The Slavonic Dances are a series of 16 orchestral pieces composed by Dvorak in 1878 and 1886 and published in two sets as Op. 46 and Op. 72 respectively. Originally written for piano four hands, the Slavonic Dances were inspired by Johannes Brahms's own Hungarian Dances and were orchestrated at the request of Dvorak’s publisher soon after composition
The pieces, lively and full of national character, were well received at the time and today are considered among the composer's most memorable works, occasionally making appearances in popular culture. Contrary to what the title might suggest, the dances are not so much inspired by Slavic folk music generally, but specifically by styles and forms from Bohemia. In these pieces, Dvorak never actually quotes folk melodies, but evokes their style and spirit by using traditional rhythmic patterns and structures in keeping with traditional folk dances. Prior to the publication of the Slavonic Dances, Dvorak was a relatively unknown composer and was of modest means. Consequently, he had applied for the Austrian State Prize fellowship (German Stipendium) in order to fund his composing work. After he won the prize three times in four years (1874, 1876 and 1877), Johannes Brahms, as one of the members of the committee responsible for awarding the stipend, referred Dvorak to his own publisher, Fritz Simrock. The first of Dvorak’s music to be published by Simrock was the Moravian Duets, which attained widespread success. Most of the Slavonic Dances make use of Czech dance patterns.
Antonín Leopold Dvorak (September 1841 – May 1904) was a Czech composer. Dvorak frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predecessor Smetana. Dvorak’s style has been described as "the fullest recreation of a national idiom with that of the symphonic tradition, absorbing folk influences and finding effective ways of using them”.
