Dvorak American Quartet

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=90 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000" background="a79015a3.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><B>906-910 W. Ainslie Condominiums </B></FONT><B>  </B><B>   |     </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="906910 W. Ainslie Condominiums "><B>home</B></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=210 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=390 width="100%" BGCOLOR="#FFFBF0" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <I><B>"American" String Quartet, Op. 95</B></I></div> <div> <B>by Antonin Dvorak</B></div> <div> <I>Tristan Lehnert, violin</I></div> <div> <I>Melissa Barrett, violin</I></div> <div> <I>Yvonne Johnson, viola</I></div> <div> <I>Angela Maleh, cello</I></div> <div> <B>If your computer's sound system is working you should be hearing a commercially recorded excerpt.</B></div> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="480" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=CENTER HEIGHT= 160 ><NOBR><div> <I><IMG SRC="a6577880.png" border=0 width="119" height="136" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=BOTTOM COLSPAN=2 WIDTH="327"><div> I.    Allegro non troppo</div> <bR> <div> II.   Lento</div> <bR> <div> III.  Molto vivace</div> <bR> <div> IV.  Vivace ma non troppo</div> <bR> <bR> </tD> </tR> <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP COLSPAN=3 HEIGHT= 292 WIDTH="466"><div> Antonin Dvorak wrote two spectacular pieces in 1893.   Having just arrived to be Director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York City, he within weeks started and completed the <I>New World Symphony</I>. Then in only 3 days, and while on vacation in the Bohemian colony of Spillville, Iowa, he produced the <I><B><U>American String Quartet</U></B></I>. Both were instant favorites in a country newly ambitious for establishing its own cultural identity. </div> <bR> <div> The title given to the quartet refers not only to its place of origin, but also to the themes which Dvorak introduces into his music.  Dvorak became aware of Native American and African American music from his time here and one can  hear elements of spirituals and folk songs embedded in his own melodies. The beautiful slow second movement, especially, contains melancholic sounds of African American spirituals while the spirited third movement introduces the cheerful sound of American songbirds.  In the finale, the sounds of trains can be detected. In this quartet Dvorak identified a body of authentic folk-song in America. Similar nationalistic urgings turned up later in works by Charles Ives (for instance his String Quartet No. 2, performed by CMHH in its 2006-07 season), Roy Harris, and most famously, Aaron Copland.  </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> <a href="JavaScript:window.close()">Close</a>  </B><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" ><I> <p> <object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=4,0,0,0" width=0 height=0 align="absmiddle"> <param name=movie value="mp3ss214s.swf"> <param name=quality value=best> <param name=wmode value=transparent> <param name=bgcolor value=#FFFFFF> <param name=loop value=false> <embed src="mp3ss214s.swf" quality=best wmode=transparent bgcolor=#FFFFFF loop=false width=0 height=0 type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash" align="absmiddle"> </embed> </object> </p>  </I></FONT></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>