Antonín Leopold Dvořák (1841 - 1904) was a Czech
composer. Dvořák 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 Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák'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 Dvořák (1841 - 1904) was a Czech
composer. Dvořák 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 Bedřich Smetana. Dvořák'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 Dvořák 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
Dvořák'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.
"Songs My Mother Taught Me" (Czech: Když mne stará
matka zpívat učívala; German: Als die alte Mutter
sang) is a song for voice and piano written in 1880 by
Antonín Dvořák. It is the fourth of seven songs from
his cycle Gypsy Songs (Czech: Cigánské melodie), B.
104, Op. 55. The Gypsy Songs are set to poems by Adolf
Heyduk in both Czech and German. This song in
particular has achieved widespread fame. The song has
been recorded by a number of well-known singers,
including Jarmila Novotná, Gabriela Beňačková, Evan
Williams, Gervase Elwes, Nellie Melba, Rosa Ponselle,
Jeanette MacDonald, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Victoria de
los Angeles, Joan Sutherland, Paul Robeson, Frederica
von Stade, Edita Gruberová, Angela Gheorghiu,
Magdalena Kožená, and Renée Fleming.
Fritz Kreisler transcribed the song for violin and
piano and performed it frequently. His transcription
was first published in 1914. Artists who have recorded
instrumental versions of the song include Kreisler
himself, Glenn Miller, Josef Suk, Yo-Yo Ma, Alisa
Weilerstein, Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell or Tine Thing
Helseth. The title Songs My Mother Taught Me has
frequently been used by singers in recitals or on
recital discs even when the song itself is not included
in the recording.
Source: Wikipedia
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songs_My_Mother_Taught_M
e_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k)).
Although originally composed for Voice & Piano, I
created this Arrangement of "A les je tichý kolem kol"
(The woods are silent all around) from "Als die alte
Mutter" (Songs my mother taught me) Op. 55 B. 104 No. 3
for Oboe & Piano.
