The music of Antonin Dvorak defies fashion. He is one of the very few composers whose works entered the international mainstream during his own lifetime, and some of them have remained there ever since. The pieces that historically define his international reputation, however, represent only a small fraction of what he actually composed. They comprise just one facet of his complex and remarkably rich artistic personality. This book/2-CD pack invites readers to celebrate his extraordinary achievement and experience the pleasure of getting to know more than 90 of his most important works. The...

Dvorak's second set of Slavonic Dances was composed in response to a request from his German publisher, N. Simrock, in the wake of the tremendous popularity of the first set (Op. 46). The brilliant orchestration of the melodious, folk-inspired dances did much to establish Dvorak's reputation as a major orchestral composer. The new study score offered here is a digitally-enhanced reprint of the score first issued in 1955 as part of the Dvorak complete works by the Czech State publishing house SNKLHU, edited by Otakar Sourek. Available now for the first time in an affordable, easy-to-read size.

Dvoraks "Stabat Mater" is a work deeply inspired by personal tragedy in the composers life. Originally sketched between February and May of 1876 as a delayed response to the death of his daughter Josefa, the work was not completed in definitive form until late 1877, in the wake of the passing of two other children (daughter Ruzena and son Otakar). The work was finally premiered on 23 December 1880 in Prague, with vocalists and chorus from the Czech Provisional Theatre conducted by Adolf Cech. The work was first published early the following year by Simrock, with the vocal featuring the piano...

Title: Stabat Mater Composer: Antonin Dvorak Original Publisher: White, Smith, & Co The complete vocal score to Dvorak's Stabat Mater, Op. 58, with English translation, as originally published by White, Smith, & Co. in 1884. Performer's Reprints are produced in conjunction with the International Music Score Library Project. These are out of print or historical editions, which we clean, straighten, touch up, and digitally reprint. Due to the age of original documents, you may find occasional blemishes, damage, or skewing of print. While we do extensive cleaning and editing to improve the image...

Title: A Hero's Song Composer: Antonin Dvorak Original Publisher: Simrock The complete first edition orchestral score to Dvorak's A Hero's Song, Op. 111, as originally published by Simrock in 1899. Performer's Reprints are produced in conjunction with the International Music Score Library Project. These are out of print or historical editions, which we clean, straighten, touch up, and digitally reprint. Due to the age of original documents, you may find occasional blemishes, damage, or skewing of print. While we do extensive cleaning and editing to improve the image quality, some items are...

Composed in the late summer of 1876, Dvoraks first effort at a full-blown concerto shows signs of an unusual amount of revision in the composers hand - especially for the solo piano part. This might explain the delay in the concertos premiere, which was given at the Provisional Theatre in Prague on March 24, 1878 with Karel Slavkovsky as soloist accompanied by the Provisional Theatre Orchestra under the baton of Adolf Cech. The composer himself wrote: "I see I am unable to write a Concerto for a virtuoso; I must think of other things."

The ungainly solo part no doubt also played a role in...

Commissioned by the eminent violinist Joseph Joachim after a Berlin meeting in April of 1879, Dvorak composed his first version between July 5 and September of the same year, even incorporating changes recommended by Joachim, sending the score to the violinist in November with a formal dedication. Joachim's opinion must not have been favorable as Dvorak set about revising the work in April and May of 1880 following a visit to Berlin, at which point the score was again sent to Berlin. Joachim took 2 years to respond, again recommending changes both to the solo part and the orchestral...

Composed rapidly during April of 1879 in the wake of his success with the two serenades (Opp.22 and 44), Dvorak this time incorporated Czech folk dances into his new work, which was to be for full orchestra. The term serenade, then more often associated with chanber or ensemble pieces (the Opp.22 and 44 were for strings and winds respectively) didn't quite fit and the new piece was designated the Czech Suite. It received its premiere ar the Provisional Theatre in Prague on May 16, 1879 with the theatre orchestra conducted by Adolf Cech, with Dvorak conducting it himself the next year to raise...