Pianist and musicologist Katelyn Bouska offers new insights into Antonín Dvořák in America through a special musical tour focused on his compositions, students and contemporaries in the late 19th century.
The three years Antonín Dvořák spent in the United States are often celebrated for his large-scale works: the beloved “From the New World” Symphony or the intensely brilliant Cello Concerto. Lingering between in his solo works, however, are intimate glimpses of the composer. Through these and the music of his contemporaries, this program invites the listener into Dvořák’s inner world while tracing his legacy in American music.
PROGRAM
Antonín Dvořák (1841-1904), Suite in A major, Op. 98 “American”
1. Moderato
2. Molto vivace
3. Allegretto
4. Andante
5. Allegro
Harry Thackery Burleigh (1866-1949), From the Southland
1. Through Moanin' Pines
2. The Frolic
3. In De Col' Moonlight
4. A Jubilee
5. On Bended Knees
6. A New Hiding-Place
Amy Beach (1867-1944), Hermit Thrush at Eve for Piano, Op. 92
intermission
Amy Beach, Hermit Thrush at Morn, Op. 92
Otilie Suková-Dvořáková (1878-1905)
Humoreska (Humoresque)
Ukolébavka (Lullaby)
Pepča na koníčku (Pepča Riding a Horse)
Drahému tatíčkovi (To My Dear Papa)
Antonín Dvořák, Dumka and Furiant, Op. 12
General admission: $30; seniors, students: $20. Tickets may be purchased online through Eventbrite or at the door at the time of the event (cash only).
Program notes
A pairing of two suites opens the program; the first by Dvořák and the second by his assistant, the National Conservatory student Harry T. Burleigh. Dvořák’s “American” Suite in A Major stands unique in his oeuvre not only for its Americanesque themes, but also in its harmonic innovations and crystalline attention to detail. The second suite, Burleigh’s From the Southlands, contains arrangements of his original spirituals providing us a glance into Dvořák’s musical experiences in the early months of teaching at the National Conservatory of Music of America.
The center of the program turns to an important contemporary, Amy Beach, arguably the most well-known American composer of the late 19th century. Although they are not known to have met personally, extant is a brief interchange in the local newspapers following Dvořák’s visit to Boston in 1892 offering us a rare insight into the life of American musicians and women composers. The final pieces of the program draw us back into Dvořák’s personal life. Between his daughter’s To My Dear Papa and the balladic Dumka, we have a rare glimpse into Dvořák’s family circle in the New World.
About
With interpretations described as “full of life, flexibility, gripping rhythms and a richness of dynamic shadings” (Milan Bátor, Czech Radio) and a skill at engaging audiences in the musical dialogue, KATELYN BOUSKA is a frequent solo and collaborative musician. Her unique programming combining rarely-heard Czech and American music with compositions written specifically for her by rising composers has found an audience throughout America and on the international concert stage.
Her 2023 solo album with Yarlung Records, Woman and War and Peace. Her much anticipated next album features commissions by young female composers and her own improvisations on the music of medieval composers Hildegard von Bingen and Comtessa de Dia. Katelyn is currently based in Philadelphia where she serves on the Music Studies Faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music.
This event is organized by DAHA with support of the Bohemian Benevolent and Literary Association.