Dumka, Op. 35, B64

Opus number

35

Burghauser catalogue number

64

Date of composition

December 1876 (1878 ?)

Premiere - date and place

before 19 March 1880, Wien

Premiere performer(s)

Paula Dürrnberger

First edition

Bote & Bock, 1879, Berlin

Duration

approx. 8 min.

This short piano piece is noteworthy for the fact that it is the first instance where Dvořák uses the term “dumka”, formerly describing a specific type of Ukrainian song. The dumka figure was typical for Dvořák’s oeuvre as an example of his pronounced Slav disposition. This, Dvořák’s first dumka, has a lovely melancholic main theme treated in a series of inventive imitations. The middle section incorporates elements which anticipate the style of his Slavonic Dances. The piece was published in Berlin in 1879 by Bote & Bock.