak's Prague Festival (Dvorak Hall) in Prague", Prague Experience, 2023 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  3. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: ; also gives further partial ascending and descending family trees (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  4. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Hughes 1967, p. 22–23; Clapham 1979a, p. 3; Hughes 1967, p. 22–23 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  5. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burghauser 1960, p. 466 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  6. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clapham 1979b, p. 132–33; Burghauser 1960, p. 466 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  7. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Clapham 1979b, p. 132–33 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  8. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Burghauser 1960, p. 466; Vaughan, "Antonin Dvorak 1841–1904: from the trains of Nelahozeves to the rhythms of Africa", Radio Prague International, 1 May 2004 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  9. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Honolka 2004, p. 14–16 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  10. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: .; "Kasika", Czech music; ; Schönzeler 1984, p. 36–38 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  11. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Dvořák, "Můj otec Antonín Dvořák", Knihovna Jana Drdy, 2004; Eleanor Kelly. 'Otilie Suková (1878–1905)', Donne Foundation; Dvořák, "Můj otec Antonín Dvořák", Knihovna Jana Drdy, 2004 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
  12. Wikipedia, "Antonín Dvořák" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: or later ed., "Survey of the life of" A.D. (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
  13. "Dvorak's Prague Festival (Dvorak Hall) in Prague", Prague Experience, 2023. facts only, no text reused. dvorakovapraha.cz
  14. Beveridge, "Antonín Dvořák Biography", dvoraknyc.org. facts only, no text reused. dvoraknyc.org
  15. Eleanor Kelly. 'Otilie Suková (1878–1905)', Donne Foundation. facts only, no text reused. donne-uk.org
  16. "Dvořák's family", Classic FM. facts only, no text reused. classicfm.com
  17. Beveridge, "Dvorák the Trainspotter", Twenty Minutes, 22 July 2006. facts only, no text reused. bbc.co.uk

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Antonín Dvořák (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.

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Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.

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