Antonin Dvorak was born in what we now know as the Czech Republic, and he was considered to be one of the most level-headed and contented of all classical composers. His family were hard working country people, who had great difficulty in funding the development of his obvious talent. Indeed it was his tutor who was instrumental in persuading an uncle of Dvorak to sponsor him at the Organ School in Prague (apparently there was no money for a train ticket and he walked there - some 25 miles). Life was not easy at first, as his early music did not attract much attention. The break-through came in his early thirties when he won the Austrian State Stipendium – he was to enter it the following year and he won it again.
Dvorak toured England in his early forties and was feted everywhere he went – his Slavonic dances were a great hit. He also accepted a not-to-be refused offer in his early fifties to establish a National Conservatory of Music in New York, and his success in America is legendary – he composed his famous and final symphony no. 9 (From the New World) while in the U.S.A. Apparently at its premiere in the Carnegie Hall, the 9th was so loudly cheered that he felt obliged to take a bow after every movement - indeed, after the third movement, the organisers were fearing that the concert would end there (so tumultuous was the applause and cheering).
Carnival Overture (Antonin Dvorak 1841-1904)
The Carnival Overture was written by Antonin Dvorak in 1892 as part of a Nature, Life and Love trilogy - it formed the Life part. The Nature part, In Nature’s Realm, has also been a test piece for the N.I.B.A. Championship Flute Section.
The listener could imagine a horse rider entering a village where a carnival is in full swing. He works his way slowly though the carnival and continues on his way, where the music changes to reflect his new surroundings. By and by, the trail brings him back to the village where the carnival is now at full intensity.
The piece is regularly played at Flute Band Own Choice Contests.
Hussite Overture (Antonin Dvorak)
The Hussite Overture was written by Antonin Dvorak in 1883 for the gala opening of the Prague National Theatre, although it was originally intended as a part of a dramatic trilogy on the Bohemian religious leader Jan Hus. It was the World Championship test piece in 2001.
