Dvorak's choral masterpiece was first performed at the Birmingham Festival on October 9, 1891 under the composer's direction. It immediately entered the standard repertoire. This new vocal score is a digitally-enhanced reissue of the one edited by Karel Solc as part of Dvorak's complete works, published by the Czech State publishing concern, SNKLHU, in the late 1950s. Now in a very readable A4 size, this score will be a welcome addition for vocalists, choruses and pianists alike.

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...

Dvorak's second of his three "Slovanske rapsodie" was composed from August 20 to September 17 of 1878 and received its premiere (along with the first) in Prague's Provisional Theatre on November 17 of the same year in a concert where Dvorak introduced himself as both composer and conductor. Rather than following a classical form, the rhapsodies were intended as absolute music to be enjoyed on their own terms, avoiding any external program. Though conceived as a set of three, the works have mainly been performed separately in the intervening years, which is actually somewhat in character with...

Dvorak's final "Slovanske rapsodie" was composed from around September 20 to December 3 of 1878 and was not completed by the premiere of its two companions at the November 17 Prague concert where Dvorak introduced himself as both a composer and a conductor. It was instead first performed in Berlin on September 24, 1879 conducted by William Taubert. Like its counterparts, traditional forms and programmatic associations are avoided and the music is meant to be enjoyed on its own terms. This new study score is a digitally enhanced reissue of the full score first published in 1959 by the Czech...

The first of the three "Slovanske rapsodie" was composed from February 13 to March 17 of 1878, followed sonn after by the secons (August 20 to September 17). Both received their premiere in Prague's Provisional Theatre on November 17 of the same year in a concert where Dvorak introduced himself as both a composer and conductor. The third rhapsody, composed from around September 20 to December 3, was not finished in time for the November 17 concert in Prague. It was premiered in Berlin on September 24, 1879 conducted by William Taubert. Rather than following a classical form, the rhapsodies...