Today we celebrate the 130th anniversary of composer Antonín Dvořák’s world-famous Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World,” which premiered at performances in New York City on December 15 and 16, 1893. A historic event in New York musical life, “From the New World” was the first major symphony premiered by the New York Philharmonic.
The Archive of Antonín Dvořák is among the new entries on the UNESCO list of world documentary treasures recently approved by the organisation’s executive board. The valuable collection contains not only the manuscripts of the great Czech composer, his best known works, but also personal items, such as his letters and books.
Professor Michael Beckerman received an honorary doctorate degree in musicology from Masaryk University in Brno, adding to his numerous international awards and recognition. Professor Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University and Vice President of the Dvořák American Heritage Association.
The Dvořák American Heritage Association congratulates Professor Michael Beckerman on the occasion of his receiving the prestigious Gratias Agit Award honoring outstanding individuals who contribute to spreading the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Czech culture abroad.
DAHA presents “From DAHA with Love,” an online program launched during the Covid-19 pandemic featuring musical moments from four centuries of Czech music – to bring solace, courage, and light to audiences during the pandemic.
DIMITRIJ BY ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
A great nation in turmoil after the abrupt end to a ruling dynasty leaving no clear path forward. This was Russia in the Time of Troubles, the seventeenth-century period in which Antonín Dvořák set his 1882 opera Dimitrij. Stream HERE!
DIMITRIJ OPERA TALK with Dvořák scholar and DAHA Board Member Michael Beckerman
American Symphony Orchestra music director Leon Botstein is joined by Dvořák scholar Michael Beckerman for an insightful talk on Dimitrij and Dvořák as an opera composer. Stream HERE!
In marking the centennial of women’s voting rights, cultural historian Majda Kallab Whitaker highlights trailblazer Jeannette Meyer Thurber, Founder and President of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City.
When considering the influence of America on Antonín Dvořák’s works, writers have tended to focus on whether and how the composer used musical material from the United States. Professor Michael Beckerman suggests, Dvořák also viewed America as a natural space, and this and his love of birds ensured that birdsong was an integral part of his American vision.
DAHA and its Board note with extreme sadness the passing of Prof. Milan Fryščak. An important teacher, scholar, organizer and personality, his contributions to the world of Czech studies over more than forty years were exemplary. He received his BA at Palacky University in Olomouc, and after escaping from Czechoslovakia he became a refugee for two years until he arrived in the United States in 1959.
The personal archives of distinguished American orchestral conductor, educator, and author Maurice Peress (1930-2017), a Founding Board Member of DAHA, now reside at Columbia University’s Performing Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Division, Butler Library. An article celebrating the archive and Peress’s diverse interests and accomplishments ranging from classical to avant-garde and jazz musical genres was published in American Music Review in Spring 2019. We invite you to access our DAHA YouTube channel in the links below to revisit some of his memorable orchestral performances and lectures at Bohemian National Hall. We greatly miss his leadership and passion for all things Dvořák!
The Dvořák American Heritage Association mourns the loss of Founding Board Member Jack Taylor. In 1990 Jack launched the effort to save the Dvořák House on East 17th Street, the place where Antonín Dvořák lived during his American residency from 1892 to 1895 and composed the “New World” Symphony.
The legendary black singer Sissieretta Jones (1868-1933) was featured in the New York Times series of obituaries of remarkable, but overlooked, women in American history on August 15, 2018.
New York Philharmonic Archivist and Historian Barbara Haws considers Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony manuscript to be among the top ten treasures she has unearthed in the New York Philharmonic Archives during her 34-year tenure.
Distinguished American orchestra conductor, educator, author.
The Dvořák American Heritage Association mourns the loss of Maurice Peress, fellow board member, esteemed colleague, friend, and passionate advocate of composer Antonín Dvořák. He was one of the founding members of DAHA and fought to save the house in which Antonín Dvořák lived during his American residency in the 1890s.
Who was Rubin Goldmark? A star student of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák at the National Conservatory of Music of America in the early 1890s. When the young Rubin Goldmark presented a work that pleased Dvořák, the great composer famously commented “Now there are two Goldmarks.”
Star violinist Pavel Sporcl (with the blue violin) recently visited the Dvořák Room and Bohemian National Hall Ballroom to film a segment for his upcoming Czech TV series about famous Czech violinists.
On Friday, September 22nd, Juilliard students previewed Dvořák’s rarely heard String Quartet No. 2, performed later in full concert on Sunday, September 24th at 3 PM., as part of Dvořák’s Chamber Music Survey series presented at the Bohemian National Hall by the Dvořák American Heritage Association.
Antonín Dvořák III, 88, grandson of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák
Jiří Bělohlávek, 71, Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
DAHA recommends two new and noteworthy additions to Burleigh music appreciation and scholarship.
The New York Philharmonic 175th anniversary season commenced in late September with three exciting programs featuring Dvořák’s Symphony No. 9, From the New World — the Philharmonic’s first World Premiere of a work written in New York that would become part of the standard repertoire. That history-making premiere took place in December 1893, and provides this year’s theme for the Philharmonic’s programming and educational outreach.