214
place in the theatre orchestra to
concentrate on composition, and
the critical success of his stirring
hymn of Czech national pride The
Heirs of the White Mountain (1873)
marked the beginning of his
recognition as a composer.
By 1880, Dvorˇ ák had cemented
his reputation as the greatest of
the Czech nationalist composers,
particularly through his Slavonic
Dances (1878; 1886), inspired by
Brahms’s Hungarian Dances (1869).
However, Dvorˇ ák’s approach to
his orchestral dances was quite
different from that used by Brahms.
Whereas the Viennese composer
made verbatim use of traditional
tunes for his collection, Dvorˇá k’s
lively dances did not borrow but
were newly composed orchestral
works imbued with nationalcharacter. His Czech Suite (1879),
for example, has two movements
completely modeled on Bohemian
folk dances: the polka, in the
second movement, and the slow
“sousedská” in the fourth. Dvorˇá k’s
seventh and eighth symphonies
were also particularly Bohemian—
the seventh has clear Slavonic
influences, while the eighth sounds
like a joyful folk celebration.The New World
By the end of the century, Dvorˇá k’s
fame was spreading beyond his
homeland to England and the
United States. In 1891, New York
musical philanthropist Jeannette
Thurber asked Dvorˇák to direct her
National Conservatory of Music.
Knowing that he had done much to
establish Czech music, she wanted
him to inspire her students to find a
path toward an American national
musical style. Dvorˇ ák, however,
was reluctant to leave Prague for
a long contract and initially turned
down the offer, although he gave inNATIONALISM AND FOLK MUSIC
Harry Burleigh was the first black
composer to write down spirituals,
influencing future American music.
Dvorˇ ák greatly admired his fine
baritone voice and the songs he sang.to pressure to accept, after his
family heard that the salary he
would earn per annum was
equivalent to working 25 years
at the Prague Conservatory.
Among the talented students
that Thurber encouraged to apply
to her conservatory, regardless of
gender, ethnicity, or disability, was
an African American singer, Henry
(Harry) Thacker Burleigh, who
enrolled in 1892, contributing to
his fees by working as a handyman
and cleaner in the building. His
singing attracted the attention of
Dvorˇ ák, and Burleigh later recalled
singing old African American
hymns to the composer: “I gave
him what I knew of Negro songs.”Listening and responding
These “Negro spirituals,” as they
came to be known, were among
the musical ideas that Dvorˇák
drew on in his Symphony No. 9
(“From the New World”), in which
he turned his attention from his
native folk music to that of his
adopted home. “From the New
World” was inspired by both
plantation songs and Native
American chants; Dvorˇ ák felt
strongly that this music of the
poor of America could serve as
the rootstock for a national musicalIn the negro melodies of
America I discover all that
is needed for a great and
noble school of music.
Antonin Dvorˇ ákUS_212-215_Dvorak.indd 214 26/03/18 1:01 PM