Larghetto, from String Quintet No. 3

Another European musician who spent an important period in America was Antonín Dvorák (1841-1904). Dvorak had already established himself as a leading voice in his native Bohemia. In 1892 he arrived in the U.S. to take the helm at the National Conservatory of Music in New York. Summers provided a break from administrative work, and on one such holiday Dvorák wrote the String Quintet No. 3 in E-flat Major. At the time he was living in Spillville, Iowa and had just completed his beloved “American” String Quartet. The E-flat Quintet, which adds a second viola to the standard string quartet—Dvorák himself was an accomplished violist—has been given the “American” moniker, for it brings together Dvorák’s native Bohemian style with influences from American musical culture.
The Larghetto heard this evening is the Quintet’s slow movement. Echoes of the famous “New World” Symphony, completed just prior to the Quintet, abound in the other movements. Notated in the rarely used key of A-flat minor, this Larghetto includes a thoughtful theme and variations with hints of “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee.” At one point Dvorák considered setting the material for baritone and orchestra. Despite the superficial use of an American anthem, the composer’s European roots come through at every turn. Dvorák was surrounded by a large group of Czech people living in Iowa. Here, I think, we find him closer to his native soil than Spillville.

(c) Jason Stell