Dvořák: Violin Concerto in A Minor; Serenade for Strings
8/15/2025, 8 Tracks, 1:01:02
Featuring
Antje Weithaas
Camerata Bern
Antonín Dvořák
Did you know?
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Recording & Production
The Violin Concerto on this recording is performed without a conductor, with soloist Antje Weithaas leading, which is unusual for Romantic concertos but works well due to her long collaboration with Camerata Bern.
Composer Biography
Antonin Dvořák, born in 1841, was the son of a butcher and grew up in the countryside, always hearing Bohemian folk tunes.
Composition History
Dvořák's publisher, Fritz Simrock, commissioned the Violin Concerto in January 1879, hoping for an 'inventive' concerto full of melodic cantilenas and attractive virtuosity.
Critical Reception
Joseph Joachim, to whom Dvořák dedicated his Violin Concerto, only performed it once at the Conservatory in Berlin and never in public, possibly contributing to its secondary rank compared to the Cello Concerto.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Dvořák believed that the natural talent for music in his country came from the law that every child in Bohemia must study music, and that national tunes and chorales came from the heart of the people.
Composition History
Dvořák dedicated his Violin Concerto to Joseph Joachim, the most famous violinist of his time, who recommended a thorough revision.
Composition History
Dvořák wrote his String Serenade in 1875, a positive period in his life when he had recently married and received a scholarship, composing it in less than two weeks, possibly as a wedding present for his wife.
