The Many Pupils of Antonín Dvořák

A look at the great talent of Dvořák’s pupils in an original selection of famous and less famous works

The present compilation – a sequel to the 3CD set The Many Loves of Antonín Dvořák – is intended as a timely reminder of the wealth and sheer diversity of talented Czech composers who emerged from Dvořák’s masterclass at the Prague Conservatoire during the 1890s and early 1900s. Dvořák, approaching fifty and at the height of his fame, had been persuaded to devote some of his time to teaching at the Conservatoire, thereby creating a lasting legacy, an influential “Dvořák School” of composers, several of whom went on to teach at the Conservatoire themselves, passing on the tradition to future generations.
Naturally, the most room is given to Josef Suk, the pupil of Dvořák who left the most original legacy of compositions. A separate CD is devoted to Dvořák’s lesser-known pupils: the talented melodist Oskar Nedbal won fame for his operettas, and Julius Fučík is celebrated for his witty marches, while the legendary violinist Jaroslav Kocian wrote music for his own instrument, and the Czechoslovak Legionnaire Rudolf Karel was an exemplary patriot. Also of interest are composers who are entirely forgotten apart from a single work of greater significance, like Adolf Piskáček, Vojtěch Kuchynka, and Arnošt Praus. A third CD belongs to the underappreciated master Vítězslav Novák, whose distinctive modernism builds upon Dvořák in an interesting manner.
Once again, there is an excellent selection of music from the Supraphon catalogue with all of the most important names such as the violinist Josef Suk, the pianist Ivan Moravec, and the conductors Václav Talich, Karel Šejna, and Libor Pešek. Other outstanding performers on this compilation include Igor Ardashev, Jan Panenka, Emil Leichner, Josef Vlach, Josef Veselka, Karel Šroubek, Václav Snítil, Richard Novák, Beno Blachut, Ivan Kusnjer, and many others.

The English music journalist Patrick Lambert, an important expert on Czech music with deep knowledge of the Supraphon catalogue, selected the music and wrote the insightful text in the booklet.