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- Dvorak, Antonin
- Sourek, Otakar
Duration: 18 minutes
Description: Antonín Dvorák (1841–1904) composed his SUITE IN A MAJOR, Op. 98b, in 1894, during his time in the United States, where he was serving as director of the National Conservatory of Music in New York. The work originated as a SUITE IN A MAJOR for piano, Op. 98a (B. 184), which Dvořák later orchestrated as Op. 98b (B. 190). Cast in five movements, the suite blends classical balance with Dvorák’s hallmark lyricism and rhythmic vitality. Although composed during his American period, the music reflects a more introspective and universal expression rather than direct use of folk or “New World” idioms, suggesting a nostalgic return to the composer’s Bohemian roots. The orchestral version was first performed posthumously in Prague in 1910. Today, the SUITE IN A MAJOR is valued for its elegant simplicity, warmth, and pastoral character, standing as one of Dvorák’s most refined and intimate orchestral works. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2+CBsn: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(2-3): Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set). Reprint of the critical edition by Otakar Šourek.