Antonin Dvorak was the first of nine children born to Frantisek Dvorak and Anna nee Zdenkova. He was born September 8, 1841 in a Bohemian village in Nelahozeves. Dvorak came to know and love music in and around his father’s inn at an early age. Although it was assumed that he would become a butcher and an innkeeper, like his father, Dvorak had an evident talent for music that was noticed and encouraged by those around him. At the age of 12 Dvorak moved to Zlonice where he lived with his aunt and uncle. Here he studied harmony, piano and organ. His earliest works were written during the three years he spent here in Zlonice.
By 1957 his music teacher realised that Antonin was now beyond his teaching abilities and suggested that he enroll at…show more content… The leading critics, conductors and instrumentalists of those days all admired Dvorak’s works and this led to great triumphs in his own country. In 1890 he appreciated a victory of his own; two concerts had been organised for him in Moscow and the following year Dvorak was made an honorary doctor of music of the University of Cambridge. In 1892 he found himself in New York where he had accepted the position of director of the newly established National Conservatory of Music. During his years in the United States he appreciated the new environment; however he came to miss his home country. Dvorak returned to Bohemia in 1895 where he spent his last years composing several string quartets, symphonic poems and his last three operas.
Dvorak was one of the several composers from the Romantic era who let his cultural roots shine through his music. The structure of his music tends to be about classical lines; however his rhythms and melodies embody folk traditions of his native Czechoslovakia and surrounding regions. Dvorak imparted the spirit of these Bohemian folk songs and dances in his symphonies and chamber music. The melodiousness of his works appealed to the English, as well as the cheerful and direct personality of his folk
