- Dvořák wrote this concerto in 1894-5. He composed the work during the last months of his tenure teaching at the National Conservatory in the United States.1
- Dvořák’s sister-in-law Josefína Kounicová was dying while Dvořák was in the process of writing this concerto. She passed away in 1895. Dvořák commemorated her in the concerto by quoting her favorite of his songs, “Lasst mich allein,” in the concerto’s second and third movements.2
- Read more about Kounicová and Dvořák on the page for “Lasst mich allein.”
- The concerto premiered on March 19, 1896 in London. Dvořák traveled to London himself to conduct the London Philharmonic in this performance.3
Sources
- Klaus Döge, “Dvořák, Antonín,” Grove Music Online (2001), accessed February 24, 2021, https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000051222.
- Ibid.
- “Cello Concerto, Op. 104 (Dvořák, Antonín),” IMSLP, accessed February 24, 2021, https://imslp.org/wiki/Cello_Concerto%2C_Op.104_(Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k%2C_Anton%C3%ADn).
Cut IDs
10779 11629 18785 18787 19216 19583 19583 20896 23122 40012 40024 40686 43482 44579 49150