American period

In 1891 Dvořák received an offer which would have fundamental consequences for his life and work: an invitation to the United States of America. The enterprising president of the National Conservatory of Music in New York, Jeanette Thurber, decided to raise the prestige of the school by offering the post of director to a leading figure in European music circles. The Czech maestro was chosen for this role. After much hesitation the composer finally signed a contract which obliged him to head the music institution and teach composition, and this for a salary that was thirty times higher than the amount the Prague Conservatoire was able to offer. At the beginning of the school year 1892/93 Dvořák sailed across the ocean to America where, apart from one break, he spent two and a half years. It wasn’t long before he brought all his feelings and impressions together in his legendary work: in January 1893 he started sketches for his Symphony No. 9 in E minor, subtitled “From the New World”. In the summer Dvořák and his family travelled for their holidays to the village of Spillville in the state of Iowa, where descendants of Czech emigrants live to this day. Here the composer felt quite at home. In a joyful frame of mind, within just a few days, he penned the sun-filled String Quartet No. 12 in F major, entitled “American”, which was immediately followed by String Quintet No. 3 in E flat major, works of unusual melodic invention. After his return to New York, he continued his teaching and also witnessed the triumphant premiere of the New World Symphony, which took place in Carnegie Hall on 16 December 1893. The composer felt that he needed to spend the following summer holidays in his homeland, in Vysoká. During this summer intermezzo he wrote a cycle of eight Humoresques for the piano. During the school year 1893/94 Dvořák created his most intimate work, Biblical Songs. In the last year of his stay in the United States the composer produced his celebrated Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in B minor.