David Garrett [photos] Humoresque ~ Antonin Dvorak. New 2019

David Garrett: Violin.
Music: Humoresque: Composed by Antonín Leopold Dvorák
(Born 8 September 1841 – Died 1 May 1904)

Dvorák displayed his musical gifts at an early age, being an apt violin student from age six. The first public performances of his works were in Prague in 1872 and, with special success, in 1873, when he was aged 31. Seeking recognition beyond the Prague area, he submitted a score of his First Symphony to a prize competition in Germany, but did not win, and the unreturned manuscript was lost until rediscovered many decades later. In 1874 he made a submission to the Austrian State Prize for Composition, including scores of two further symphonies and other works.

Although Dvorák was not aware of it, Johannes Brahms was the leading member of the jury and was highly impressed. The prize was awarded to Dvorák in 1874 and again in 1876 and in 1877, when Brahms and the prominent critic Eduard Hanslick, also a member of the jury, made themselves known to him. Brahms recommended Dvorák to his publisher, Simrock, who soon afterward commissioned what became the Slavonic Dances, Op. 46. These were highly praised by the Berlin music critic Louis Ehlert in 1878, the sheet music (of the original piano 4-hands version) had excellent sales, and Dvorák's international reputation was launched at last.