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 Durrnberger
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 Dvorak uses the term “dumka”, formerly describing a specific type of Ukrainian song. The dumka figure was typical for Dvorak’s oeuvre as an example of his pronounced Slav disposition. This, Dvorak’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.