Two works from Dvořák’s stay in America.
The composer was in charge of the National Conservatory of Music in New York from 1892 to 1895. During his directorship he tried to encourage the creation of a distinctive American style based on a combination of black-American spirituals and native-American traditional music.
How much influence this had on his own work is still debated; it’s undoubtedly there, but to what extent?
Judge for yourselves:
Dvořák: String Quintet,
Op. 97
Written (together with his twelfth string quartet – the so-called ‘American’ – and some of the Ninth – New World – Symphony) in the Czech enclave of Spillville, Iowa, the E-flat Quintet is a good example of the composer’s music during this period.
0:06 Allegro non tanto
10:04 Allegro vivo
16:17 Larghetto
27:56 Allegro giusto
Dvořák: Ninth Symphony in e
From the New World
Commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Dvořák’s ninth and last symphony was a major success and has remained a significant part of the orchestral repertoire since its first performance in 1893.
Adagio – Allegro molto 00:00
Largo 09:34
Scherzo: Molto vivace 22:42
Allegro con fuoco 30:29
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The Art of Listening 