Home page of the Dvořák Society

Antonín Dvořák

 >>  Welcome to our web site. We very much hope that you will enjoy your visit and will return. These pages are regularly updated with contributions from our members and our friends in the music-world, both in the United Kingdom and world-wide. Although our base is in the United Kingdom, we have an international reputation and many members in other countries.

Not only Dvořák but all Czech and Slovak composers and performers

Although named after the most famous Czech composer, Antonín Dvořák, the Society is devoted to the musical arts of all Czech and Slovak composers and performers, past and present (including, of course, performances of Czech and Slovak repertoire by non-native artists). The Society aims to encourage performances and promote interest in this respect. We publish articles and information about all aspects of Czech and Slovak musical life and give lectures. And we give direct financial and other support to worthy causes.

Dvořák, Smetana, Janáček, Fibich, Suk, Novák, Ostrčil, Biber, Zelenka, Mysliveček, Stamic, Hummel, Rejcha, Suchoň, Schulhoff, Haas, Klein, Krása, Ullmann, Martinů, Kaprálová: a comprehensive list of important Czech and Slovak composers would need to be much longer than this, but these names and many others cover the centuries from the baroque, through the classical and romantic periods to modern times. It is a fact that Czech and Slovak composers have been at the forefront of musical development for centuries.

One of our purposes is to encourage interest in composers who deserve more attention — these include such figures as Martinů and Fibich, as well as the important female composers Vítězslava Kaprálová and Sylvie Bodorová. Unduly neglected works by established figures such as Dvořák, Smetana and Janáček also receive attention: and fresh light is often cast on their more frequently performed pieces.

Czech and Slovak performers too have been extremely important. As with composers, the list is enormous and includes names such Rafael Kubelík, Lucia Popp, Magdalena Kožená, the Talich Quartet, Josef Suk, Libor Pešek and Jiří Bělohlávek. Great artists such as these have made huge contributions to the art of interpretation of all kinds of classical music and continue to do so.

Join us

If you decide to join us, your subscription will help fund more of our work. We also organise social activities and musical trips to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. You will share in our joy of the exploration of two of the world’s most musical nations and you will be made most welcome.

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