Anton Dvorak Research Paper

Antonin Dvorak began composing during a time when nationalists from many states were attempting to have music of their own. The world relied heavily on Germanic music for a long time, so composers were being tasked with trying to create new music for the non-germanic states. Dvorak was among these commissioned. His compositions were best known for being able to create a national style through the use of folk songs. The pieces he wrote, that incorporated the folk songs of the Slavic people, gave him much fame. This gave him the recognition he needed to be commissioned to try and create a national style for another nation, the United States. He was given a job in New York where he composed his 9th Symphony, the New World Symphony, his most popular work. This paper will discuss the events in Dvorak’s life got him the job and influenced the New World Symphony. Antonin Dvorak was born in 1841 in Bohemia, which then was
She recognized there was a problem because of the lack of trained American musicians. She founded the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City. The conservatory played an important role in training early American musicians. Jeanette Meyer Thurber sought out to create a more renowned school by bringing in someone very prestigious. After a long search for a school director she hired Antonin Dvorak. With Dvorak as the school's director of bands, the school had a couple of years of growth. This growth was short lived as Dvorak only stayed for three years. During those three years, Dvorak lived in apartment building. The cramped city was an uncomfortable setting because he was used to the rolling hills and farms of Bohemia. Whenever he could get out of the city, he traveled the colonies. He traveled as far west as the state of Iowa. This traveling gave him exposure to music only found in the America’s at the time. He heard both Native American Music and African American