The Dvořák Prague International Festival of Classical Music

The Dvořák Prague International Festival of Classical Music not only celebrates the work of the famous Czech composer, it celebrates his legacy and his contributions to music This year the Dvořák Festival will take place 8-24 September at the spectacular Rudolfinum in the great international city, Prague. Each year during the Festival, Prague hosts world-famous orchestras, conductors, and interpreters of classical music, all to play the great Dvořák’s music, and this year will be no exception. Its tagline is so true: “Don’t be afraid of the classics.” If you are planning on experiencing this festival and need a hotel then check out the Jurys Inn range of hotels in Prague.

Prague is very proud of its long and rich legacy of classical music, and that it was home to one of the greatest composers of all time, Antonin Dvořák. The Rudolfinum, the venue of the festival dedicated to him and the seat of the Czech Philharmonic, was also a home of sorts to Dvořák; he conducted the Czech Philharmonic’s first concert in the Rudolfinum’s concert hall, later named Dvořák Hall.

One of the things that made Dvořák such a source of pride for Czechoslovakia was that he employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and of his native Bohemia. Dvořák was passionate about his homeland, and many of his compositions were inspired by Czech traditional music, especially by Slavonic Dances and songs. He was absolutely prolific; his works include nine symphonies, choral and chamber music, concerti, opera, and many other orchestral and vocal-instrumental pieces.

Dvořák was even influential in American classical music. (From 1982 to 1895, he was the musical director at the National Conservatory of Music in New York.) He affected a generation of American composers, including George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland, to find inspiration in the melodies of Native and African Americans. One of Dvořák’s best-known pieces, the New World Symphony, attests to this.

Prague is excited to host another festival dedicated to this great master and his music. It’s sure to be a remarkable time, filled with some of the best music ever written, performed by the great performers of classical music of our time.