VOL. 10 · Track 3 · 3 / 15
String Quartet No. 12 · III. Vivace
The third movement of a quartet written on holiday in a small Iowa town. The first violin is said to imitate a bird high above.
VOL. 10
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The composer of this pieceAntonín Dvořák1841–1904 · born in Nelahozeves, Czech RepublicAbout this piece
Two violins, a viola and a cello romp lightly, until at one point a phrase like birdsong breaks in from high above.
At a glance
- What it isthe third movement, a quick Vivace, of Dvořák's String Quartet No. 12 in F major, often called the "American."
- Who, when, whyDvořák wrote it in summer 1893 while living in America, on holiday in Spillville, Iowa, a town of Czech immigrants.
- What to listen forthe lively opening with its off-beats, the birdsong-like phrase high in the register, and the turn to the minor key.
Listen for
- The openingthe four instruments trade short rhythms and dance lightly.
- The high phrasethe first violin plays a short figure very high up. It is said to imitate a bird Dvořák heard in Spillville.
- The middlethe same dance turns minor, slows a little and darkens, before the bright dance returns.
When it was written
Having come to New York in 1892 to direct the National Conservatory, Dvořák spent the following summer in Spillville, a rural town where Czech people lived together. Among his own language and food, he reportedly felt very much at ease. He sketched this quartet in just a few days.
Written just after he completed the "New World" Symphony, the quartet is full of the same period's bright, simple melodies. The nickname "American" comes from its having been written in America.
A question to think about
On a strange continent, Dvořák found great comfort in an immigrant community that spoke his language. Immigrants today still often live near one another to keep their language and culture, yet such communities are sometimes criticized for walling themselves off.
Can immigrants preserve their communities and become members of a new society at the same time? What must both sides do to make that possible?