Antonín Leopold Dvorák (1841 - 1904) was a Czech
composer. Dvorák frequently employed rhythms and other
aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native
Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example
of his predecessor BedÅ™ich Smetana. Dvorák's style
has been described as "the fullest recreation of a
national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition,
absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of
using them," and he himself has been described as
"arguably the most ...(+)
Antonín Leopold Dvorák (1841 - 1904) was a Czech
composer. Dvorák frequently employed rhythms and other
aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native
Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example
of his predecessor BedÅ™ich Smetana. Dvorák's style
has been described as "the fullest recreation of a
national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition,
absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of
using them," and he himself has been described as
"arguably the most versatile... composer of his time".
He displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being
an apt violin student. The first public performances of
his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special
success, in 1873, when he was 31 years old. Seeking
recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted scores
of symphonies and other works to German and Austrian
competitions. He did not win a prize until 1874, with
Johannes Brahms on the jury of the Austrian State
Competition. In 1877, after his third win, Brahms
recommended Dvorák to his publisher, Simrock, who
commissioned what became the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46.
The sheet music's high sales and critical reception led
to his international success. A London performance of
Dvorák's Stabat Mater in 1883 led to many other
performances in the United Kingdom, the United States,
and eventually Russia in March 1890. The Seventh
Symphony was written for London in 1885.
Antonín DvoÅ™ák's Serenade for Strings in E major
(Czech: SmyÄÂcová serenáda E dur), Op. 22 (B.
52), is one of the composer's most popular orchestral
works. It was composed in just two weeks in May 1875.
By this time, DvoÅ™ák was gaining recognition as a
composer. He received a generous stipend from a
commission in Vienna, allowing him to write the
Serenade, in addition to Symphony No. 5, String Quintet
No. 2, Piano Trio No. 1, the opera Vanda, and the
Moravian Duets. DvoÅ™ák is said to have written the
Serenade in just 12 days, from 3 to 14 May. The piece
premiered in Prague on 10 December 1876 by Adolf
ÄŒech and the combined orchestras of the Czech and
German theatres. DvoÅ™ák's piano duet arrangement
was published in Prague in 1877 by Emanuel Starý. Two
years later, Bote & Bock published the score in
Berlin.
The first movement starts off the Serenade in the key
of E major. The second violins and cellos introduce the
lyrical main theme over an eighth note pulse in the
violas. The theme is traded back and forth, and the
second violins reprise it under a soaring passage in
the firsts. At measure 31, the movement modulates into
G major and presents a new, dancelike theme, based on a
dotted rhythm. At measure 54, the movement modulates
back into E major and the primary theme returns. The
movement ends on three E major chords.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenade_for_Strings_(Dv
o%C5%99%C3%A1k)).
Although originally composed for String Ensemble, I
created this Arrangement of the Moderato from "Serenade
for Strings" (Op. 22 B. 52 No. 1) in E Major for Flute
& Strings (2 Violins, Viola, Cello & Bass).
