The Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra, under the batons of James John and Tong Chen, offered an all-Bernstein program to honor the 100th Anniversary of the composer's birth and in memory of Maestro Maurice Peress, distinguished conductor of the orchestra (1930-2017).
Casting new light on the US-based musical activities of Czech composer Bohuslav Martinů (1890-1959), musicologist Jon Meadow presented a lecture/recital exploring the composer's special relationship with the viola, historically a somewhat under-appreciated instrument. Violinist Laura Jean Goldberg and violist Danielle Farina played selections from Martinů's Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, composed in New York City, and from the chamber music that inspired his work, Mozart's Duo in G for Violin and Viola.
On Sunday, December 10th, the Dvořák American Heritage Association presented a festive, sing-along musical celebration featuring traditional Czech carols, attracting a large and appreciative family audience. The performers – adopting a spontaneous, informal program format to encourage participation - included Michael Beckerman, piano; Laura Goldberg, violin; and Klara Zikova, mezzo-soprano.
Michael Beckerman is Carroll and Milton Petrie Professor of Music at New York University and Leonard Bernstein Scholar-in-Residence at the New York Philharmonic for the 2017-18 season,
DAHA’s concert of Sunday, September 24th ended with a standing ovation for the superb New York Philharmonic musicians and friends. It was the second annual concert in DAHA’s multi-year survey of Dvořák’s complete chamber works.
On the eve of Antonín Dvořák’s birthday, DAHA celebrated the 125th Anniversary of the great composer's arrival in America with a large and enthusiastic audience. The festive music offerings included: Dvořák’s Sonatina for Violin and Piano, Opus 100, written in New York and premiered by the composer’s children, plus selected Humoresques for piano combined with readings from Josef Kovařík’s Three Years with the Maestro: An American Remembers Antonín Dvořák.
In a sold-out evening concert on June 1st celebrating the New York Philharmonic’s New World Initiative, Antonín Dvořák’s Largo and instrumental variations on “Goin’ Home” played a major role.
The tradition of Sunday afternoon musicales in the late 19th century continued on May 7th as the spirited ArtsAhimsa ensemble with violinist Laura Jean Goldberg returned for its seventh season with chamber works and song from the repertoire of Antonín Dvořák, his contemporaries, and students.
On March 26, 2017, the Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra returned to the Bohemian National Hall for a performance of Antonín Dvořák’s world-famous “Cello Concerto” under the baton of Maestro Maurice Peress.
On Sunday, February 26th, DAHA presented a panel discussion for Black History Month in which distinguished scholars and musicians explored the social and aesthetic history and outcomes of Dvořák’s significant connections with the late 19th century African-American community as he composed the “New World” Symphony.
As part of the Rusalka Celebration in the Bohemian National Hall, this special Dvořák Room presentation explored Antonín Dvořák’s beloved country house at Vysoká and its scenic surroundings in recent photographs by noted Czech photographer Eva Heyd. Finding inspiration in nature, Dvořák composed the opera Rusalka (The Water Nymph) over a period of seven months in 1900, largely in this idyllic setting. When away, he constantly longed for Vysoká, only in the atmosphere of the woods and lakes of mythic Bohemia, nourished by Czech fairy tales and the libretto of poet Jaroslav Kvapil, could Dvořák have created his universally treasured water nymph Rusalka.
Many Dvořák admirers joined DAHA and Czech Center New York on Wednesday, February 15th for a lecture by musicologist Michael Beckerman exploring Rusalka’s deeper meanings, presented as part of the month-long celebration of Antonín Dvořák's opera Rusalka in New York.
On Sunday, October 23rd, Antonín Dvořák’s 175th Anniversary festivities continued with an all-Czech lecture-performance of works by Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček ,and Suk featuring the violin-piano ensemble G-sharp Duo, with Emilie-Anne Gendron on Violin and Yelena Grinberg on piano. Dr. Grinberg and Ms. Gendron discussed each musical piece and the composers, providing an overview of Czech music at the turn of the 20th century.
Marking the 175th Anniversaries of both Antonín Dvořák and the New York Philharmonic, DAHA launched a multi-year concert series presenting all of Dvořák’s chamber works on Sunday, September 18th. Featuring NY Philharmonic musicians and friends.
The Dvořák Room at the Bohemian National Hall was one of venues visited by the National Youth Orchestra of the United States of America (NYO-USA), for an introduction to Dvořák’s life in America by DAHA Board Member Majda Kallab Whitaker.
The tradition of Sunday afternoon musicales in the late nineteenth century continued as the spirited ArtsAhimsa ensemble returned on May 1, 2016 for its sixth season with chamber works from the repertoire of Antonín Dvořák and related musical sources.
On the evening of Saturday, March 19, 2016, the Aaron Copland School of Music Orchestra under the direction of Maurice Peress presented a rousing concert “recreating” the Czech Day program of August 12, 1893 at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
On January 30th and 31st, performances of the Czechoslovak-American Marionette Theatre in the historic ballroom of the Bohemian National Hall explored the influence of African American and Native American music upon the work of famed Czech composer Antonín Dvořák during his American sojourn of 1892-1895, telling the story with classical and jazz music accompaniment, live actors, and marionettes under the direction of Vit Hořejš.
On Sunday, December 13, 2015 guests joined in a festive celebration of the season at the Bohemian National Hall with an exciting variety of holiday presentations and gift market sponsored by the Bohemian Benevolent & Literary Association; Consulate General of the Czech Republic; Czech Center New York; and Dvořák American Heritage Association.
On October 18th, the Dvořák American Heritage Society presented its inaugural DAHA Annual Lecture/Recital Program featuring Dvořák scholar David Beveridge and a vocal music performance by mezzo-soprano Mirjam Frank.