Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904) was an obscure Czech musician and composer until the publication in 1878 of his first set of Slavonic Dances set him on the road to success and international fame. The Slavonic Dances, written for piano four hands and later orchestrated by the composer, exemplify the 19th century movement that came to be known as musical nationalism. Like Frédéric Chopin in France, Edvard Grieg in Norway, Enrique Granados in Spain, Jean Sibelius in Finland, and Béla Bartók and Zoltán Kodály in Hungary, Dvořák created music that captured the spirit of his homeland by employing musical styles, motifs, harmonies, and rhythms specific to the region. Here is the seventh of the Slavonic Dances in its orchestral version.
bluebird of bitterness 
Enjoyed this very much and had to revisit past years. Thank you.
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Dvorak’s New World Symphony and Slavonic Dances are some of my favorite works of classical music. Thanks for posting this.
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Those two works were my introduction to Dvorak. There was very little good music in my parents’ house — most of their record collection was schlock — but for some reason they had recordings of Dvorak’s ninth symphony and the Slavonic Dances. I discovered them one day when I was about 14 and it was the beginning of a lifelong love affair.
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