| Today in Music History A Daily Look at Music History For Violin Students A Look at What Happened on Today's Date Long, Long Ago . . . Or Maybe Just Last Year |
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| TODAY IS March 25 |
| Did You Guess? Dvorak had a strong interest in trains and railroading. He was often seen at the Prague railroad station where he studied schedules and visited with railroad engineers. |
| Can You Guess? Despite his musical training, Dvorak had an interest in a specific industry. Can You Guess what industry he tracked with such enthusiasm? Go to the Bottom of the Page for the Answer. |
| What Else Happened Today? |
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| Antonin Dvorāk's Symphony No. 5 in F, premiered March 25, 1879 in Prague. Dvorāk was born September 8, 1941 in Muhlhausen, Bohemia. His father was a butcher and innkeeper who loved music. As a boy Dvorāk took violin lessons with the village schoolmaster and "fiddled" in the village band with his father. Dvorāk's father wanted him to become an inkeeper. To do this Antonin needed to learn German, so his father sent him to a nearby village to study it. |
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| Antonin Dvorāk 1841-1904 |
| While away to study German, Antonin met a friend of his uncle who was a musician. The friend taught Dvorāk viola (which became his favorite instrument), piano and organ. In 1857, when he was just 16, Dvorāk went to study music in Prague. While there he headed the viola section of the Bohemian Provisional Theatre Orchestra, which was directed by Czech composer Smetana. Dvorāk taught music, composing as a sideline until, at age thirty-one, he won the Austrian State Stipendium three times while Brahms was on the jury. Then, with the positive encouragement of Brahms, he devoted most of his life to composition. He soon became famous as a composer, and was able to make a living composing and teaching composition at the Prague Conservatory. |
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| 1724 - Premiere of J. S. Bach's Sacred Cantata No. 182 Himmelskönig, sei willkommen on the Feast of the Annunciation 1725 - Premiere of Bach's Sacred Cantata No. 1 Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern 1875 - Premiere of Gilbert and Sullivan's Trial By Jury at Royalty Theater, in London. 1914 - Robert Rounseville, US tenor, was born. He introduced the song Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition at the outbreak of WW II. 1939 - Premiere of Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No 5' for soprano and eight cellos in Rio de Janeiro. 1946 - Premiere of Stravinsky's Ebony Concerto written for Woody Herman at Carnegie Hall in NYC. 1960 - Premiere of Elliott Carter's String Quartet No. 2. Juilliard String Quartet. 1960 - Roy Orbison recorded Only the Lonely. 1968 - The 58th and final episode of The Monkees TV show was aired. |
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| He made several trips to England where he was very popular and much admired. He received many honors in his own country and resisted invitations by Brahms to move to Vienna where he was only grudgingly accepted. He died in May 1, 1904 at Prague at the age of 62, shortly after the first performances of his last opera, Armida. Visit THIS LINK to hear some samples of Dvorak's work. |
| In 1892, Dvorak came to America to lead the National Conservatory of Music. While in the United States, he wrote the famous "New World Symphony" and other pieces showing his deep interest in American folk tunes. Some listeners are able to pick out bits and pieces of Yankee Doodle and Swing Low Sweet Chariot in his works. |
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