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Antonín Dvorák
(1841–1904)

Biographical

Dvorák was born in Bohemia to a modest family, his father working as both innkeeper and butcher, and his first practical experience of music came informally at the door of that inn, where he played with local fiddlers for village dances. Early instruction from Josef Spitz gave him a solid grounding in singing and the violin, soon enabling him to assist with church music, and further study followed at Zlonice under the organist Antonín Liehmann, who introduced him to theory, organ and piano before acknowledging that the young musician’s ability had quickly outgrown what he could teach. A period at Böhmisch-Kamnitz broadened Dvorák’s education and added German to his skills, and although family obligations briefly pulled him back home, he eventually secured permission to move to Prague and commit himself fully to music. From 1857 he studied at the organ school of the Gesellschaft der Kirchenmusik, living with persistent financial insecurity and supporting himself by playing the viola in orchestras and taverns. In 1862 he joined the orchestra of the Bohemian Interimstheater, remaining there for eleven years before taking a post as organist at St Adalbert’s church, a time marked by real hardship even after his marriage. Despite limited means, a lack of proper equipment and long hours of professional work, he continued to study and compose, receiving crucial help from the composer Karel Bendl; many early works, including two symphonies and the opera Alfred, remained unheard and were later destroyed. Public recognition began in 1873 with the patriotic hymn Die Erben des weissen Berges, though setbacks followed, including the failure of König und Köhler, which he promptly rewrote. A decisive turning point came in 1875, when support from Brahms and Hanslick secured him a Viennese stipend, freeing him to concentrate on composition, and international fame followed with the Slavonic Dances of 1877. Success in England soon followed through works such as the Stabat Mater, several symphonies, and the cantata The Spectre’s Bride, though the oratorio St Ludmila was less well received. From 1892 to 1895 Dvorák served as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York before returning to Prague. His music, rooted in national idiom though broader in outlook than that of Smetana, secured a lasting place through orchestral and chamber works in particular, for despite sustained effort his operas failed to achieve enduring success, and his reputation rests on individuality, orchestral mastery, and remarkable drive in the development of his talent.

Place of birth: Nelahozeves, Czech Republic
Place of death: Prague

Son of František Dvorak and Anna Zdeňková, he married Anna Čermáková (†1931) in 1873, and had issue.