Antonin Dvorak, My Father [Hardcover]

Otaker Dvorak (Author), Paul J. Polansky (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 1993

Antonin Dvorak, My Father is a personal biography by his son Otakar who at the age of seventy-five years old decided to "write about the events missing from the other books about my father. "

For musicologists, Otakar's biography of his father contains many new items, but basically the book portrays Dvorak as a father. Story after story discloses Dvofak's real identity, captured in simple words by his son, while the great composer's work and profession linger in the background.

Otakar reveals in detail how his father decided to come to America. Later, after Otakar joined his parents in New York, the family set out for Spiliville. Otakar tells many stories about his father in this Czech-American community in northeastern Iowa.

Dvorak's symphony From the New World was the rage of New York in December of 1893, but Otakar recalls it for a much different reason.

Dvorak's depression in New York has seldom been mentioned, much less understood. But through the eyes of nine year old Otakar there is a poignancy that few musical historians could present.

Otakar remembers many stories told by Dvotak's friends and pupils. These colorful stories carry us through the chapters, giving us the background to Dvofak's career and life. Otakar relates several gems for the musical historian, but the story about how his father solved a problem in his most famous opera might be the best.

Otakar wrote his book to say..."ad memoriam lather. " But Otakar's epilogue for this book written a few days before his own death divulged as much about himself as his stories did about his father.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This book Antonin Dvorak, My Father... will surely acquit itself well among the many literary works and journals about this world-famous Czech composer.

The original manuscript in 1961 was thoroughly edited by Polansky who also added his own study of Dvorak's origins, and amply supported Otakar's story with objective footnotes and rich iconography.

It is interesting that this book was not published in its original language (Czech), nor in Dvorak's homeland. That the work was published in America, thanks to Dvorak's many friends and admirers there, is a recognition which speaks for itself.

Otakar's book was written as a collection of remembrances in a "mosaic way"...the story is gripping and direct. Especially valuable from a historical point of view are Otakar's remembrances of his father within the context of personal experiences and documentary evidence. How refreshing it is to read a primary source rather than "second hand" information.

Otakar Dvorak's book about his father can be recommended especially to those readers who love Dvorak's music, but who do not propose to study this music professionally. The merit of this book is that we can see this great composer as a human being, a very noble-hearted man who was modest, religious, and humble, and who was in love with nature and his family. -- PhDr. Milan Kuna, CSc., Editor in Chief, Antonn Dvorak's Correspondence Prague, Czech Republic

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Czech

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 195 pages
• Publisher: Czech Historical Research Ctr (July 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963673408
• ISBN-13: 978-0963673404
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,748,080 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great insights., May 6, 2006

By 

Tracey A. Swanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Antonin Dvorak, My Father (Hardcover)

It seems almost by chance that Paul Polansky has been able to capture the exact frame of Anton?n Dvoř?k's that is of most interest to us today. That one of Dvoř?k's children would have written substantial memoirs of his father that had gone unfound for so many years is remarkable, but that this child was also the one who's window of memory match the composer's rise to fame is sublimely fortuitous. As Otakar ages through the course of the book and his memories become more detailed and rich, so rises his father's fame and stature in the world. Otakar becomes almost a symbol for his father's emergence in the history of music.

Although this book's publication has been limited, it clearly paints a picture of Dvoř?k that is more personal, more humanizing than other tomes about the composer. It is perhaps this human element, this treatment of Dvoř?k not as an eccentric genius, but as an individual like any other, who happened to have had a musical talent of monumental proportion. Perhaps it is this "everyday" perception of Dvoř?k that makes this book so unpopular with music scholars today. This treatment of the composer leads to some uncomfortable questions-if Dvoř?k was such an ordinary man in upbringing and personality, then why are there not scores of Dvoř?k's today?

The book's reception aside, Otakar's reminiscences are fresh and vibrant, they make it possible for the reader to actually imagine what the daily life of the composer was probably like; how he truly felt in Prague, New York, Vysok?, and Spillville; what his family life was really like. Granted, all memories are slanted by their hosts, and those of Otakar of his father are no exception, but where Otakar misplaces years and events he makes up for with precious accounts of interactions his father had with himself and others, and a general mood associated with places and times. This value of Otakar's experience is both promoted and hindered by Polansky. His corrections of misremembered material details and clarifications of unclear references in the form of footnotes are often useful, but they are just as often heavy-handed or dismissive of Otakar's legitimate expertise on his father. While it is important that we realize that the eyewitness accounts in the book are coming from a rather young child, we need not be reminded of this at every instance where the interpretation of events diverges from that of the editor.

The only truly uninteresting part of this book is the lengthy introduction and forward, which provide a rather inconsequential series of anecdotes detailing how the editor uncovered Otakar's unknown memoirs. Although this provides some genealogy of the composer and adds some local color to his old haunts in Bohemia, this section is rather drawn-out and adds little to Otakar's accounts. Although Polansky's work was substantial to bring us this volume, he need not describe his every footfall in the Czech Republic.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inside look at a great figure., January 17, 2001

By 

PK (Prague, Czech Republic) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Antonin Dvorak, My Father (Hardcover)

Paul Polansky has done a first-rate job. "Antonin Dvorak, My Father" gives insights into Dvorak's life that can only come from somebody who was so close to the man himself. Polansky is a seasoned researcher, and the quality of his scholarship shines through the whole book.