Lecture: Unknown Correspondence of Antonín Dvořák

Lecture: Unknown correspondence of Antonín Dvořák: new acquisitions of the National Museum - Antonín Dvořák Museum

The lecture will present recent additions of the newly discovered correspondence of Antonín Dvořák in the collection of the National Museum - Antonín Dvořák Museum. The museum's current collection of the composer's correspondence includes over 3,100 items, but new unknown letters are constantly appearing on the market, adding to the picture of the composer's contacts at home and abroad. Dvořák corresponded with important publishers, conductors and performers, but he also maintained private and family correspondence. The lecture will focus on Dvořák's unpublished letters, which have been acquired in recent years for the collection of the Antonín Dvořák Museum. Attention will also be paid to the entire museum's collection of the composer's correspondence, its content, the current state of its processing and its accessibility to the public.

Photogallery:

1. Antonín Dvořák in 1891, at. J. Mulač Prague. Photo credit © National Museum - Czech Museum of Music

2. Letter of A. Dvořák to A. Littleton, December 24, 1884. Photo credit © National Museum - Czech Museum of Music

3. Letter of A. Dvořák to K. Müller, February 19, 1890. Photo credit © National Museum - Czech Museum of Music

Bedřich Smetana, Antonín Dvořák, Leoš Janáček, Bohuslav Martinů: four great names in Czech music that have become a global phenomenon. Each is from a different generation with its own unique style and signature. Their works may be different, but they have one thing in common: an unmistakable je ne sais quoi that is a product of their Czech heritage and helps paint an image of Czech culture on the world stage.

The exhibition authored by Sandra Bergmannová and Veronika Vejvodová will be presented to you by an attractive graphic novel illustrated by Alexei Klyukov that allows you to experience crucial life moments together with each individual artist. You will find yourself immersed in an intimate patchwork of both extraordinary and ordinary motifs and a diverse selection of compositions.

Video interviews with musicologists Sandra Bergmanová, Veronika Vejvodová, Aleš Březina, and Jiří Zahrádka – will allow you to better understand the environments with which the composers interacted. They will also help you to picture the inspiration and experiences that had a major impact on the composers’ way of thinking and the creative processes that led to the creation of such major operas as Smetana's The Bartered Bride, Dvořák's Rusalka, Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen, and Martinů's Juliette. The exhibition also features materials from the archive of the Dvořák American Heritage Association (DAHA), among which includes a facsimile of the historical contract that brought Dvořák to America 130 years ago. You will also find original costumes worn by characters from productions of The Bartered Bride and Jenůfa in New York, which are on loan by the Metropolitan Opera.

The exhibition is organized by the Czech Center New York and the National Museum of the Czech Republic in collaboration with Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association, the Consulate General of the Czech Republic in New York, Dvořák American Heritage Association, and the Metropolitan Opera.

More about the exhibition: https://new-york.czechcentres.cz/en/program/slavni-cesti-skladatele

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd Street, New York, United States