Diving into the Dvořák and Smetana trios

Diving into the Dvořák and Smetana trios we will be performing in January has been enormous and wonderful. Associating Smetana, the so-called father of Czech music, and Dvořák, who made that music world famous, is natural. Yet, these two pieces are very different.

Smetana’s trio is an elegy to his daughter, Bedriska, who died from scarlet fever at four-and-a-half. The trauma of loss is evident from the very beginning of the piece and colors all three movements.

Dvořák’s F-minor is something else, an ambitious work that may have been a response to the C Major trio written by Dvořák’s mentor, Brahms. It signals a new more mature period in Dvorak’s compositions.

The pieces share an unmistakable Bohemian folk style, but through that shared language say different things. Smetana mourns knowing he has to carry on; Dvořák searches and dances.

Here’s a little Hungarian folk music by Bartok that we recorded this summer. This movement is one of a group of Hungarian folk melodies that we will share in coming posts. (Click on the photo link above to listen to a little Bartok filmed during lockdown.)