Antonín Dvořák’s time in America (1892–1895) was brief but important, not only helping him break into a more modern style but also helping American composers look inward for inspiration and not towards Europe.
Antonín Dvořák
His String Quartet No. 12, nicknamed the American Quartet, is a prime example. It was written in 1893 when he left New York for the bucolic countryside of Iowa. He joined a long-standing Czech community in Spillville, Ohio, and his respite from the demands of setting up the National Conservatory in New York City paid off in compositional gold.
His first major American work was his Symphony No. 9, From the New World, which had been composed in 1893 while he was still in New York. Its referential use of Native American and black American music was groundbreaking. Dvořák saw that the future of American music lay in realising the musical gold that was in the country – he analysed Native American melodies for their idiosyncrasies in style and saw the music of the black Americans as the ‘folk songs of America’. One aspect that both musics share is their use of the pentatonic, 5-note scale. Scottish music, as Dvořák noted, also makes use of this scale.
The final movement, in rondo form, immediately tells us that Dvořák’s inspiration was the trains he took cross country. The second violin and viola seem to ‘chug’ along under the first violin. The pentatonic melody immediately removes us from European references. One could imagine it as a train ride with a recurring melody (the form is A–B–A–C–A–B–A). Similar towns flash by the train window (A section), and the images between towns (B and C sections) change – fields or forests, rivers or vast Midwest expanses.
Talich Quartet (photo by Radek Kalhous)
In this performance by the Talich Quartet, the vivaciousness and liveliness of the movement come to the fore. The Talich Quartet, led by Jan Talich, Jr., continues the tradition established by his father in the original Talich Quartet, founded some 60 years ago. The new lineup, Jan Talich Jr. and Roman Patočka are the violinists, Radim Sedmidubský violist, and Michal Kaňka cellist. They began playing together in 2021 and continue the Talich legacy beautifully.
The recording (LDV 101) opens with the 8 Waltzes, Op. 54, B101, which were composed between December 1879 and December 1880. Although his composer asked him to add a designation such as “Czech” or “Moravian” to the title, Dvořák refused because the waltz was a German dance.
The Quartet Movement in F major, B 120, follows. It was the first part of a planned string quartet and was written in just 3 days in October 1881. He never completed the work, and it did not receive its premiere until 1945 on Czech Radio.
Dvořák: “American Quartet” – Waltzes
LDV 101
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