Antonin Dvorak Museum: Villa America

Antonin Dvorak Museum: his piano is on display, of course! What would composer and music teacher do without this instrument? Some of the other exhibits in the museum are Dvorak’s personal memorabilia: hat, cuff links and a medicine cabinet. The museum is located in Villa America, the summer residence of a wealthy Bohemian family and named after a nearby inn. There is no better location imaginable for a Dvorak museum: America fits perfectly with the symphony he composed ‘From the New World’.

dvorak museum

Antonin Dvorak Museum: what to see

The exhibition ‘The Journeys of Antonín Dvořák’ tells the story of the composer and his most famous works such as Symphony No. 9, better known as ‘From the New World’, and the operas Rusalka, Kate and the Devil and Armida. The name of the exhibition refers to the many journeys he made in Europe and America which made Dvorak famous all over the world. His works are still on the repertoire of the National Opera and the Rudolfinum concert hall.

The composer’s manuscripts, correspondence, music recordings, photographs and other personal items are on display as well as the original furniture from his study. Furthermore, there are Also on display are his viola and his piano. Neatly arranged on his desk are his pen and reading glasses and on the wall a portrait of Ludwig van Beethoven. The first floor of the museum is home to a multimedia wall with earphones you can listen many of Dvorak’s compositions performed by various orchestras.

dvorak museum

Dvorak Museum, Villa America and concerts

The museum is housed in Villa America, a Baroque villa built in the early eighteenth century. Around the villa is a beautifully maintained garden with baroque statues by the Czech sculptor Matthias Bernhard Braun (1684-1738). The ceiling on the first floor is painted with frescoes whose theme is ancient mythology.
Classical concerts are given in the music salon from May to October. The performances are a historical reconstructions of a music soirees in the time of the maestro.

dvorak museum

Antonin Dvorak: composer, conductor and music teacher

Dvorak (1841-1904) was born in Nelahozeves near Prague which at the time was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Together with Bedřich Smetana and Leoš Janáček, he is considered one of greatest composers in Bohemia.
Dvorak was a composer of romantic music, drawing inspiration from melodies of Moravian and Bohemian folk songs. His works include the New World Symphony, Slavonic Dances, the American String Quartet and the Cello Concerto in B minor. He also wrote operas, of which Rusalka is the best known.

Although Dvorak spent most of his life in or near Prague, he also worked abroad. He spent three years in America where he was director of the National Conservatory of Music; he visited England nine times, often conducting his own works; and influenced by Tchaikovsky, he conducted orchestras in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Getting there

The Antonin Dvorak is part of the Music Museum of Prague and is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm, closed on Mondays.

Address:
Villa America – Dvorak Museum
Ke Karlovu 20, Vinohrady, Prague

Public transport: Metro line C, I.P. Pavlova station, trams 4 ,6 ,10, 16, 22 stop I.P. Pavlova

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Czech Museum of Music
Classical concerts venues in Prague

Photos: Marianne Crone

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