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DVORAK, ANTONIN. (1841-1904). Czech composer who, along with Smetana and Janacek, is considered one of the greatest exponents of the Czech nationalist tradition in music. ALS. (“Ant. Dvořák”). 2½pp. 8vo. Vysoká, June 2, 1884. To British music publisher [ALFRED] LITTLETON (1845-1914), co-owner of Novello, Ewer & Company, secretary of the London Philharmonic Society and Dvorak’s informal agent in England. In German with translation.

“I am happy to conduct my symphony in Worchester [sic], but with your permission, may we dwell on the topic of remuneration. Conducting three such works as the Stabat, the Hymnus and the Symphony is certainly a very strenuous undertaking, and you are of the same opinion, and that therefore there is a right to claim a larger fee from the Committee. In my last letter of May 28, I told you more about the new subject for Birmingham. What do you think? I hope to be able to take the entire oeuvre with me to London in September…

P.S. May I send the photographs for Bennett and Hüffer directly to your address? Written with my music quill which is why it looks so bad!”

A prodigious violinist, Dvorak’s talent was first recognized by Johannes Brahms who sat on the jury for the Austrian State Prize for Composition, won by Dvorak in 1874, 1876 and 1877. Brahms recommended the young composer to his publisher Simrock, who commissioned Dvorak’s Slavonic Dances, the popularity of which enhanced the composer’s reputation. Much of Dvorak’s work is inspired by his Bohemian heritage, and includes his Moravian Duets, Three Slavonic Rhapsodies, Hussite Overture, Rusalka, and the Dumky Trio, all of which have Czech, Moravian or other Slavic influences.

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Antonin Dvorak

Our letter mentions his oratorio Stabat Mater, a ten-movement sacred work begun in 1876, inspired by the death of his two-day old daughter and completed the following year, following the accidental death from poison of his 11-month-old daughter and the death, from smallpox, of his three-year-old son a month later. It premiered in Prague in 1880 and even though Dvorak’s work had been performed in England as early as 1879, it was a March 1883 performance of Stabat Mater that prompted the Philharmonic Society, of which our letter’s recipient was secretary, to invite him to conduct his works during the 1883-1884 season. Shortly after receiving that invitation, Novello invited him to conduct another performance during the same visit and to compose a work for the 1885 Birmingham Festival. Between March 11 and 22^nd, Dvorak made his first visit to England to conduct the Stabat Mater, Symphony No. 6, Slavonic Rhapsody No. 2, and Hussite Overture in highly acclaimed performances at London’s Royal Albert Hall, St. James’s Hall and Crystal Palace. On June 14, the Philharmonic Society elected him an honorary member and commissioned a symphony, which became his Symphony No. 7. Our letter discusses the Birmingham commission and, en passant, the cantata The Spectre’s Bride, which Dvorak worked on between April and November 1884 and which Novello published the following year.

Our letter also references Dvorak’s upcoming performances in Worcester where, on September 11, 1884, where he conducted a morning performance of the Stabat Mater and an evening performance of his Symphony No. 6 at Worcester Cathedral’s Three Choirs Festival. Also mentioned is his hymn The Heirs of the White Mountain, which premiered in 1873, a revised version of which Novello published in 1884.

In addition to publishing other Dvorak works including Symphony No. 8, Saint Ludmilla, Requiem, and the Mass in D major and arranging for his performances in England, Littleton hosted the visiting composer at his Sydenham estate, Westwood House.

German-born, English librettist and music critic Francis Hüffer (1845-1889) was the chief music critic for The Times and edited Novello’s Great Musicians series. In addition to his books and essays on musical subjects, he wrote the libretti for Frederic Cowan’s cantata Sleeping Beauty, which also premiered at the 1885 Birmingham Festival. He was also the father of writer Ford Madox Ford.

English music critic, musicologist and librettist Joseph Bennett (1831-1911) was the chief music critic at The Daily Telegraph from 1870-1906, where he was the first to write about an English Musical Renaissance. His music journalism includes contributions to Novello’s publication The Musical Times. A friend and collaborator of Arthur Sullivan, he penned the libretto for Sullivan’s 1886 cantata The Golden Legend as well as libretti for choral works by Cowen, Villiers Stanford and others.

Written on three pages of a folded sheet from the rural Bohemian village of Vysoká where, with proceeds from his 1884 trip to England, Dvorak constructed a summer residence surrounded by gardens and where he composed many of his most famous works.

In fine condition.

ALS on the Way to Success in England