DVORAK, ANTONIN

(1841-1904), Bohemian composer; b. Mulhausen, Bohemia; d. Prague. In his youth he studied the violin, piano and organ and the theory of music and in 1862 became a violinist in a Prague theatre orchestra after some vici itudes with small bands and as a cafe instrumentalist. Later | he became church organist. He first became known as a composer by his comic opera, The King and the Collier, 1874, and his Slavonic Dances, 1878. His greatest succe was achieved in _ his Stabut Mater, produced in England in 1883 after being rejected by the Austrian government. His cantata, The Spectre’s Bride, sung in Birmingham, England, two years later, brought him a similar triumph., In 1892 he came to New York as director of the National Conservatory of Music and occupied the post for three years. While in America he wove Indian and negro melodies into his symphony From the New World, and the overture In Nature. His works included chamber music, symphonies, sacred compositions, operas, oratorios, pianoforte pieces and many songs. Austria made him a peer \of the realm and he had many honors bestowed upon him by universities and ‘musical organizations.