MTU Cork Library Catalogue

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Dvorâk and his world / edited by Michael Beckerman.

Contributor(s): Beckerman, Michael Brim, 1951-.
Material type: materialTypeLabelBookPublisher: Princeton, N.J. : Princeton University Press, c1993Description: x, 284 : ill. ; 24 cm. + pbk.ISBN: 0691033862 ; 0691000972.Subject(s): Dvorák, Antonín, 1841-1904DDC classification: 780.92 DVO
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Copy number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
General Lending MTU Cork School of Music Library Lending 780.92 DVO (Browse shelf(Opens below)) 1 Available 00101176
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Antonin Dvorák made his famous trip to the United States one hundred years ago, but despite an enormous amount of attention from scholars and critics since that time, he remains an elusive figure. Comprising both interpretive essays and a selection of fascinating documents that bear on Dvorák's career and music, this volume addresses fundamental questions about the composer while presenting an argument for a radical reappraisal.


The essays, which make up the first part of the book, begin with Leon Botstein's inquiry into the reception of Dvorák's work in German-speaking Europe, in England, and in America. Commenting on the relationship between Dvorák and Brahms, David Beveridge offers the first detailed portrait of perhaps the most interesting artistic friendship of the era. Joseph Horowitz explores the context in which the "New World" Symphony was premiered a century ago, offering an absorbing account of New York musical life at that time. In discussing Dvorák as a composer of operas, Jan Smaczny provides an unexpected slant on the widely held view of him as a "nationalist" composer. Michael Beckerman further investigates this view of Dvorák by raising the question of the role nationalism played in music of the nineteenth century.


The second part of this volume presents Dvorák's correspondence and reminiscences as well as unpublished reviews and criticism from the Czech press. It includes a series of documents from the composer's American years, a translation of the review of Rusalka 's premiere with the photographs that accompanied the article, and Janácek's analyses of the symphonic poems. Many of these documents are published in English for the first time.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Acknowledgments (p. ix)
  • Introduction: Looking for Dvorak in December 1992 (p. 3)
  • Part I Essays
  • Reversing the Critical Tradition: Innovation, Modernity, and Ideology in the Work and Career of Antonin Dvorak (p. 11)
  • Dvorak and Brahms: A Chronicle, an Interpretation (p. 56)
  • Dvorak and the New World: A Concentrated Moment (p. 92)
  • Dvorak: The Operas (p. 104)
  • The Master's Little Joke: Antonin Dvorak and the Mask of Nation (p. 134)
  • Part II Documents and Criticism
  • Reviews and Criticism from Dvorak's American Years: Articles by Henry Krehbiel, James Huneker, H. L. Mencken, and James Creelman (p. 157)
  • Letters from Dvorak's American Period: A Selection of Unpublished Correspondence Received by Dvorak in the United States (p. 192)
  • Antonin Dvorak: A Biographical Sketch (p. 211)
  • Dvorak in the Czech Press: Unpublished Reviews and Criticism (p. 230)
  • A Discussion of Two Tone Poems Based on Texts by Karel Jaromir Erben: The Wood Dove and The Golden Spinning Wheel (p. 262)
  • Index of Names and Compositions (p. 277)
  • List of Contributors (p. 283)

Reviews provided by Syndetics

CHOICE Review

This year has seen centennial celebrations of Dvorak's extended visit to the US (1892-95) and considerable scholarly activity about the Bohemian composer, for instance, Dvorak in America, ed. by J. C. Tibbetts (CH, Dec'93), a collection of articles dealing with various aspects of that US visit. The volume considered here addresses a broader topic, assessing Dvorak's place in classical music generally. Among the five essays of Part 1, those of Michael Beckerman about the composer's relation to nationalism and of Leon Botstein about Dvorak's aesthetics and the complex cultural milieu in which he lived offer fresh and particularly interesting observations. The other essays are substantial and deal with Dvorak's relation to Brahms (David Beveridge), American culture at the time of his visit (Joseph Horowitz), and his operas and his role as a dramatic composer (Jan Smaczny). Part 2 offers a miscellany of unpublished correspondence from Dvorak's American years as well as early reviews, criticism, and biography from both the composer's Czech and American years, all of which are cogent to Part 1. In summary, these essays challenge the conventional idea that Dvorak was too bucolic and naive to match the sophistication of other composers of his generation. They find him to be a complex person with considerable savvy who maintained an incredible popularity without sacrificing artistry. Recommended for both college and research libraries. W. K. Kearns University of Colorado at Boulder

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Michael Beckerman is Associate Professor of Music at Washington University in St. Louis. He is currently President of the Czech and Slovak Music Society

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