Antonín Dvořák at 184: A Musical Pilgrimage
In honor of Antonín Dvořák’s 184th birthday, DAHA invites you on a musical pilgrimage tour with pianist and musicologist Katelyn Bouska.
DAHA Presents Antonín Dvořák Prize to the Czech Philharmonic and Chief Conductor and Music Director Semyon Bychkov
Culminating the international Year of Czech Music 2024 and the unprecedented Carnegie Hall residency of the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of Maestro Semyon Bychkov, DAHA presented its inaugural Antonín Dvořák Prize.
Antonín Dvořák Prize of the Dvořák American Heritage Association
This year, the year of Czech Music 2024, DAHA awarded its first Antonín Dvořák Prize, an award given to distinguished musicians or artistic institutions for their extraordinary contributions in the field of music of the Czech lands. The Prize is a high quality Czech crystal glass plaque created by the Halama Glass Company.
Czech Week at Carnegie Hall
As part of the worldwide Year of Czech Music, audiences were treated to Czech Week at Carnegie Hall in New York from December 2 to 7. Carnegie Hall presented three consecutive performances by the great Czech Philharmonic and superstar soloists with conductor Semyon Bychkov.
Celebrating the "New World" Symphony
Today we celebrate the 130th anniversary of composer Antonín Dvořák’s world-famous Symphony No. 9 in E minor, “From the New World,” which premiered at performances in New York City on December 15 and 16, 1893. A historic event in New York musical life, “From the New World” was the first major symphony premiered by the New York Philharmonic.
Dvořák Archive added to UNESCO "Memory of the World" register
The Archive of Antonín Dvořák is among the new entries on the UNESCO list of world documentary treasures recently approved by the organisation’s executive board. The valuable collection contains not only the manuscripts of the great Czech composer, his best known works, but also personal items, such as his letters and books.
Professor Beckerman Receives Honorary Degree from Masaryk University
Professor Michael Beckerman received an honorary doctorate degree in musicology from Masaryk University in Brno, adding to his numerous international awards and recognition. Professor Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Collegiate Professor of Music at New York University and Vice President of the Dvořák American Heritage Association.
DAHA’s Michael Beckerman Receives Prestigious Gratias Agit Award
The Dvořák American Heritage Association congratulates Professor Michael Beckerman on the occasion of his receiving the prestigious Gratias Agit Award honoring outstanding individuals who contribute to spreading the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of Czech culture abroad.
Online Series: From DAHA with Love
DAHA presents “From DAHA with Love,” an online program launched during the Covid-19 pandemic featuring musical moments from four centuries of Czech music – to bring solace, courage, and light to audiences during the pandemic.
Streaming Now: Dimitrij by Antonín Dvořák
DIMITRIJ BY ANTONÍN DVOŘÁK
A great nation in turmoil after the abrupt end to a ruling dynasty leaving no clear path forward. This was Russia in the Time of Troubles, the seventeenth-century period in which Antonín Dvořák set his 1882 opera Dimitrij. Stream HERE!
DIMITRIJ OPERA TALK with Dvořák scholar and DAHA Board Member Michael Beckerman
American Symphony Orchestra music director Leon Botstein is joined by Dvořák scholar Michael Beckerman for an insightful talk on Dimitrij and Dvořák as an opera composer. Stream HERE!
Historical Notes: Grateful to Mrs. Thurber →
In marking the centennial of women’s voting rights, cultural historian Majda Kallab Whitaker highlights trailblazer Jeannette Meyer Thurber, Founder and President of the National Conservatory of Music of America in New York City.
Dvořák for the Birds →
By Michael Beckerman
When considering the influence of America on Antonín Dvořák’s works, writers have tended to focus on whether and how the composer used musical material from the United States. Professor Michael Beckerman suggests, Dvořák also viewed America as a natural space, and this and his love of birds ensured that birdsong was an integral part of his American vision.
Milan Fryščak In Memoriam (1932-2020)
By Michael Beckerman
DAHA and its Board note with extreme sadness the passing of Prof. Milan Fryščak. An important teacher, scholar, organizer and personality, his contributions to the world of Czech studies over more than forty years were exemplary. He received his BA at Palacky University in Olomouc, and after escaping from Czechoslovakia he became a refugee for two years until he arrived in the United States in 1959.
Maurice Peress (1930-2017) Archives at Columbia University
The personal archives of distinguished American orchestral conductor, educator, and author Maurice Peress (1930-2017), a Founding Board Member of DAHA, now reside at Columbia University’s Performing Arts Collection, Rare Book and Manuscript Division, Butler Library. An article celebrating the archive and Peress’s diverse interests and accomplishments ranging from classical to avant-garde and jazz musical genres was published in American Music Review in Spring 2019. We invite you to access our DAHA YouTube channel in the links below to revisit some of his memorable orchestral performances and lectures at Bohemian National Hall. We greatly miss his leadership and passion for all things Dvořák!
Jack Taylor (1925-2019)
The Dvořák American Heritage Association mourns the loss of Founding Board Member Jack Taylor. In 1990 Jack launched the effort to save the Dvořák House on East 17th Street, the place where Antonín Dvořák lived during his American residency from 1892 to 1895 and composed the “New World” Symphony.
Overlooked No More: Sissieretta Jones, a Soprano Who Shattered Racial Barriers
The legendary black singer Sissieretta Jones (1868-1933) was featured in the New York Times series of obituaries of remarkable, but overlooked, women in American history on August 15, 2018.
Dvořák Manuscript Ranks Among Top Ten Treasures of New York Philharmonic Archives
New York Philharmonic Archivist and Historian Barbara Haws considers Dvořák’s “New World” Symphony manuscript to be among the top ten treasures she has unearthed in the New York Philharmonic Archives during her 34-year tenure.
Maestro Maurice Peress, March 18, 1930 - December 31, 2017
Distinguished American orchestra conductor, educator, author.
The Dvořák American Heritage Association mourns the loss of Maurice Peress, fellow board member, esteemed colleague, friend, and passionate advocate of composer Antonín Dvořák. He was one of the founding members of DAHA and fought to save the house in which Antonín Dvořák lived during his American residency in the 1890s.
From Antonín Dvořák to Rubin Goldmark and his Progeny
Who was Rubin Goldmark? A star student of Czech composer Antonín Dvořák at the National Conservatory of Music of America in the early 1890s. When the young Rubin Goldmark presented a work that pleased Dvořák, the great composer famously commented “Now there are two Goldmarks.”
DAHA Musical Notes
Star violinist Pavel Sporcl (with the blue violin) recently visited the Dvořák Room and Bohemian National Hall Ballroom to film a segment for his upcoming Czech TV series about famous Czech violinists.