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...

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...